Hyppää pääsisaltöön
Various Variables

Metropolian blogit nostavat keskusteluun aiheita ammattikorkeakoulumme ja kumppaneidemme maailmasta: oppimisesta, työelämästä, yhteistyöstä, osaamisesta, uudistumisesta ja erilaisista kohtaamisista. Sisällöt edustavat kunkin kirjoittajan henkilökohtaisia näkemyksiä, Metropolian johtoryhmän Pelinavaajat-blogi ilmaisee Metropolian virallista kantaa. Tervetuloa vuoropuheluun kanssamme!

  • Uusimmat postaukset
  • Blogit
  • Metropolian bloggaajat
Various Variables
Aiming at recognising competences and guiding educated immigrants
2

Mathematics and various variables

Ari Koistinen · 19.2.2017

Supporting Immigrants in Higher Education in Finland (SIMHE) assists higher educated people with immigrant background in finding suitable education and career paths through guidance and by recognizing their competences.

The main title for the blog, Various Variables, describes the diversity and complexity of the phenomenon at hand well. The etymological background for the words various and variables can be traced back to mathematics, where functions of various variables are often discussed. Currently, many functions are being made to handle these various variables we have faced through immigration and getting accustomed to the changed circumstances. This blog has not yet equated mathematics into its topics, so now it’s time to make a change!

Mathematics is a universal language

One part of the SIMHE services is recognizing competences that has been acquired through prior studies and work experience. This helps the customer in finding suitable supplementary education. People from different countries have different kinds of education and career backgrounds, which contributes to several challenges in recognizing their competences.  Language barriers and cultural differences also play their part in these challenges. In the beginning of recognizing competences, it is the easiest to focus on areas that are shared globally and needed in several educational fields.

A prime example of these universal fields is mathematics, which is a central part in the field of technology all over the world. The language of symbols in mathematics remains mainly the same compared to the spoken language that tends to change when moving to a different country or region. It was decided that mathematics would be a part of the first pilot project of recognition of competences within the SIMHE project.

Tasks that demand complex verbal descriptions were left out at this stage to avoid language barriers and a burdensome translation process. Instead, this test included tasks in which the language of symbols in mathematics is enough to understand the tasks as well as short expressions such as “simplify the expression” or “solve the equation”. Unfortunately, this approach does not measure the most essential competences needed for working as an engineer. These competences were measured in other parts of the test.

Preparatory education for immigrants

Preparatory education for people with immigrant backgrounds has been organized at Metropolia already years before SIMHE was founded. This education helps students develop for example their linguistic and mathematic knowledge as well as digital know-how to meet the requirements for higher education. The aim of the education in mathematical subjects is to prepare for the entrance examination in the field of technology and transportation at universities of applied sciences.

The task series used within the SIMHE project were also applied in the preparatory education for immigrants in autumn 2016. However, the topics were broadened to also include applied functions, and the tasks were completed on a digital learning platform. The first test run by SIMHE was organised using only pen and paper to avoid technical issues.

A view of the learning platform. The automatically graded task is made using the STACK plug-in in Moodle.

20 students who participated in the preparatory education for immigrants this year, had a relatively homogenous educational background. Only a few of them have a higher education degree, whereas most have completed their studies in the secondary level. The age in the group ranged from around 20 to almost 40 years of age, while the average age was around 30.

Revision is needed sometimes

Despite knowing mathematics before, it can be difficult to solve a more complex task after a long break without solving basic arithmetic calculations. This has also been proven to be true both when recognising competences as well as in preparatory education for immigrants. The results in mathematics in the first test of recognising competences were not on the strong side. However, when collecting feedback from the test, many of the participants suggested they would have done better in the test after a short revision. They have mastered mathematics before, but have forgotten the details for now. Some participants aired the same thought during the test.

In this situation it is comforting that a very short revision and refreshing of the memory is sufficient in recalling earlier competences. This probably does not only apply to mathematics but also to other fields, which is good to keep in mind when planning how to recognise such competences in the future.

This blog post was additionally composed by Ellen Avellan, Marianne Autero and Birgitta Nenonen-Andersson.

 

learning platformmathematicsMoodleonline learning

2 Comments

  • Masih says: 20.2.2017 at 15:02

    Hello!

    I have studied Maths and Physics in my home country 15 years ago. I’m preparing for the entrance exam held in April 2017 for Information Technology. Could you recommend any books that could help me regain demanded knowledge in Maths and Physics for this entrance exam? I have started reviewing equivalent books tough in Lukio but the process is extremely slow. Does Metropolia have a list of topics in those fields which the entrance exams are based upon? I’m looking forward to your response.

    Reply
  • Ari Koistinen says: 21.2.2017 at 12:21

    Thank you for the comment.
    For Finnish-speaking candidates (to degree programs for bachelor degree) the best source to get information about requirements of the entrance exam is probably the website with problems of past entrance exams (including the correct answers):

    http://www.metropolia.fi/haku/nain-haet/tekniikan-vanhoja-valintakoetehtavia/

    Unfortunately I don’t know if similar is available in English. I’ll try to find out.

