New Beginnings

ProPeda 22/23 Orientation

Image source: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/c5/1a/3f/c51a3f8423999d652d1f2bd0abfc2134.png

    Being accepted in ProPeda 22/23 at Oulu University of Applied Sciences (OAMK) is a dream come true and I feel fortunate enough to be given a chance to improve my skills as a vocational teacher. Finnish education system is deemed No.1 in the world and it's my chance to understand it by being a part of it. I am excited to start my studies and eventually my teaching career in Finland. I hope this diploma will equip me with all the necessary competences required to be a successful teacher. 

    Getting ready for the orientation session, I have already activated my student ID and acquainted myself with the study guide provided on the university website, as advised by the mentors (Kimmo and Riikka). I tried (key word here) to understand what "Competence-based Approach" meant and what the goals, requirements and learning outcomes for the approach were.

Keeping in mind the blog by Juha Pousi, following are the key points about "Competence-based Approach": 

• It incorporates teaching skills, practices and competences.
• It is student-centered (student is responsible for own learning, active participation and development)
• It is not based on typical subjects, materials or lectures but is more goal oriented and focuses on learning outcomes
• Existing skills or competences of students serve as a starting point for the implementation of education. So, the competences are first identified, evaluated, recognized and then accepted.
• Each student has a Personal Study Plan which is unique and tailored according to individual needs, skills and competences.
• Competences are assessed in actual and authentic working situations. 
• Self-assessment is the central tool to assess existing competences which can be supplemented if is inadequate in any sense.
• All methods of achieving competence for example, formal education, volunteer work, hobbies or other everyday experiences.
• Sometimes you need to unlearn old habits.

        Here is a link for the mind map that I created for competence-based education.

        Competence based education - MindMeister Mind Map

    So, we started with an online orientation session on 25th May 2022; where I got to meet my mentors and session fellows for the very first time. Personally, when I think of online meetings, they seem cold, distant, robotic, having a sense of formality, isolation and lacking that feeling of actually getting to know someone. The screen, for me (at least at that time) acted like a barrier that seemed to restrict me from actually knowing the people. Cameras helped, but for me the one connecting feature was the Padlet where everyone posted a picture and shared information about themselves. 

    Kimmo and Riikka further discussed the main ideas related to competence-based education and asked us to choose the time for personal tutoring session. Before that session, we had to fill a Personal Study Plan (PSP) form based on defined competence goals. For me, it was a way of thinking about my understanding of my skills (competences) and to rate them on a scale of 1-5. In my case, it mostly was 2 or 3; may be 4 in some cases. I think it's difficult to judge yourself because of personal biases or may be subjectivity. Later, I had an online personal meeting with the mentors on 7th June 2022; where we mostly talked about my educational background, job experiences and future plans. We also discussed my expectations from the course. They proposed the idea of starting a blog to reflect on my learning journey regarding what I do or how I do it, what worked and what did not, what could have been done differently and so on. Thus, here I am writing about what I feel and for what possible reasons. At the end, they assigned the task to transfer data from my PSP to OSSI in my student account on OAMK website. 

    For now, it's all from me. In future, we will be meeting in September on Campus for 3 days and I am looking forward to meeting my class fellows and mentors.

   

References

https://blogi.oamk.fi/2018/06/07/competence-reflection-and-other-mind-bogglers/