When all is said and done - grading

This just in: the teaching team has gone through all the portfolios and has graded them. Here is the feedback they gave me. 😊 

Hi Heli,

Since you wrote your portfolio in English, we are going to give the feedback in English as well. It’s interesting to see the wide variety of portfolio styles, yours is the first done as blog, and first one in English. We remember that you mentioned your passion for English language already in class so happy to see you were able to bring the passion to this portfolio as well.

There are plenty of things that we would like to cover in our feedback but we can’t do them all so instead we will have random thoughts below after reading each blog post. First, we like your sentence: “lack of willpower once you realize that the prize is not "just around the corner"” – indeed, while there are some quick wins, reaching sustainability it’s a long-term process and brings to mind Helsinki Bus Station theory (you can read about it here: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/feb/23/change-life-helsinki-bus-station-theory) – it’s not around the corner but requires both work and commitment.

Also, it is important to point out that you came to this class to learn and it would be hard to find people who would have all the knowledge about sustainability, responsibility and even more so about transformative learning – all topics are so wide and deep that one could dedicate their life to studying these topics. We were hoping to plant a seed and let you start your journey, as you put it, down the rabbit hole.

Cost of being carbon neutral – yes, it is not going to be free to make the change but at the same time, we also have to take environmental costs into an account. It is hard to make any predictions about the war in Ukraine at the moment but some climate experts have suggested that it could fast-track us to more carbon neutral societies. It remains to be seen, and of course, the price is extremely high in lost human lifes and other devastation.

Good discussion about Tarja Ketola’s book (which in terms of sustainability is already quite dated but it covers the most important aspects). Environmental aspect of sustainability is quite clear, at least the basic aspects are, but social can be harder to grasp. We have it good in Finland, but if we go a bit beyond what we see – those clothes that we buy come from factories that are likely quite far from being ethical, some of the food items we eat (bananas, tomatoes etc.) have a long history of abuse etc. We need to look the big picture.

Quite impressive how your updated mind map is already looking much more complete than the one in the beginning – indeed, trust the process as you mentioned in the beginning! All in all, we definitely enjoyed your reflective portfolio a lot. This was exactly what we were hoping for – not some polished Word document where everything appeared perfect but description of your path with positive and negative experiences. Well done, Heli! We gave you grade 5.

All the best for your studies!

Teaching team

Closure and aftermath

Kuva Pexels Magda Ehlers 17.02.2022

Somehow I feel like this head scratching monkey in the picture: I'm thinking what just hit me! It feels like this course had so many new things that it was almost too much. But still, here I am: on the other side at a point where I am supposed to reflect on what I have learned during this process. 

As a closure I can say that even though the course schedule was tight, this method of studying seems to work for me. I could see myself working on a portfolio in the context of another course as well. I would probably want to try a different kind of portfolio next time, just to learn something new again. Now that this was my first time using a portfolio as a tool of learning, it was only natural to choose a way I was familiar with.

The course went really fast. It feels like I was just getting started and yesterday I realized that we will have the last classes tomorrow. Despite the fast schedule, I learned so much during the course: I tore myself out of my own formulas, challenged my own ability to learn and study independently, and learned a lot about the importance and challenges of self-direction. I now realize that self-direction is, if not vital, very important in the hectic way of life today. In our small peer group, I learned important active listening. During group work, I learned a lot from others and myself, and it was enlightening to see how different perspectives we have on things.

I also learned, during the course, that learning is not about the beginning and the end but about the process. And what matters is not that you hang on to your initial assumptions with all your force, but that you are openly curious about things and able to change your thinking while learning. The evolution of thought is thus the greatest gift that the learning process can give. Whether evolution occurs through the action of a group or oneself is also a side issue. I also learned that the process can’t be right or wrong, it just is. This thinking process was concretely approached through group work, when the group worked according to the given instructions. I thought I was lucky to get into a group that had a good spirit and a safe atmosphere from the first encounter, but hearing the stories from the other groups revealed that the good spirit covered the entire course.

So what's left of this? Self-direction, the ever changing flow of learning and active attention. I believe that these skills will also be useful in future studies.

