Increasing the joy of learning in the International School of Vantaa

Providing students the joy of learning is a matter of honor in the International School of Vantaa. The comprehensive school wants to offer its students excellent learning environments and tools for the future by supporting the matters that make learning fun and rewarding.

In the spring of 2019 the International School of Vantaa invited teachers, students and their guardians to an online dialogue to idealize the factors which positively influence the joy of learning. The ideas collected help in shaping the upcoming fall semester.

“We wanted to find out what kind of ideas our teachers, students and their guardians have on the matter”, says Heikki Hirvonen, the principal of the international school.

Doing things together matters the most

All the participants agreed that the joy of learning can be increased by learning together in groups, using versatile technologies and investing in learning methods.

“It was essential to form an order of importance for our various themes. It helped us evaluate the most important topics we want to focus on in the future. The most important theme recognized was doing things together. This realization sharpened my own understanding that this is a theme we indeed will invest in”, Hirvonen tells.

What does learning together concretely mean for the International School of Vantaa? It is all about teamwork, open communication between students and teachers and helping others. When visualizing the school’s future, having friends and fun together in a relaxed environment were considered essential.

To support the joy of learning, the school’s personnel participated in a work community mirror to discuss and develop the functionality of the community.

When a Fountain Park specialist helped analyze and report the results of the dialogue, was the principal able focus on his core tasks before the summer holidays. The results were discussed in the school’s parents’ evening and among the teachers.

“I was particularly satisfied with the parents’ evening. There we discussed the results and created a deeper understanding of the topics that we will keep processing further”, Hirvonen concludes.

For more information: Petri Nuppunen & Tuomo Lähdeniemi