Introduction

I have been an SEN teacher for little bit more than six years, also we have two children the youngest of which is nineteen, and they have friends. So I have got some experience of bringing up young people. I have also made some observations in my classes and everyday life. To me it is obvious that it is not so easy for young people to understand themselves.In Luovi Vocational College we have an ongoing project ‘Mun reitti’ in which we are searching and making personal roads towards working life. In that project some methods to develop self-understanding and self-acceptance have been used and built up. One tool to develop self-understanding and self-acceptance is to use classification of temperaments, there are many of them. I have chosen the classification of nine features of temperament, presented by Keltikangas-Järvinen (2006). The context of temperaments is primary school in that book.

What is temperament

Let us start with an example by Keltikangas-Järvinen (15, 2006). Three children are learning to ride a bicycle. They are all eager to learn and, as yet, no-one can ride the bike. They are as talented as each other, their motorical processes are at the same level and they all have the same capacities to learn. They all have dad next to them when they are trying to ride the bike.

The first one takes the bike, tries to climb on and pushes the pedals. He does not listen to his father’s advice. He gets some speed and falls down. He does not mind and tries again. After a third try he leaves the bike and he is not interested in the whole thing any more. He has lost his self-confidence and there is nothing which will get him to try again. The second child is very interested in the bike. He observes it from every point. He listens carefully to all the advice and he is interested in every aspect of bicycling. He also falls when he tries the first time. But he tries again and again. He tries until his father asks him to stop and continue tomorrow. But he is still trying. He tries until he does not fall and then he cycles around the same little ring without being bored. The third boy stops when he sees the bike. He is curious but a little bit afraid. Then he approaches gently and slowly. Then he touched saddle and shiny metal and accidentally rings the bell – and jumps backwards. He must become familiar with the bike and after that he can start to try.

The previous example describes different sides of two temperament features – determination and fight or flight.

The features of temperaments are quite stabile and innate; they form the basis of the personality. Education, environment, cultural norms, expectations of community and values are also effective factors which affect the personality. Together those – and others – produce personal ways to behave and act. The features of temperament are visible and quite easy to observe. Those features are not good or bad – they just are. In some situations some feature is very beneficial, sometimes the same feature is challenging. Everyone has all features in their own combination. One’s environment sets some expectations for suitable temperaments in different situations. So it is very useful to understand one’s own way to act and behave. If one identifies her/his temperament features it is possible to find one’s own way to study and do other things. One can learn to benefit from their temperament.

In this development project we will make a simple form to explain the characteristics of the temperament and to identify them. The form should be very simple, because it should also be usable by those young students who have almost no idea of themselves. The formula has been tested in two groups of students. Some corrections have been made and the formula (in Finnish) has been included in the Mun reitti –tools. Most of the students said that the classification of temperament and identifying the features has helped them to understand themselves at least little bit.

Temperament features

Keltikangas-Järvinen (2006, Selina Selin 2006) introduces inter alia following temperament features, originally characteristics of features and form are made in Finnish but translated here:

Sensitivity, Activity, Flexibility, Sociability, Determination, Distractibility, Pedanticness, Fight or flight and Intensiveness

Sensitivity describes how one reacts to external stimulus. A highly sensitive person reacts very strongly. For example he/she notices even minor noise, difference in smell, taste or temperature. He or she also easily identifies other peoples’ mood and she/he is often socially talented. A lowly sensitive, or calm person is not bothered easily, she or he tolerates different and varying conditions. She/he can concentrate in spite of external disturbing stimulus. She/he does not identify moods of other people and sometimes seems to be impolite.

Activity can be seen as speed or the way how one starts new actions. A highly active person moves all the time, he/she is lively, even restless and becomes inspired easily. That is a specific way to act; it does not mean that he/she is very efficient. A person, who is not visibly active is slower and likes to act calmly, does not change interests all the time. Again it is question of a way to act – low activity does not mean, for example, inefficiency.

