Karli Eller's PortfolioMy name is Karli Eller and I am in my tenth year teaching 3rd grade. I am currently in my third year teaching at Leesville Road Elementary School in Wake County. Prior to working at Leesville I taught third grade for seven years at an elementary school in Durham. I am currently getting my Master's Degree in New Literacies and Global Learning at N.C. State University. I love to travel and have been to all 50 states in the U.S. as well as to Canada, Mexico, England, Wales, Germany and Italy. I am looking forward to learning about Finland's educational system as well as learning about Finnish culture. In my free time I enjoy running, reading and sewing.
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Cultural Connections Project 1: Global Collaborative Project (Video Synopsis)
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Cultural Connections Project 2: Scripted Duologue (GoAnimate)
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Cultural Collections Project 1: Finnish Themes (Google Maps)
- NCSU Map 1, Wolves
- NCSU Map 2, Summer on Campus
- Helsinki Map 1, Design Economy
- Helsinki Map 2, Arts
- Helsinki Map 3, Public Markets and Market Halls
- Helsinki Map 4, Food and Drink
- Helsinki Map 5, Helsinki at Play
- Helsinki Map 6, Helsinki in Motion
Cultural Collections Project 2: Tour Guide (History Pin)
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Cultural Collections Project 3: Finnish History (MyHistro)
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Cultural Collections Project 4: Curated Collection of Objects (Voicethread)
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Cultural Reflections Project 1: Where I'm From Poem (Prezi)
Cultural Reflections Project 2: The Last Word on Finnish Lessons 2.0
I found this book to be very interesting and informative concerning the Finnish educational system. As I read this book I was constantly comparing their educational system to the one we have in the United States. I wanted to try and understand "why" their system is so much more effective than ours at present. The following are 5 of the most interesting excerpts I came across as I read this book and I chose them because I feel like these 5 excerpts help explain, at least somewhat, some of the reasons why the Finnish system is different than the American one:
pg. 68 "Child poverty is at a very low-level-about 5% of the child population, compared with over 23% in the United States and 13% in Canada."
pg. 84 "Students in upper-secondary school is therefore flexible, and selected courses can be completed at a different pace depending on students' abilities and life situations. Rather than repeating an entire grade, a student only repeats those courses that were not passed satisfactorily. This structure that is not tied to yearly classes has also abolished cohorts in which the same group of students moves from one lesson to another and from one grade to the next."
pg. 96 "In 2013, approximately 5.2% of inhabitants of Finland were foreign-born citizens and thus non-native speakers. The low number of citizenships issued in Finland is mostly due to the requirement that all citizens must be proficient in one of the three domestic languages. All of these-Finnish, Swedish, and Sami-are not spoken anywhere outside of Scandinavia and therefore are rarely spoken by those immigrating to Finland from other places."
pg. 99 "Finns continue to regard teaching as a noble, prestigious profession-akin to medicine, law, or economics-driven mainly by moral purpose, rather than by material interest, careers or rewards...Finland publicly recognizes the value of its teachers and implicitly trusts their professional insights and judgments regarding schooling."
pg. 125-126 "As described earlier, teachers have time to work together during the school day and to understand how their colleagues teach. This is an important condition for reflecting on teachers' own teaching and also for building a sense of professional leadership and shared accountability between teachers...In real professional learning communities, teachers trust one another, communicate frequently about teaching and learning, and rely on their principals' guidance and leadership."
