 |
| Professor Jarkko is giving a lecture on concept mapping |
I left Tuesday morning trying to catch a tram 10 minutes earlier than last Friday. I left 9.15 hoping to catch the 9.21 tram. I run and missed it by 100 meters. Well, it was a cold morning -7 degrees C (14 °F) but felt like -13 °C (8.6 °F) because of the wind was blowing hard. I decided to have my morning walk and walked to Clarion Hotel, 500 miters away. There, I waited for the second tram. Apparently, my lungs did not like the cold weather or the running because I coughed all the way to the University. The public transportation is awesome. Trams run every 5-10 minutes. I bought the monthly pass, so I can hop on a train or a bus anytime. The only problem with this kind of pass is that people seem to use it even for very short distances. So much for exercise!
I still had 10 minutes to spare, and I reached the classroom where I was supposed to meet biology students and the professor. I guess misunderstood Jarkko’s information on Friday about the biology lecture in the morning, but the classroom was dark. There was a student from Friday’s class and he checked with a computer that there was no biology lecture on that day. He also informed me that these lectures are downstairs on the second floor. I walked downstairs and studied the schedule on the wall next to the door. The next lecture was scheduled for Friday. Have I forgotten my Finnish?
I headed to cafeteria because Jarkko’s lecture did not start until 12.15pm. I got a cup of coffee and started emailing to other professors who had responded to Kalle's email. Professor Markku Hannula had seminars on Monday afternoons. I emailed to him.
I emailed to Hannele Cantell, a biology professor. I assumed that she had biology lectures but apparently, she teaches geography. Biology is taught someone named Sara who is a substitute to the usual professor. Confusing. Biology and Geography go hand in hand her. If you want to become a biology teacher, you must also study geography and become certified to teach it.
Lecture started at 12.15.
Notes from the class
Many students were absent.
This was a new class of pre-service students I did not meet on Friday. The groups gave presentations on their last week's assignments. They apparently had run out of time on Friday.
Professor gave feedback in detail, informing what’s good and how the lessons could be improved.
Second group gave a presentation on how to measure temperature of two chemical reactions
After the presentations the professor gave the next task.
NEXT TASK: Create a Concept Map or Mind map, followed by a jig-saw exercise on student assessment.
Students worked alone for 10 minutes creating a concept map on student assessment.
I sat with a student who was working alone. After the time was up, the students formed small groups and discussed the topic and further developed a better concept map. Students gave presentations on their final products.
 |
| Individual work. Students created their own concept maps. |
 |
| Concept map. Individual work |
The afternoon class came in. The same task. First 10 minutes individual work. Then jig-saw and group presentations.
 |
| Students shared their concept maps and created the final map that was agreeable to everyone. |
I received information on the professor who runs the lectures for biological studies. Arja Kaasinen teaches Biological foundations course. It starts on Friday, but apparently, she is abroad right now. I have to write to her and ask if I can attend her lectures even whoever is teaching it.