Flexibility describes how to react to new things and situations. A highly flexible person easily adopts new things and practices, even very unexpected changes are not irritating. A lowly flexible person respects all familiar and certain things and habits, changes are challenging. A lowly flexible person needs more time to adopt new things.
Sociability describes how a person is familiar with other persons. A social person likes to be with other people, he even finds companions. The opposite kind of person likes to be alone.

Determination describes how to complete one’s acts. A highly determined person likes to finish every activity. That feature can be seen as single-mindedness but may help in studying. A lowly determined person can easily change activities, but can also become frustrated easily. His/her challenge is absent mindedness.Distractibility describes how to continue actions. A highly distractible person gets interrupted easily because attention is easily directed elsewhere. She/he notices everything in the environment and has low concentration levels. A low distractible person does not notice anything when concentrating.A Pedantic person has a punctual inside chronometer, he/she sleeps and eats regularly and everyday life is systematic and organized. The actions of a low pedantic person are not predictable, he/she eats and sleeps when she/he feels the need, flexibility can help in social situations, but can also irritate.Fight or flight describes how the person reacts to new, sudden social situation, person or occasion. A fighting person hurries eagerly towards new things and experiences. The opposite type is a ‘flighting’ person who avoids new situations and things. When this happens in social situations, we call that person shy.

Intensiveness tells mostly about feelings. A highly intensive person seems to feel emotions strongly. She/he can be blaring and dramatic, deeply sorrowful and everyone notices her/his joy. A lowly intensive person can feel deeply too, but his/her expressions are quiet, peaceful and controlled, feelings cannot be seen.

Form

Every temperament feature is characterized so that both ends are surely clear. The student marks what his/her opinion is about that special feature.

Before filling in the form the features were presented by PowerPoint presentation. First the feature was presented and then every student marked her/his opinion on their own form and then the next feature was presented and marked and so on.

Testing the form

The form has been tested in two student groups on 12.4.2010 (6 persons) and 13.4.2010 (13 persons). I also collected some feedback. The feedback questions were:

1. Features of the temperaments were familiar to me
2. I recognized new features in myself
3. I recognized new strengths in myself
4. The activity helps me to accept myself
5. The activity was useful

According to the feedback the activity was not very successful; only seven students out of nineteen considered that activity was quite or very useful (Picture 2). On the other hand there were three persons who answered that the activity has helped them to recognize new strengths in them quite a lot. One person answered that after the activity she/he found quite many new strengths and also accepted her/himself quite much better.

Conclusions

Testing the formula indicated that the features of the temperaments were more familiar to students that I expected. For me it is a very good result that one person out of nineteen found quite many new strengths and also accepted themself quite a lot better.
It is possible that by making the temperament features more clear we can increase self-understanding. In the future it is also relevant to ask feature by feature how one feels about those features – is any particular feature a strength or a weakness. If one feels some of the features are weaknesses it is important to help that person to find the good side of that also.

References

Keltikangas-Järvinen, Liisa 2006. Temperamentti ja koulumenestys, Helsinki, WSOY
Selina Selin, 2006. Liisa Keltikangas-Järvinen johdatteli temperamenttien maailmaan, Suomen Työterveyslääkäriyhdistys r.y.

http://www.ebm-guidelines.com/dtk/shk/avaa?p_artikkeli=ttl00381

AIM OF THE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT WORK

I decided to do my development project work about the co-operation of SEN-coordinators because Iwork in this area. The aims of this work are to

• spread the knowledge of the work of coordinators and the network of coordinators
• develop the work of coordinators and
• get new ideas for the co-operation from the members of NC and from my classmates.

BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT

In 2008 Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences/Teacher Education College (JUAS) started a new education which was meant for people who are responsible for the coordination of special needs education in their organisations. The education was very popular; about 50 people sent applications and JUAS started two groups.

After the courses, participants were especially satisfied with the possibility to distribute among themselves matters they encounter in their work. The SEN-coordinator is normally the only one in his/her organisation and works alone without peers. When the education finished, the course provider decided to organize the Network of Coordinators (NC) to help co-operation of coordinators.