I found this book to be very interesting and informative concerning the Finnish educational system. As I read this book I was constantly comparing their educational system to the one we have in the United States. I wanted to try and understand "why" their system is so much more effective than ours at present. The following are 5 of the most interesting excerpts I came across as I read this book and I chose them because I feel like these 5 excerpts help explain, at least somewhat, some of the reasons why the Finnish system is different than the American one:
pg. 68 "Child poverty is at a very low-level-about 5% of the child population, compared with over 23% in the United States and 13% in Canada."
pg. 84 "Students in upper-secondary school is therefore flexible, and selected courses can be completed at a different pace depending on students' abilities and life situations. Rather than repeating an entire grade, a student only repeats those courses that were not passed satisfactorily. This structure that is not tied to yearly classes has also abolished cohorts in which the same group of students moves from one lesson to another and from one grade to the next."
pg. 96 "In 2013, approximately 5.2% of inhabitants of Finland were foreign-born citizens and thus non-native speakers. The low number of citizenships issued in Finland is mostly due to the requirement that all citizens must be proficient in one of the three domestic languages. All of these-Finnish, Swedish, and Sami-are not spoken anywhere outside of Scandinavia and therefore are rarely spoken by those immigrating to Finland from other places."
pg. 99 "Finns continue to regard teaching as a noble, prestigious profession-akin to medicine, law, or economics-driven mainly by moral purpose, rather than by material interest, careers or rewards...Finland publicly recognizes the value of its teachers and implicitly trusts their professional insights and judgments regarding schooling."
pg. 125-126 "As described earlier, teachers have time to work together during the school day and to understand how their colleagues teach. This is an important condition for reflecting on teachers' own teaching and also for building a sense of professional leadership and shared accountability between teachers...In real professional learning communities, teachers trust one another, communicate frequently about teaching and learning, and rely on their principals' guidance and leadership."
Cultural Reflections Project 3: Travel Writing (Blog)
Ekenäs
By: Karli EllerI step off the bus and make my first left and am met with racks and racks of clothes. As I walk along the shopping street, lined with red and white street pavers, I notice the crowds of people perusing blouses, scarves and dresses. I glance back and forth as I walk down the middle of the road, trying to see if anything catches my fancy.
Just past the shopping street I come upon the Ekenäs Church, the only one of its kind in Finland, constructed out of greystone. Outside the front entrance bikes are strewn in a haphazard manner as three young boys stare at their phones, waiting to see which Pokémon character they will try and catch next.
My stomach begins to rumble so I continue on towards a little café right near the water. Café Gamla Stan is its name. Different varieties of quiche and cake are on display behind a glass window. Possessing a limited menu makes it very easy to order. I order a slice of shrimp quiche and a piece of chocolate cake and then wait. And wait some more. It is unclear what is to be done next. Customers are randomly selected to pay, with no obvious order to the process. Finally, I pay and then head outside to join my group of friends. My food arrives shortly and I dig in to the quiche. Ehh, it’s alright. Not great, but not terrible. I have higher hopes for the cake, but am disappointed when it closely resembles the consistency and taste of a brownie. As I finish up my meal I am struck by the sight of the apple orchard blooming with green apples overhead. The food might have been mediocre, but the setting is perfect.
Belly full, I resume my tour of Ekenäs. Two blocks beyond the café sits the Baltic Sea. A sidewalk runs along the coast presenting multiple picture opportunities. We pass a small public beach, an ice cream stand, the Ekenäs Nature Center, a restaurant built on poles in the sea and finally a dock half occupied with sailboats.
On the walk back I come upon a store selling local crafts. I find three, whimsical postcards printed by an artist down the street, perfect to send my family members back home. It is time to leave and as I board the bus I think that two hours was the perfect amount of time for this quaint, coastal town. For an avid shopper, more time might be necessary, but for myself it was just enough. Smaller and less impressive than the seaside towns of Hanko and Naantali, Ekenäs was still worth the visit, if for no other reason than the lovely walk along the Baltic.
Ekenäs
By: Karli EllerI step off the bus and make my first left and am met with racks and racks of clothes. As I walk along the shopping street, lined with red and white street pavers, I notice the crowds of people perusing blouses, scarves and dresses. I glance back and forth as I walk down the middle of the road, trying to see if anything catches my fancy.
Just past the shopping street I come upon the Ekenäs Church, the only one of its kind in Finland, constructed out of greystone. Outside the front entrance bikes are strewn in a haphazard manner as three young boys stare at their phones, waiting to see which Pokémon character they will try and catch next.
