The document discusses using forests as a novel learning environment for teacher education programs in Finland. It notes that forests are economically, socially, and ecologically important in Finland. However, the current school system does not provide meaningful learning experiences. The OpenForest portal aims to address this by using forests as a situated context for participatory, self-directed, and community-based learning. It emphasizes 21st century skills and challenges students to think about the changing role of forests and new skills needed in the forestry industry.

1. Forests in Teacher education:
The OpenForest portal as
a novel resource for learning
Petteri Vanninen, Sinikka Pöllänen, Anu Liljeström, Henriikka Vartiainen, Jorma Enkenberg,
Ismo Pellikka, University of Eastern Finland, Savonlinna Campus, @uef.fi

2. Forests in Teacher education:
The OpenForest portal as a
novel resource for learning
Petteri Vanninen, Sinikka Pöllänen, Anu Liljeström, Henriikka
Vartiainen, Jorma Enkenberg, Ismo Pellikka
University of Eastern Finland, Savonlinna Campus
@uef.fi

3. Why Forests in our teacher
education?
• As a new kind of learning environment for 21:st century skills
• Forests are very important in Finland
– Economical meaning
– Social meaning
– Ecological meaning

4. • changes increase, world is more interconnected and complex
• work at school is divided to unnatural parts (Perkins 2008)
• school system has not been significant learning environment
and learning experiences have not been meaningful (Sunnari
1999)
• problems in schooling and learning and violence-related
problems are increasing (Kämppi et al 2008)
http://foris.fao.org/static/data/fra2010/

5. • Forests mirror the development of society
– Forest industry is in change
• raw material=> products=> services
• Carbon binding, biodiversity, tourism
• New kind of skills and thinking are needed in our forestry
• How to teach them?
• Challenging the pupils and students for this

6. Selflearning
Participation in
communities
Participatory
learning
LEARNING
THEORETICAL
FRAMEWORK
Social
media
Situated context
for learning
Technology
Personal learning
environment
Students as
architects
Codevelopment
Students as
co-researchers

7. OpenForest www.openmetsa.fi