    Reply

Leave a reply Cancel reply

You might also be interested

  • Networking - key to employment
    Networking - key to employment
    8.4.2020
  • Entering the labor market in Finland as immigrant - a story of Sufi
    Entering the labor market in Finland as immigrant - a story…
    7.3.2023
  • Playing hide and seek with hidden job markets
    Playing hide and seek with hidden job markets
    25.1.2023

Various Variables blog is part of Talent Boost project

Blog introduces information, tips and insights that help international talents with a higher education background to integrate and find their study and career paths in Finland. The blog is part of Metropolia’s #talentboost actions.

Various Variables blog´s Editorial Board

  • Outi Lemettinen (head editor)
  • Riikka Wallin
  • Anu Luoma

Email addresses:

Editorial Board handles all the publications of Various Variables blog before publishing.

Latest Posts

  • Entering the labor market in Finland as immigrant – a story of Sufi

    7.3.2023
  • Playing hide and seek with hidden job markets

    25.1.2023
  • Make sure that your CV is as professional as you are

    17.10.2022
  • The Art of Networking – where to start if you don´t know anyone in Finland?

    25.8.2022
  • Dip your toes or just dive right in: the Helsinki region invites you to explore entrepreneurship

    26.1.2022

Archive

  • ▼ 2023 (2)
    • ▼ March (1)
      • Entering the labor market in Finland as immigrant - a story of Sufi
    • ▼ January (1)
      • Playing hide and seek with hidden job markets
  • ► 2022 (3)
    • ► October (1)
      • Make sure that your CV is as professional as you are
    • ► August (1)
      • The Art of Networking - where to start if you don´t know anyone in Finland?
    • ► January (1)
      • Dip your toes or just dive right in: the Helsinki region invites you to explore entrepreneurship
  • ► 2021 (4)
    • ► November (1)
      • Knowing your skills is crucial for your career ‒ how to get started?
    • ► October (1)
      • Sustainability: the winning strategy for you, your organisation and all of us
    • ► June (2)
      • Talent hubs in the making: collaborating for a Future Finland
      • Find your way to become a Finnish speaker
  • ► 2020 (5)
    • ► December (1)
      • Courage to Use Finnish - Growing into a Professional
    • ► June (1)
      • Mentoring in the time of corona: networks, insights and improved employability for international talents
    • ► April (2)
      • Now everybody’s viral – how we made it to the new decade of online education and work 
      • Networking - key to employment
    • ► February (1)
      • SIMHE path ─ connecting Finnish employers and international talents 
  • ► 2019 (4)
    • ► December (1)
      • Boost your Talent with Finland - Towards a Career Path for International Degree Students
    • ► June (1)
      • My Journey in Supporting Immigrant Women in Higher Education
    • ► May (1)
      • Finding suitable career paths for the highly educated immigrants
    • ► March (1)
      • Do you need supplementary education?
  • ► 2018 (2)
    • ► May (1)
      • How to succeed in higher education in Finland?
    • ► February (1)
      • Supporting Highly Educated Immigrants' Career Paths in Finland
  • ▼ 2017 (5)
    • ▼ December (1)
      • Highly skilled immigrants aboard to build Finland
    • ▼ November (1)
      • Healthy Mind, Healthy Life - How to improve the sense of belongingness among highly educated immigrants in Finland?
    • ▼ September (1)
      • Is it all about happiness?
    • ▼ March (1)
      • 365 steps later
    • ▼ February (1)
      • Mathematics and various variables
  • ► 2016 (3)
    • ► September (1)
      • Can you see it more clearly now?
    • ► June (1)
      • To have someone who listens to me...
    • ► May (1)
      • Recognising competencies of educated immigrants

Keywords

Belongingness branding Career careercoaching community direct contact employability employment entrepreneur finlandworks Finnish working life future jobs Guidance higher education higher education institutions highly educated immigrants Immigrants Inclusion Integration international student international talent job search job searching skills job-specific skills lifelong learning mapping of competences mentoring Networking networks online learning recognising skills recognition of competences recruitment services SIMHE SIMHE-Metropolia Skills startup strengths Study skills Studying in Finland supplementary studies sustainability talent boost workplace

SIMHE on Metropolia.fi pages

Metropolia University of Applied Sciences started developing Supporting Immigrants in Higher Education (SIMHE) services in 2016. The services are targeted to immigrants and asylum seekers with a higher education background. The goal is to recognise their competence and to guide them for suitable study and career paths in Finland.

SIMHE Metropolia

Services for Immigrants

© 2015 Metropolia Ammattikorkeakoulu


Sisällöt edustavat kunkin kirjoittajan henkilökohtaisia näkemyksiä, Metropolian johtoryhmän Pelinavaajat-blogi ilmaisee Metropolian virallista kantaa.

Saavutettavuusseloste Tietosuojaseloste