finland
DESCRIPTION
What's up with Finland's education system?TRANSCRIPT
What’s up with Finland?
joebower.org
Pasi Sahlberg
Irmeli Halinen
Assessment is not a spreadsheet,it’s a conversation
Learning is done in a contextand for a purpose
We need to reformulate learningdifficulties as a problem for the curriculum
rather than a problem of the child.
Finland Alberta
sq km~
350,000~650,000
resources timber oilchildren
in poverty1 in 25 1 in 10
population
~ 5 million
~ 3.7 million
What has Finland *not* done:
•increase school inspection•standardized testing•externally imposed learning standards•competition•choice
What has Finland done:
•reduce class size•improve formative assessment practices•increasing teacher pay & notoriety•all teachers have masters degrees•curriculum and assessment are local responsibilities
Finnish Lessons by Pasi Sahlberg
Personalization
•Setting a clear but flexible national framework for school-based curriculum planning
•Encouraging local and individual solutions
•Offering personal learning plans for those who have special needs
Finnish Lessons by Pasi Sahlberg
Focus on creative learning
•Teaching and learning focus on deep, broad learning, giving equal value to all aspects of the growth of an individual’s personality, moral character, creativity, knowledge, and skills.
Finnish Lessons by Pasi Sahlberg
Encouraging risk-taking
•School-based and teacher curricula facilitate finding novel approaches to teaching and learning, and encourage risk-taking and uncertainty in leadership, teaching and learning
Finnish Lessons by Pasi Sahlberg
Learning from the past and owning
innovations•Teaching honors traditional
pedagogical values, such as teacher’s professional role and relationship with students
•Main sources of school improvement are proven good educational practices from past
Finnish Lessons by Pasi Sahlberg
Shared responsibility
•Gradually building a culture of responsibility and trust within the education system that values teacher and principal professionalism in judging what is best for students
•Targeting resources and support to schools and students who are at risk to fail or to be left behind
•Sample-based student assessments.Finnish Lessons by Pasi Sahlberg
Teach Less, Learn More
Teach Less, Learn More
Test Less, Learn Better
More Equity Through Growing Diversity
•equal educational opportunities
for all
•Ability groupings abolished
in1985
•no streaming or tracking until
age 16
•This required teachers to
employ differentiated learning for
different pupils. Led to lots of PD
focusing on research-based
teacher education.
Finnish Lessons by Pasi Sahlberg
Teacher Education•all teachers have a masters degree
•3 year bachelor - 2 year masters
•one major - two minors
•1 out of 10 applicants are accepted to prepare to become a primary teacher
•Exam scores + interview
•teaching > doctor, lawyer, architectFinnish Lessons by Pasi Sahlberg
•All education is publicly financed
•All teachers have masters degrees
•There are no formal teacher
evaluations
•For every 45 minutes of classroom
there is 15 minutes of recess
•Teachers are not required to be at
school if they have no classes
Random Facts
•Do not employ standardized census-
based tests to determine their progress
or success
•No strict national standards for or
descriptions of student learning
•Spend 6 times more on teacher
professional development than testing.
•No word Finnish word for accountability
•Almost all graduate
Random Facts
