News, 7/7/2016
The truth about Finnish schools
Adopting new methods for learning and teaching could knock Finland off the top of the international Pisa rankings for education systems, but this is of little interest to Finns. The most important goal is teach youngsters the skills they will need in future.
Claim 1: Students will no longer study in their classes at all. Teaching will be “phenomenon-based”, meaning that teachers will work “experimentally” with schoolchildren outside the conventional school setting.
Response: Yes and no.
“The phenomenon-based approach is just one way to learn. It’s important that varied pedagogical methods are used. Teachers become enablers, helping each child find their own way to learn,” says Anneli Rautiainen, head of the Basic Education Unit of the National Board of Education.