Ignác Török High School from Hungary on Erasmus plus mobility to Finland with Experience Workshop
18 students from the Ignác Török High School in Gödöllő (Hungary) took part in an Erasmus+ group mobility organised in Jyväskylä. Their host school was the Christian School. Experience Workshop was actively involved in the preparation of the one-week study trip programme. During their stay students visited the school classes on an everyday basis, and they made observation on the Finnish school in terms of education, sustainability and environment.
What does the environment add to learning?
Finnish educators belive that effective learning isn’t running exclusively in our mind but also in our body. As part of this, the Finnish school provides a varied environment for students to practice a wide range of physical activity. The first English class of the guests was also dedicated to this idea.
At first, the guests didn’t know what to make of the situation, but then they easily adapted to the new ways of learning.
Maths in motion
Students participated in everyday Finnish school life for this few days, among others in Jukka Sinnemäki’s maths class. Jukka is a well-known practitioner of well-being based learning and teaching, as he was finalist of the Global Teacher Award in 2019. The Hungarian students also got a taste of Jukka’s lively maths lessons. One thing is for sure, they were certainly not bored.
Learning sustainability: home economics and handicrafts
The Hungarian students also found out that they can learn useful skills for everyday life in school, such as home economics, needlework and handicrafts/technology, which are much more widely taught than in Hungarian schools.
In Home Economics, both boys and girls acquire not only how to prepare some basic food, but also the basics of healthy nutrition and sustainable home management.
Just as the boys were not exempted from home economics, the girls also took part in the handicrafts activities.
Students have the opportunity to work with a wide variety of materials: wood, metal, textiles, and prepare theirself some own DIY objects they use in your everyday life. In this way they are more aware of where their everyday objects come from, how much work goes into producing them, what raw materials they need, where those materials are supplied from, etc.
STEAM workshop in Crazy Town
Experience Workshop STEAM director Kristóf Fenyvesi offered a STEAM workshop which was held by in Jväskylä’s coworking space Crazy Town. Students and teachers could test their creatitity with the 4d frame tool.
Jyväskylä quizzing and blogging
Inspired by the home economics classes, the Hungarian group invited the Experience Workshop staff and host school mentor Jukka Sinnemäki for a dinner of Hungarian paprika potatoes made with some Finnish ingredients. By this time they had already spent several days in the town, so it was time for a Jyväskylä quiz.
The students wrote a blog diary about their adventures and filled in an ecological footprintcalculator with their Finnish counterparts to compare environmental awareness. They were pleased to find that they are not lagging behind their Finnish peers at all!
In the end of the mobility it was apparent that the team could return home with a wide range of new skills, knowledge and experience. Read their blog report here and check out their photos and videos!
Feedback by students
The school was a whole new experience for me. How the classroom is equipped with exciting stuff like trainers, etc and that it is allowed to use them even during the classes.
The most interesting thing about Finnish school is that kids studying there learn by experience.
My favourite program was having a sauna in the very cold weather.
I have learnt that communication is easy, finnish people are friendly and school is flexible.
I also know it now, that I do not have to afraid of speak in English because I just have to believe in myself that I am able to make myself understood.
The home economics classes were the most memorable for me, because I don’t cook much at home either, especially not at school, so it was interesting to try and create something delicious with the help of the Finnish children.
I have learnt that you won’t get anywhere if you don’t change your view of people sometimes.
All in all, it was the best experience that I have had with my class.
Photo credits: Nóra Somlyódy, Kristóf Fenyvesi
The student mobility was realized in the frameworks of the Erasmus+ KA121 programme.
Would you like to participate in a similar educational program?
info@experienceworkshop.org
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