A Visit from a Finnish Fulbrighter

Sanna Leinonen and me

The Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Program is all about professional growth and collaboration. In fact, I was able to begin work towards these objectives four months before I would depart for Finland. While in Finland, I can expect to tour Finnish schools to learn new instructional practices and collect information for my inquiry project. However, this time I was the one giving the tour and answering the questions. My guest and I are from different hemispheres, but we have one major thing in common—we are both Fulbright teachers!

Sanna Leinonen is a Fulbright teacher from Tampere, Finland. She is studying at the University of Indiana from August to December—189 miles from my elementary school in southern Kentucky. Sanna and I first met at the orientation workshop in Washington D.C. back in August. At our first meeting we talked about the schools where we teach, our Fulbright inquiry projects, and thigs to do in each other’s home country.

Fulbright Teacher from or going to Finland

Sanna is an English and special education teacher in Ylöjärvi Upper Secondary School in Finland. Sanna is in the U.S. researching the collaborative studying methods used in schools. Her primary goal is to understand and develop methods that will enhance teacher collaboration. With this in mind, I wanted to show Sanna how teachers at my school collaborate to plan instructional activities, assign students to classes, and prepare hands-on learning activities with district resource teachers. I had a lot to share with Sanna in our two hours together during her visit. I think I was as excited (if not more) than she was to be touring my school.

We began our tour in the place where I chiefly reside throughout the school day: the library. When Sanna walked through the library doors, she found second graders walking on a giant map of Kentucky. I am sure Sanna was startled by this spectacle! It’s not every day you see students walking in their socks on a huge map on the library floor. My students were learning about the cardinal directions and how to use a map’s legend to identify different places.

Click and scroll around the video to see all 360-degrees of the library.

After looking around the library, I took Sanna to the Family Resource Center. The director of the program explained how they support students in need through a variety of programs. For example, some students receive weekly food items with the Backpack Program. I learned from Sanna that there are not Family Resource Centers inside Finnish schools. Schools in Finland partner with community social service organizations to aid students and families.

Next, I took Sanna to several classrooms where she observed students and teachers in action. Sanna observed how teachers at my school implement learning centers. Classroom centers are where students use instructional materials to explore topics and skills in small groups. Centers are a great way to engage students and modify activities that are appropriate for each student’s learning level.

As we walked through my school’s halls, Sanna enjoyed looking at the decorated bulletin boards and student work on the walls. We frequently stopped for her to take pictures. I am looking forward to next semester when I get to see the walls of Finnish schools and how they differ from that of my own school.

Our last stop on the tour was particularly special since it related to Sanna’s inquiry project. I drove Sanna a few blocks to my district’s Exploratorium, a makerspace and project-based learning center that relies on teacher collaboration. The Exploratorium offers great learning opportunities from kindergarten to seniors. Students are able to participate in hands-on lessons and camps centered around creating. A 3D printer, CNC machine, Legos, and Tech are just some of the tools at students' disposal.

Image Source

A student looks through a virtual reality viewer

Matt Staggs is the director of the Exploratorium. He collaborates with classroom teachers and librarians in the district on interdisciplinary instructional activities that involve new technologies and innovative resources. Sanna was eager to learn how Mr. Staggs collaborates with teachers on the design of projects that integrate a variety of content areas.

Since Sanna’s visit, she and I have had other opportunities to collaborate. For instance, Sanna participated in a Twitter chat I moderated about authentic learning. She also shared with me the names of schools in Finland I should contact and visit during my stay there next semester. We even collaborated on this blog post! Read her reflection about her visit to my school below:

Being a Fulbright teacher is awesome! You get to know new wonderful people and see great schools. At the end of September, I was fortunate to be able to visit an elementary school in Kentucky. And that school, Simpson Elementary, was well worth the visit. Sam Northern, my fellow Fulbrighter, showed me around his school. What impressed me the most was the warm and caring atmosphere they had in the school. The children were happy and really concentrated on their work. Even the small ones knew what to do and how to work at the stations. They also have one great asset I’m really envious of: The Exploratorium. I’m still dreaming of a situation, where I too have a science resource teacher working with me and my students, in a separate space, especially designed for PBL. Maybe I’ll have to quit my job and move to Franklin!

My collaboration with Sanna is proof that the spirit of the Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Program is alive well before and well after the grant's official dates.