Finland dropped 'subjects' and embraced 'themes'.

[DataDoxy]

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?

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by DataDoxy

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?

Is this kind of like Montessori education?

I think it's a great way to help kids find what they enjoy doing and what they are good at. In school, I used to hate doing canned math problems from a text book, but loved figuring out real world math problems.

I do think they need to keep it regimented though because kids need structure (plus, the real world for 99% of the population revolves around structure). I know a group of kids in Canada that are home schooled and use the discovery model for learning, but I found out through gossip that they are really behind other kids their age. The parents wanted a "Montessori school", but didn't want to pay for it so they are doing like a group homeschooling.

[Coach]

Yup, bring it on. Would love to teach in that type of environment.

[loudi94]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...ill-really-do/

[DataDoxy]

Yes; "The concept of 'phenomenon-based' teaching – a move away from 'subjects”'and towards inter-disciplinary topics – will have a central place in the new NCF."

I like it! By integrating what we traditionally taught as separate subjects, kids can learn conceptually through exploration and hands-on, real-world applications. This promotes deeper learning while fostering problem-solving, critical thinking and as studies show, it engages students in learning. As the article states, it, "leaves educators freedom to find the best ways to offer good teaching and learning to all children". This is because integration allows multiple entry points so all students can participate, engage and be successful. That is critically important for Alberta given our we have the highest drop-out rate in Canada (25%).

When Pasi Sahlberg spoke last weekend about why Finland is so successful, he stated that in addition to "play" and the integration of subjects, gender equality and teacher support/training are critically important. The main theme of his talk is that Finland invests in creating the culture they believe will produce the culture they value.

What I find interesting is that the new curriculum that Alberta Education is currently piloting does have several similarities to Finland's. Interesting times ahead!

[GGG]

In general I like the concept but at some point especially with math you need to do canned math problems until you know them.

You can learn the concept in science and engineering classes but there is a significant degree of memorization required to be efficient at math. This is really only gained through repetition. I'm thinking the fundemental stuff like addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, differentiation, integration. Things like algebra could probably be done through science deriving equations but the mechanics of math need to be both understood and memorized.