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One aspect of Finnish life that has immediately struck me is people’s connection to nature and the importance of being outside and moving. Although it is well below freezing out, the local lake is inundated with people of all ages skating about. Little kids are on the playground playing on the swings and runners and bikers are zooming everywhere, while I’m freezing my butt off looking for a good cup of coffee. I see it still when I go indoors. The first time I had a tour of my office space with my adviser, he showed me stand up desks that are in every corner. He told me that Finns believe it is important to stay engaged physically and to move around. “A sedentary life is a bad life.” This article by The Guardian provides some historical context and I think it echoes a larger theme in Finnish culture that, as Jari Lavonen said in his talk to us Fulbrighters, “Finland does not have oil, only it’s people.” (Paraphrased) Finland sees value in it’s citizens. The country's success relies upon the well-being of it’s people.
This mentality continues when we go to the schools. Students have 15 minute breaks between classes where they are strongly encouraged to go outside and play hockey or slide down the hill. Not only is there a physical health component to being active, but there is a learning one also. Students are encouraged to interact with each other and collaborate in active environments. Social cognitive constructivism tells us that “higher mental functioning first emerges in collaboration with others, before it exists in the individual.” (Kimonen & Nevalainen, 229) Although this concept has been around for decades, Finland is seeing a push to include these “Active Learning Environments” more in their classrooms. This is more than just doing a small project every now and then. This is a shift in how learning experiences are designed and the role the teacher plays in the classroom. It is important to understand what active learning is not. It is not merely a technique or packaged curriculum that can be applied to the classroom. Active learning is a pedagogical approach and overarching philosophy that is defined by an entire set of beliefs and approaches. The more you act on those beliefs, the more you will have an active learning environment in your classroom. As I learn more about active learning, I see major connections between this philosophy and Project Based Learning:
- Students are engaged in activities, applying content to complete tasks.
- Focus is on depth of understanding vs. breadth of content covered.
- Learning is richer in large scale, complex projects rather than small individual units.
- Assessment is formative and authentic (exhibitions, presentations, etc.)
- Lessons are personalized to individual student needs and interests leading to higher engagement.
The component of active learning though that obviously resonates most with me is the constructivist ideal to “stress thought processing ability over concept mastery.” (231) Like most classes in the United States I am seeing that Finland is struggling to meet this ideal, although not for a lack of trying. I am seeing far more student-to-student interaction. Projects, although being very small scale, are more often implemented than in the US and provide many opportunities for students to collaborate on a task and to apply their learning. I question what is holding the Finns back from diving all in. Is it due to school curriculum that still emphasize content mastery over broad competencies? Is it students and parents providing pressure, wanting higher scores on content heavy matriculation exams so that they get into better universities? Maybe it’s teacher apathy. Just like any major shift in pedagogical approach, it is critical that teachers are bought in. They need to believe that active learning is effective. They need to believe that constructivist techniques lead to deeper understanding and more intellectual thinkers. Maybe then they will see the connection between rigorous active learning and the well-being of the individual.
Note: A big thank you to Raimo Nevalainen for allowing me to observe his classroom and active learning in practice. Raimo was kind enough to share his book with me that is cited in this blog post. Check it out!
Kimonen, E., & Nevalainen, R. (Eds.). (2017). Reforming teaching and teacher education: Bright prospects for active schools. Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense Publishers.
Kimonen, E., & Nevalainen, R. (Eds.). (2017). Reforming teaching and teacher education: Bright prospects for active schools. Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense Publishers.