Finland has been ranked as a top performing country for years according to PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment). At a recent conference with world leaders in education, I listened to
Pasi Sahlberg talk about why. One reason was because Finland embraces learning through "play".
Recently, Finland has announced that they are dropping "subjects" and instead are embracing "themes". These themes will enable subjects to be integrated into real-world, meaningful and relevant lessons. Kids will learn math through engaging in science and engineering while using new technologies. Arts and humanities will also be integrated. In other words, they are embracing "STEAM" education. This is the integration of science, technology, engineering, arts and math to create learning experiences where kids are engaged in hands-on learning activities that encourage creativity, critical thinking, collaboration and grit.
My question is... How would you feel about schools in Canada taking on the same philosophy? Should we drop subjects and embrace themes?