My stomach begins to rumble so I continue on towards a little café right near the water. Café Gamla Stan is its name. Different varieties of quiche and cake are on display behind a glass window. Possessing a limited menu makes it very easy to order. I order a slice of shrimp quiche and a piece of chocolate cake and then wait. And wait some more. It is unclear what is to be done next. Customers are randomly selected to pay, with no obvious order to the process. Finally, I pay and then head outside to join my group of friends. My food arrives shortly and I dig in to the quiche. Ehh, it’s alright. Not great, but not terrible. I have higher hopes for the cake, but am disappointed when it closely resembles the consistency and taste of a brownie. As I finish up my meal I am struck by the sight of the apple orchard blooming with green apples overhead. The food might have been mediocre, but the setting is perfect.
Belly full, I resume my tour of Ekenäs. Two blocks beyond the café sits the Baltic Sea. A sidewalk runs along the coast presenting multiple picture opportunities. We pass a small public beach, an ice cream stand, the Ekenäs Nature Center, a restaurant built on poles in the sea and finally a dock half occupied with sailboats.
On the walk back I come upon a store selling local crafts. I find three, whimsical postcards printed by an artist down the street, perfect to send my family members back home. It is time to leave and as I board the bus I think that two hours was the perfect amount of time for this quaint, coastal town. For an avid shopper, more time might be necessary, but for myself it was just enough. Smaller and less impressive than the seaside towns of Hanko and Naantali, Ekenäs was still worth the visit, if for no other reason than the lovely walk along the Baltic.
Cultural Reflections Project 4: Finnish Book Club (GoodReads)
"True" by Riikka Pulkkinen was unlike any book I had ever read before. The story of a family secret that comes to light when Anna, the granddaughter of Elsa and Martti, discovers the dress of her mother Eleonoora's nanny, Eeva, tucked away in the back of a closet for decades. Pulkkinen weaves a tale of betrayal and sadness by shifting perspectives throughout the novel. Partly narrated by the granddaughter, Anna, and partly told by the nanny, Eeva, one is able to see the ramifications of one man's choices and how it affects himself, Eeva and the rest of his family, then and now. Pulkkinen does a great job describing the culture and the ambiance of life in Helsinki from the 1960's until present day, used as the backdrop of this heartbreaking story of deception and heartbreak. Is forgiveness possible after suffering bitter betrayal? Can the past be overcome? Do one's previous choices forever mark a person or is it possible to change, grow and leave the past behind? Pulkkinen examines these questions and more in this interesting, interwoven tale of the lives of Elsa, Martti, Eeva, Anna and Eleonoora.
"True" by Riikka Pulkkinen was unlike any book I had ever read before. The story of a family secret that comes to light when Anna, the granddaughter of Elsa and Martti, discovers the dress of her mother Eleonoora's nanny, Eeva, tucked away in the back of a closet for decades. Pulkkinen weaves a tale of betrayal and sadness by shifting perspectives throughout the novel. Partly narrated by the granddaughter, Anna, and partly told by the nanny, Eeva, one is able to see the ramifications of one man's choices and how it affects himself, Eeva and the rest of his family, then and now. Pulkkinen does a great job describing the culture and the ambiance of life in Helsinki from the 1960's until present day, used as the backdrop of this heartbreaking story of deception and heartbreak. Is forgiveness possible after suffering bitter betrayal? Can the past be overcome? Do one's previous choices forever mark a person or is it possible to change, grow and leave the past behind? Pulkkinen examines these questions and more in this interesting, interwoven tale of the lives of Elsa, Martti, Eeva, Anna and Eleonoora.
Cultural Reflections Project 5: Bio Poem on Self and Famous Finn (Fotobabble)
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Cultural Reflections Project 6: Immersive Narratives (Bubbli)
NC State (2-scene):
NC State (2-scene):
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Helsinki (4-scene):
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Cultural Reflections Project 7: Acrostic Poem on Place (Pixlr)
Cultural Reflections Project 8: Impressions of Finland (Meme Generator)