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND OF COORDINATION

The work of SEN-coordinators is based on an English model SENCO, but it is adapted to Finnish system. In England there are no SEN-teachers, SENCO is the corresponding person in English system. One determination of the work of SENCO is:

“The SEN Co-ordinator (SENCO), in collaboration with the headteacher and governing body plays a key role in determining the strategic development of the SEN policy and provision in the school in order to raise the achievement of children with SEN. The SENCO takes day-to-day responsibility for the provision made for individual children with SEN, working closely with staff, parents and carers, and other agencies. The SENCO also provides related professional guidance to colleagues with the aim of securing high quality teaching for children with SEN.

In mainstream schools the key responsibilities of the SENCO may include:

• Overseeing the day-to-day operation of the school’s SEN policy.
• Liaising with and advising fellow teachers.
• Managing the SEN team of teachers (if employed) and learning support assistants/teaching assistants.
• Co-ordinating provision for pupils with special educational needs.
• Overseeing the records on all pupils with special educational needs.
• Liaising with parents of pupils with special educational needs.
• Contributing to the in-service training of staff.
• Liaising with external agencies including the LEA’s support and educational psychology services, the Connexions PA (secondary schools), health and social services and voluntary bodies.

(http://www3.hants.gov.uk/childrens-services/specialneeds/sen-home/sen-concerns-contacts/sen-concerns-senco.htm).

In Finland SEN-teachers do not work as they used to do anymore – with one special group in the separate classroom – but rather as English SENCO. The SENCO-model is suitable also in Finnish-system, because SEN-teachers are nowadays not only teachers but also “consultants of SEN”.

AIMS OF THE COORDINATOR´S NETWORK

The aim of NC is to influence the development of SEN in Finland and offer mutual support for coordinators.  Vocational SEN-teachers have no legal position in Finland (e.g. in the structure of posts, salary-system etc.) and one task of NC is to raise the status of SEN-teachers.

Because there is no law or official rules which directs what an SEN-coordinator should do, the tasks and resources of the coordinators vary a lot and depend on how the executives have determined the duties of coordinators.

Most of coordinators are responsible for
- strategic management and development SEN to deliver good quality of education
- developing learning- and teaching systems in their organizations
- leadership of the staff (for example, organizing education for teachers, obtaining and conveying information about what is happening in the field of SEN etc.)
- resources.
This structure of the tasks is based on an English model SENCO (compare The SENCO handbook. A comprehensive guide to managing and developing special need provision in schools. Editor: Sue Soan. Optimus Publishing. London 2006).

One important part of NC´s work is to develop and share good models for the above mentioned sphere of responsibility and standardize the tasks of coordinators.

HOW DOES NC WORKS IN PRACTISE?

NC works in three ways. One way to work is Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro-system: coordinators meet in the Internet and discuss about some specific themes. The next meeting will be in May and the theme will be the acclimatization of general subjects (= mathematics, languages). Not all coordinators take part in every meeting, but they choose which one is interesting and important for them.

Once or twice in a year the coordinators meet face to face in work shops or seminars (mostly in Jyväskylä). There have been two seminars and in next autumn there shall be one more. In the first seminar or work shop the coordinators discussed challenges in their work, tasks of coordinators and wider co-operation. About 25 coordinators who are working in special and in general vocational colleges in different areas or field of education decided to join the Network in that seminar.

The ConnetPro-system was an impractical tool for the co-operation of 40 people and because it was impossible to meet face-to-face often, another solution had to be found. The solution was to organize the subgroups of NC which happened in the last seminar, 13.1.2010 .  The subgroups and their chairpersons are

1. Technology and Logistics Liisa Härmä ja Pekka Laakkonen
2. Hotel-, Restaurant and Catering Services and Tourism Activities Hilkka Seppänen ja Tapio Vähätalo
3. Adult Education Leena Selkivuori
4. Others Kaija Peuna and Pirjo Rahunen

The 3^rd procedure is writing. The coordinators will produce some publications. The publications will be about the coordination of SEN, co-operation with coordinator´s networks and regional challenges. The coordinators can also prepare some teaching material or handbooks for the teachers. One publication format is a net magazine (http://erityisopettaja.fi).

