The studies and planning ahead

Study Plan and Schedule:

I have to start here because scheduling my studies is the most difficult part at the moment. I believe, though, that it will become easier once I get more time. Yapp - I know - when will we get more time? I have decided that in November I have more time and can study regularly during the day, not at night as I have to do right now. Studying at night is not my kind of pie - I get so engaged that I stay up too long and have trouble sleeping.  

The innovative Vocational Education and Training program totals 60 ECTS.

Vocational Pedagogy (22 ECTS)
Basics of Educational Science (10 ECTS)
Teaching Practice (13 ECTS)
Optional Studies (15 ECTS)

Vocational Pedagogy divided into two parts  VOC 1 and VOC2.I plan to study VOC1 and VOC2 this school year. I have studied 25 ECTS of Educational Science at Jyväskylä University so 10 credits will be accredited to Basics of Education. I plan to do my teaching practice year 2013. Most likely in the spring semester - I just need to talk to the school and the teacher. I have found a suitable course, but I still want to "shop around" and see if there is something else. I better pick up the phone soon because I need to sign up for this during September. I will do 10 ECTS of optinal studies this fall semester, the remaining 5 will be later - perhaps even fall 2013.

What studies support and nurture the development of your core competences?

I am a Political Scientist so reading the Paper and watching the news is one way to keep my substance core competences up-to-date. I am planning to teach a course about the EU, which means that I will do some research about recent developments and refresh my memory on EU-history, enlargement and I guess I cannot skip the monetary union :-) It is amazing if that will not be one subject for discussion during the course. I will also look for seminars in the area and visit the EU-information office for ideas and guidance.

If I end up choosing an administrative route and teach administration in a vocational school, reading about good governance and sharing "smart tricks around the office" would be a start.

I get new ideas about what I could teach all the time, so I guess I am not ready to lock the teaching practice yet. One thing is sure though. Since I have no previous teaching experience, a course in teaching methods is a must.

Consider the possibilities teacher practise in your own field of work. In which vocational institute or polytechnic or other institute can I carry out my teacher practise? What core contents shall I concentrate on? Which target audience shall be my students?


I have touched upon what courses I could teach above. The EU course is in a University of Applied Sciences, a virtual course actually. The iVET course is also mostly virtual, so I'm sure that is not a problem. I might, however, need a hands-on course for my teaching observation. Keski-pohjanmaan koulutusyhtymä with its 6 schools and on-the-job training unit could also work very well, but it seems like all their teaching is in Finnish or Swedish. 

As a social scientist, I am interested in society, its functions, its purpose, the people inside it and the relationships between all actors. For the last few years equal rights, especially from a gender perspective, has been the most interesting bit. I would love to teach gender issues from a practical angle. How to act in a way where you treat women and men, boys and girls equally? How not slip into typical ways to treat people differently in the classroom or pretty much any where else. I will observe myself closely during my teaching practice and see if I slip into old fashioned ways. 

Since I most likely will teach about the EU virtually, I will concentrate on finding ways to guide students to find info and I will put in much effort to try to motivate them to dig into the very complex and large EU spider net. Since it is a virtual course, both young and middle aged adults will be the audience. 

What former competences or learning shall I present to be accredited? –Familiarize yourself with the accreditation policies of the school.


I will present my former studies in Educational Science for accreditation - a total of 10 ECTS will be accredited.