I applied for, and received a
Fulbright award to go to Finland to learn how their remarkable educational
system has attained gender equity. A key factor in their success seems to be the partnership between high schools and universities. With what I will learn by studying their methods, I seek to raise awareness and interest in pursuing engineering studies among the young women at my school, and, through conference presentations and workshops, papers in education journals, and on-line educational programs for teachers, to help teachers at schools around the nation in their efforts to reveal the art of engineering design and analysis to their students.
To accomplish this goal, I will spend six months in Finland, beginning in the Finnish winter (which I must admit that I experienced in my youth, but I have spent most of my life in sunny Southern California). My base in Finland will be the Centre for Teacher Education at the University of Helsinki where I will observe the Finnish innovative practices the disciplines I teach, science, engineering and technology. I will also explore the University teacher training schools and professional development opportunities. I will have the opportunity to talk to teacher trainers and get first-hand information about theories and methods used in teacher education, and to visit high schools to see the educational methods in practice. I look forward to applying what I learn to my teaching at Ramona, and to sharing it with teachers around the state and the nation.
Fulbright Awards are known and recognized throughout the world. Here are the remarks from the United States to President Niinistö of Finland in Press Conference on August 28, 2017:
