Teacher education 2.0 - dare to take the leap?

SOOL is the Teacher Student Union of Finland and a national umbrella organization of all teacher students in Finland. On a daily basis we find ourselves craving and valuing learning. You could say that learning is what we do best. That is why we are very excited to co-operate with Dare to Learn to create the next big thing, the new great learning event.
 
The main thing about learning is to find the joy for it. You need to have the enthusiasm to learn before you can really open up for the comprehensive learning experience. When you’ve got the elation to learn new things, learning is a treasure that will follow you everywhere. In SOOL we think that a teacher has a great role when it comes to the joy of learning. A teacher can motivate and awaken the interest for exploring new things. A teacher can help one to find their passion for learning and motivate them to learn more. We think that a teacher is  - more than anything - the contributor of learning. 

​In recent years there has been some discussion about new ways of learning. We are talking about new ways to arrange learning environments, to facilitate formal learning events and to guide learning processes. New learning is coming, that’s for sure. Learning is seen even more comprehensive than before. Learning is happening everywhere and all the time - not just in the classrooms. Still the new kind of learning has to change the way we learn in schools and kindergartens too. These new ways to learn need both a new environment and a new atmosphere. Digitalization offers new possibilities to organize learning. Phenomenon based learning offers great new possibilities to mix up the traditional subjects and critical thinking, and reading skills are seen more important than to know all the trivia. We still need teachers - actually more than ever.
 
New learning requires that we think about the role of a teacher in a new way. Education should build a basis for lifelong learning and it should be seen as a solution for ecological, economical and cultural problems. Thus a teacher is no longer an omniscient knowledge giver, but a supporting and motivating mentor of learning. Since the focus in the role of a teacher is changing, teacher education has to change too.
 
What kind of teacher education should we have in the future? If a teacher is a contributor on a way to find the joy of learning, what should teacher education be like? If a teacher is your mentor and supporter instead of an all-knowing lecturer, how should teacher education develop? If we started building new teacher education from the very beginning, how would it turn out to be like? These are the questions our workshop will try to find answers and solutions to at the great Dare to Learn -event in September. Dare to join us to envision the future of teacher education? 


Noora Korhonen & Tarja Työläjärvi
Suomen Opettajaksi Opiskelevien Liitto SOOL ry
Teacher Student Union of Finland