WHAT WILL THE SUBGROUP “OTHERS” DO?

The “Others” met in Jyväskylä in January and listed the most important matters. The members of that group are interested in the following:

How to organize the work?

• What are the tasks of an IEP-responsible author and SENCO?
• What is SEN in vocational subjects?
• How can we influence on the culture of school and change the environment (especially attitudes)?
• How do we defend the importance of the SEN-teachers work and argue the meaning of it?

Quality

• How do we develop the quality of SEN?
• What are the criterions of good work? How do we measure it? What are the indicators?

Best practises

• all kind of forms, written plans etc.
• resources, budget
• practises of on-the-job-learning
• general subjects and SEN

The group “Others” will meet again in May in the Internet and create the action plan for the next year. They will use NING-environment to share information and to discuss matters.

WHAT IS THE UTILITY OF THE CO-OPERATION?

The coordinators themselves commented the significance of co-operation:

“The coordinators have no legal status and that´s why it´s important to articulate together the significance of coordination to employers and trade union. No one can do this alone”

“It´s important to get new ideas for my work and from other coordinators I´ve got them. Thanks!”

“Someone in somewhere has solved the problems I´m thinking about. When we meet with the coordinators, I always get many solutions to bring away with me.”

“I have very challenge students. I feel me safe when I know that I can ask by e-mail what to do with them and some of the coordinators will answer.”

“Co-operation helps to keep me end up and see the difficult thinks more positively”.

Erkkaa englanniksi! Tässä sinun tilaisuutesi, kehitä englanninkielen taitojasi samalla, kun kehität osaamistasi erityisen tuen ja ohjauksen alueella. Koulutukseen osallistuminen ei edellytä sinulta vankkaa kielipohjaa!

TARGET GROUP

All teachers that require knowledge and understanding about learning difficulties in their work

KOHDERYHMÄ

Kaikki opettajat, jotka haluavat lisätä tietämystään erityisopetuksesta

AIMS

The main aim of this course is to direct your thoughts towards the pedagogy in special needs education and the practical methods involved. In this course you will consider learners with special needs from a vocational educational point of view. Furthermore, you will familiarize yourself with principles of special education and special pedagogy, different paradigmatic thinking and phases of life.

TAVOITTEET

Koulutuksen tavoitteena on tutustuttaa sinut erityispedagogiikan maailmaan ja siihen liittyviin käytännön menetelmiin. Koulutuksessa opit tarkastelemaan erityistukea tarvitsevia oppijoita ammatillisen erityisopetuksen näkökulmasta.  Tutustut myös erityisopetuksen perusteisiin, sekä erilaisiin ajattelumalleihin ja elämänvaiheisiin.

CONTENT

• Science of Special Needs Education
• Paradigmatic thinking on Special Needs Education
• Students with Learning Difficulties in Vocational Colleges

SISÄLTÖ

• Erityispedagogiikan tutkimus
• Paradigmaattinen ajattelu erityispedagogiikassa
• Oppilaan oppimisvaikeudet ammatillisessa koulutuksessa

IMPLEMENTATION

The studies will be delivered fully online utilising Optima and an asynchronous online working environment. A pre-course task will consist of formulating a Personal Learning Plan, where participants indicate their individual starting points in the topics included along with learning goals and targets.

Course can be partly accreditated to the teacher’s pedagogical studies at the Teacher Education College in Jyväskylä.

Study period: 19 October 2009- 31 January 2010. Register by 15 September 2009.

TOTEUTUS

Koulutus toteutetaan kokonaisuudessaan verkossa hyödyntäen Optimaa ja online työskentely-ympäristöä. Ennakkotehtävänä osallistujat laativat henkilökohtaisen oppimissuunnitelman, jossa he pohtivat yksilöllisiä lähtökohtiaan oppimistavoitteineen.

Koulutus voidaan hyväksilukea osaksi Jyväskylän ammatillisen opettajakorkeakoulun ammatillista erityisopettajakoulutusta.

