When we found the opportunity to come to Finland a lot of thougths come to our minds. We are very engaged in our institutions so coming here could represent to let down some projects in Brazil. We had to count with our colleagues to help us with the work left back.
We were worried about our families, our aging parents, our children. But in the other hand it is just three months and we have the opportunity to reflect about teaching, learning about Finland education and make contact with a lot of Brazilian teachers. After these thougths we had to talk to our directors to receive the permission to go studying abroad and to write our projects. When we started writing our projects we met teachers that came from VET I and VET II to share experiences and research the needs of our institutions.
In Brazil, when speaking of the Finland, the people remember the education, the nordic mythology, the pilots of Formula one, and others examples. However, the country is so much more that . Finland is a strong nation.
We are a group from different places of Brazil. We are from north, south, center, southeast and northeast of Brazil. So, we're from different Institutes and each one have a personal experience in teaching. One of the most important things to come to VET teachers program in Finland is exchanging experiences, we can learn more with finnish teachers and students and we can get more knowledge with ourselves.
Staying in Finland is a great opportunity to know Finnish culture. For us this opportunity is good to enhance our English. In the classes we can practice our English in writing, reading and speaking a lot. It's an excellent opportunity knowing that we can teach in English language in Brazil. When you teach your classes in English, your classes are opened to the world. So, you can exchange experiences and make networking.
Brazilian education is largely based on traditional teaching approaches. The main resource used are the lectures delivered in a teacher centered model. In Brazil we call it “cuspe e giz” (spit and chalk). We think that Project Based Learning is a great and innovative way to perform a student centered education and immersing in the finnish education will be the chance to see it as it develops. Although there are different areas like electrical engeneering, agronomy, geography, math and others among the VET teachers, we all think that PBL is a great tool for every teacher. We already learned in Finland that we can transform PBL in Passion Based Learning,
The experience in VET III, at Finland, is an opportunity to open new horizons about the Finnish education. It is an opportunity to acquire experiences about the finnish life style, the culture, the gastronomy, the different forms that the finnish peopple see the education. This atmosphere provides to learn as “Linking People”. Linking people is an opportunity to meet people and share knowledge. This program offers to each of us the opportunity to learn about each Instute and start a network of knowledge and also build other relationships such as friendship and team spirit. In Brazil, we are not used to truly share our ideas with other Institutes, however we believe that "Linking people" is truly build shared knowledge, and then we will have better results.
For us the VET III process was easier, because we rely on the contribution of other teachers. Participants of VET I and II spoke several tips about the city, the behavior of people who live here and the program as well. This program provides many opportunities in the changing perspective of behavior as Professor and as a citizen. This course is expected because we have a plunge opportunity in the culture of a country completely different from ours. Finland breathes education and we are feeling that as we start to investigate it.
The attention provided by the staff of HAMK, specially Marja and Sara, and all the teachers and coordinators, was fundamental for the success of the partnership between Brazil,Finland, and the VET programme.
Sumário (Less is More)
Quando pensamos em vir para a Finlândia diversos questionamentos vieram à nossa mente. Nós estávamos preocupados com nossos familiares e com o nosso trabalho, apesar de serem apenas três meses. Estudar na Finlândia é uma grande oportunidade de conhecer a cultura finlandesa e também melhorar o nosso inglês. A educação brasileira é amplamente baseada em abordagens tradicionais de ensino e pensamos que o aprendizado baseado em projetos é uma maneira inovadora para realizar uma educação centrada no aluno. Essa imersão na educação finlandesa será a chance de observar como o processo se desenvolve. A experiência dos VETs anteriores contribuiu para que a nossa vinda para a Finlândia fosse mais fácil, além disso a colaboração da equipe de HAMK, especialmente Marja e Sara, e todos os professores e coordenadores, foi fundamental para o sucesso da parceria entre Brasil, Finlândia, e o programa VET.
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- Flávio Lopes, José Luiz Amado, Miguel Albuquerque, Patrícia Lopes, Rosângela Melo, Wlamir Teixeira
