Fulbright Inquiry Project

After settling into my apartment and exploring a bit of Helsinki, I am ready to begin my Fulbright inquiry project. Fulbright teachers’ inquiry projects encourage cross-cultural dialogue, demonstrate relevance and applicability to education in the grantee’s host country; and directly reflect and incorporate activities undertaken as part of the Fulbright program (Source—Fulbright Teacher Exchange). Final products are designed to benefit the students and colleagues in the grantee's home school and community.

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This blog post gives you an overview of my inquiry project. I think an awareness of my goals will be helpful when I post about Finnish classrooms and educational practices. Of course, just like all things in education, my project may change and even take on a new direction as I observe classrooms, interview teachers, and meet with other education professionals. Change is not a bad thing. I can only hope that my inquiry project does evolve and endures for years to come.

My Inquiry Project: 

(Global Competence: 21st Century Students Take Action with Phenomenon-Based Learning)

In 2016, Finland underwent a national curriculum reform. Now, more than ever, Finnish schools embrace students’ use of informational text and technology to develop 21st century skills and globally competent students. In Finland, students -- 7 to 16 years of age -- receive periods of phenomenon-based learning (PBL). PBL is a version of project-based learning where students interact around real-world issues to solve a problem or explore a curiosity. My inquiry project seeks to understand how Finnish teachers design and implement PBL in classrooms.

My work space at the University of Helsinki.

Some Questions I Have:

• How do teachers apply technology in PBL that is appropriate for young learners? 
• How do elementary students collect information and organize their knowledge? 
• What instructional strategies and collaborative partnership promote cross-curricular learning opportunities?
• What assessment methods do teachers utilize to measure students’ progress and evaluate their performance?

My Final Product:
My research efforts in Finland will help me to formulate an understanding of the online platforms and instructional strategies that support a globally aware classroom. Hence, I will be equipped to integrate PBL in elementary grades and promote its pedagogy to content teachers. My project will be interactive by taking the form of an online PBL toolkit. The website will include my observations in Finland, research on PBL, resources, assessment methods, presentations, and more.

An early version of my project's online PBL toolkit.

Core components of PBL are priority growth areas for my school and profession -- interdisciplinary teaching, student-led instruction, cooperative learning, strategic use of technology, and the development of global competencies through the investigation of new phenomena. With PLB, students' motivation and critical-thinking skills will skyrocket. Most importantly, students will come to recognize that their learning has the potential to solve real-life problems.