Kuva Pexels Ketut Sybiyanto 17.02.2022

Inhale 3 and updated mind map

Transformative learning has been playing a big role behind the scenes and the high light, on my part, was Inhale 3; the small group meeting on one Thursday afternoon. In brief, Inhale 3 was going to guide the group to a process where everyone has the opportunity to present to others the idea and challenges of their portfolio and to get sparring on it. For me, it was difficult to see the point to this kind of working in before hand but at the end of our 2 hours Inhale, I had a totally different opinion.

In short, the process of Inhale 3 went like this and was repeated as many times as there were participants in the group:

1. 10 min: A explains the idea of ​​the portfolio and talks about the work and possible challenges. Others (B) focus on listening in depth but may ask clarifying questions. Don't give advice!

2. 3 mins: listening in silence. Listen to your heart and body. Listen to what resonates: What images, metaphors, emotions and gestures rises.

3. 10 min: mirroring. Each listener takes turns sharing, while A is listening in silence, born images / metaphors, emotions or gestures. After that, A reflects back on what he/she had heard and what thoughts or feelings it had aroused.

4. 10 min: generative (~ creative) dialogue. Reflect on A's remarks together and move on to discuss how these observations could provide new perspectives. Have conversation: listen carefully and try to understand each person’s words and relate to the ideas presented by others. Strive to serve the A's case without giving advice or providing solutions.

After these rounds everyone in turn tells how they are feeling about their cases now and what new thoughts rose about taking the process further. Finally, everyone gives thanks to others for sparring in their own words.

Kuva Pexels, fauxels 15.02.2022

We had four people in our group and each of us were in a bit different phases of the process. We followed the program by going through all the rounds as instructed. It was really interesting to learn how others had decided to build their portfolios and also to hear how they perceived the things I told them about my process. Reflecting one another was rewarding and time flew by really fast. Peer support was important and helped me to really find my way with my portfolio. I also understood that I do have the tendency to make things more complicated than what they really are and I sometimes take things, and myself, too seriously.

So even though I enjoy working alone, I'm still glad this course wasn't just my solo act but we had this small group that acted as a peer support. I will not be going in deeper detail about transformative learning but you will find sources, where you can investigate it further, at the bottom of this post.

As you may or may not remember, my mind map from the beginning of this portfolio, was hardly a map at all because I simply didn't know much about the subject in before hand. Obviously I still don't know everything but I do think I could strike a plausible conversation with someone about it. Here is my updated mind map. If I have used a new source, that I haven't already mentioned, it will be mentioned at the bottom of this post.

https://www.kuluttajaliitto.fi/materiaalit/yhteiskuntavastuu/

https://www.businesscredit.fi/blog/vastuullisuus-liiketoiminnassa

https://planergy.com/blog/corporate-social-responsibility-challenges/

https://www.ecolas.eu/eng/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Mezirow-Transformative-Learning.pdf

https://www.wgu.edu/blog/what-transformative-learning-theory2007.html

About the portfolio

For me, a portfolio as a learning tool is something completely new. I searched 'portfolio' on line and found a page that explains about tools and methods for learning and self evaluating. Here is the address:  

http://www02.oph.fi/asiakkaat/itsearviointi/suomi/opetus/portfol.html#port 

It's still not very clear to me but it says on the page that a portfolio can for example be an expression of different processes and methods, and that it can appear in many forms. I'm guessing there may be as many layouts as there are people making portfolios. Huh, that's a relief. I chose this way, a blog, because I've written a blog before and I'm somewhat comfortable with it. Oh yeah, and it's in English simply because I love the language. 

The function of this portfolio is to follow my path in self development and learning on the subject of responsible sustainability, mainly corporate responsibility and resource-wiseness. It is born as a product for a course (Corporate responsibility and resource-wiseness) I'm currently attending at Lapland University of Applied Sciences but will probably live on even after the course. This is a place for me to contemplate my learning process.

The objective of the course on an individual level is that afterwards: 'the student is familiar with the principles of the green economy and the ways of operating responsibly and resource-wisely. Student is able to tell about different ways to promote climate neutrality in business, and knows how to apply responsible and resource-wise business development methods in business.'

In addition to this, the course intends to introduce the method of transformative learning. To this end, we are divided into small groups and the course is implemented in four sections called 'inhale'. Transformative learning is also new to me so this should be interesting.

The key word here is process. It is not about the beginning or the end, only the journey matters here. 'Trust the process.'

Kuva Pexels Andrea Piacquadio 17.02.2022