Ajankohta: 19.10.2009–31.1.2010 Ilmoittautuminen 15.9.2009 mennessä.

EDUCATOR /KOULUTTAJA

Eila Burns, KM, opettajankouluttaja/ Teacher Educator, JAMK University of applied sciences, Teacher Education College

COST

The course is supported by the National Board of Education and therefore teaching is free of charge. Participation for personnel from universities and universities of applied sciences is chargeable.

HINTA

Koulutus on Opetushallituksen rahoittama ja opetuskustannuksiltaan osallistujille maksuton. Yliopistojen ja ammatikorkeakoulujen henkilöstö voi osallistua koulutukseen maksullisesti.

REGISTRATION

Please fill in the online registration form at www.jamk.fi/opelle by 15.9.2009. In order to begin the course 20 participants are required. A notification whether the course will take place or not will be sent about two weeks prior the course is due the begin. The registration is binding, any cancellations need to be made two weeks prior the course commences otherwise a cancellation fee of 150 € will be charged.

ILMOITTAUTUMINEN

Täytä ilmoittautumislomake 15.9.2009 mennessä osoitteessa www.jamk.fi/opelle. Koulutus toteutuu, jos osallistujia on 20 henkilöä. Koulutuksen toteuttamisesta ilmoitetaan noin kaksi viikkoa ennen sen alkua. Ilmoittautuminen on sitova. Perumis- ja keskeyttämismaksuna perimme 150 €, jos osallistumista ei ole peruttu kaksi viikkoa ennen koulutuksen alkua.

FURTHER INFORMATION / LISÄTIETOJA

Lea Vilmi, Education Planner/Koulutussuunnittelija +358 40 537 6888, lea.vilmi@jamk.fi

This article is based upon a study that the author undertook while studying at the University of Birmingham. It describes the effectiveness of peer tutoring and the advantages of the structured ‘pause, prompt and praise’ reading method in improving reading skill among pupils studying in Key Stage 4 at a school for pupils with moderate learning difficulties.

Kaikkonen, Leena (toim.)

Tässä julkaisussa Jyväskylän ammattikorkeakoulun ammatillisen opettaja-korkeakoulun kouluttajat ja kansainväliset yhteistyökumppanit tarkastelevat opettajan työn peruskysymyksiä. Opettajalta edellytetään vahvaa ammattitaitoa jäsentää muuttuvaa maailmaa ja työelämän vaatimuksia oppimisen lähtökohdaksi. Toisaalta opettajan täytyy pystyä hahmottamaan oppijoiden yksilöllisistä tarpeista ja elämänkokemuksista nousevia päämääriä.

Julkaisussa erityisen mielenkiinnon kohteina ovatkin oppijoiden erilaisuus ja yksilöllisten polkujen rakentaminen ammatti- ja työtoiminnan oppimiseen sekä opettajien osaamisen kehittäminen näissä kysymyksissä. Julkaisu valottaa myös sitä kansallista ja kansainvälistä hanke- ja tutkimusyhteistyötä, jota olemme tehneet näiden kysymysten äärellä.

Toivomme, että nämä arjen työn ja osaamisen kehittämisestä voimansa saaneet kokemuksemme auttavat lukijoita löytämään itsensä näköisiä reittejä kuulemaan oppijoitaan ja näkemään jotain erityistä heissä jokaisessa.

Sarja: Jyväskylän ammattikorkeakoulun julkaisuja 53
Koulutusyksikkö: Ammatillinen opettajakorkeakoulu
ISSN: 1456-2332
ISBN: 951-830-072-0
Julkaisuvuosi: 2005

Julkaisun hankinta: http://www.tahtijulkaisut.net/kauppa/product_details.php?p=22

The report describes and assessess a Socrates Comenius 3.1. project to develop a European in-service module for educational staff in special education (SEN).  It includes insights of the whole project and its basic backgrounds of inclusive education. Most emphasis is given however, on respecting the experiences of the teachers participating in the module by bringing forth their voices and thoughts on educating everyone together in Europe.