Guidance and counselling 23.04-30.04.14

Study guidance and counselling by Päivi Pukkila, M.Ed., Senior Lecturer & Taina Poutanen, Senior Lecturer.

We had a productive week with Paivi and Taina. They are experts of the field. Fisrt of all I want to focus on What role does play councellor? As said Paivi on the lesson The main roles which plays counsellor are 
•Empathic and understanding•Respectful and caring •Concrete and being spesific •Genuine and being real •Immediacy – what’s happening now?•Confrontation – tell it how it is•Self-disclosure – personal information    (Carkhuff: Art of helping)
          In the Basic education study counsellors start their work with 7-9 grade students. The objectives and content of the study counselling is determined in The National core curriculum. The class based lessons consists 76 hours and considers next themes: 
–7.th grade: self-knowledge, learning skills
–8.th grade: professions, occupations
–9. th grade: upper secondary schools.
 Study councellors responsible for personal counselling, study visits, work experience periods, co-operation with parents, student welfare team etc., National joint application system (grade 9), transfer to the next school level.
       In the general upper secondary schools study counsellors have one compulsory course in counselling which is defined by a National core curriculum. Study counsellors are in charge of the personal counselling, planning the studies and courses, Matriculation examination, career counselling, tutoring students training, students welfare team, marketing.
      Taina gave us such as very useful presentation about the Career counselling. We did some activities with Taina abot Self-knowledge. 
  1st task. We worked  in a group of 5. Fisrtly we wrote on the paper our successful event in our career. Then we shared our thoughts. After that we draw up a picture of our competences and skills.
  2nd task. Hand-Inventory of competencies. Where she draw a hand, then in every finger she wrote competencies which she has. It is like what kind of competencies do you have and which one do you need to develop. It will help to find out strengths and weaknesses. 
  On the reflection day we had a lesson with both of lecturers. We did a lot of work.
    The first activity was 'Remembering the future' where we should think about us after 5 years, our goals, dreams, what we achieved. Then we imagined that we met after these 5 years and talked about our achievements, job etc. Then we just expressed our thoughts. 
    The second activity was 'Thinking hats'. Red hat - feelings, emotions; Black hat- ctiticism, bad sides, risks, mistakes; White hat - facts, knowledge; Green hat - creative thinking, ideas.
In the groups we discussed about this week from these points of view and wrote our statements. 
  Thanks a lot for our lecturers, they did big work with us.