Keynote Speakers

Research-Based Teacher Education in Finland: Principles, Practices and Research Results

Abstract Teacher education is a cornerstone of a high-quality education system, and at the heart of it, teachers are key persons in enhancing quality education and schooling. Teacher profession is complex and demanding, and teachers have broad responsibilities in supporting pupils learning and in developing schools. Thus, teachers need to be educated academically in high-quality programmes to guarantee learning of expertise and capabilities for the profession and throughout their careers (Toom, 2017; Toom & Husu, 2021; 2024). This sets requirements for the context, curricula, characteristics, and pedagogies of pre-service teacher education as well as for teacher educators’ capabilities. This presentation will elaborate the characteristics of the Finnish research-based teacher education, which has been enacted in the university context over 50 years. The principles and rationale as well as practices of the Finnish teacher education will be elaborated. In addition, the research results regarding student teacher learning, pedagogies and mentoring in Finnish teacher education will be presented. Also, the systematic research-based development of the Finnish teacher education and the extensive, collaborative development work of the national Finnish Teacher Education Forum will be discussed (cf. Teacher Education 2050). By presenting the principles, practices, and research results of the Finnish research-based teacher education, the presentation will answer to the question: What kinds of characteristics of teacher education cultivate student teacher learning for teachers work, and thus, support them in becoming capable and agentic professional teachers? And why should we be interested in them? 

References

Toom, A. (2017). Teacher’s professional competencies: A complex divide between teacher’s work, teacher knowledge and teacher education. In D. J. Clandinin & J. Husu (Eds.), The SAGE Handbook of Research on Teacher Education (pp. 803-819). London: SAGE Publishers. https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781529716627

Toom, A.& Husu, J. (2021).Analyzing practice, research, and accountability turns in Finnish academic teacher education. In D. Mayer (Ed.), Teacher education policy and research: Global perspectives. Singapore: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-3775-9_6 

Toom, A. & Husu, J. (2024). Student Teacher Learning Through Research-Based Teacher Education Curriculum. In G. Doetjes, V. Domovic, M. Mikkilä-Erdmann & K. Zaki (Eds.), Coherence in European Teacher Education – Theoretical Models, Empirical Studies, instructional approaches. Springer Nature. DOI : 10.1007/978-3-658-43721-3

Teacher Education 2050: Vision for Finnish Teacher Education https://helda.helsinki.fi/items/b51755d6-a6c1-4955-a976-1efd6ccfc5e9

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Designing for Nonlinear Learning: Exploration and Adaptation in Singapore’s Teacher Education

Learning is inherently nonlinear and characterised by substantial individual variability, thereby necessitating pedagogical practices that explicitly account for and harness such nonlinearity in teaching and learning.  There is a need for approaches that intentionally foster exploration and adaptation, enabling learners to search for and attune to learning that is engaging.

Grounded in the theoretical framework of Ecological Dynamics, Nonlinear Pedagogy offers key pedagogical design principles that guide practitioners in shaping learning environments which invite exploratory behaviour and support learners in adapting individualized solutions to navigate challenges.

This presentation will elaborate core pedagogical design principles derived from Nonlinear Pedagogy to illustrate how teaching practices can be enacted.  In addition, an overview of teacher preparation in National Institute of Education, Singapore will be shared, providing insights to how exploration and adaptation can be supported through the design of authentic learning environment. Practitioners can reconceptualise their roles as designers of practice and facilitators of learning within learner-centred environment.  This has important implications on how teacher education programmes in Singapore can be designed to emphasise values, skills and knowledge to support nonlinearity in learning.  

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