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Interesting Article and Changes in Educational Trajectory
Quote:
Finland, one of the leading educational hotspots in the world, is embarking on one of the most radical overhauls in modern education. By 2020, the country plans to phase out teaching individual subjects such as maths, chemistry and physics, and instead teach students by 'topics' or broad phenomena, so that there's no more question about "what's the point of learning this?"
What does that mean exactly? Basically, instead of having an hour of geography followed by an hour of history, students will now spend, say, two hours learning about the European Union, which covers languages, economics, history and geography. Or students who are taking a vocational course might study 'cafeteria services', which would involve learning maths, languages and communication skills,
This in many ways factors well with my ongoing support for Vocational and Technical programming to become more heavily emphasized as educational tracts for young people. ( many may choose to include some university courses later, but they have a working skills and the ability to learn a great deal in the hands on real work of the field. As it is evident that all fields change with times and new innovations, in some ways it is more practical than some university course which teach outdated principles; when the real world business and industrial climate has morphed and modified how it engages the functions and variables in the field. The person who is in the field with vocational or technical training, will have learned through the transitions of the fields progressions.
Finland may be on to something, which teaches people what they need to know related to the topic of the students interest. We have more people who leave college early, because they get burned out by no seeing how what they are being taught connects to the real world and the field they have a focused interest.
It may well change the nature of University, from being one who build curriculum based on profit modeling, and be forced to build curriculum on topic with topic specific programming, so people are learning what they entered the University to Learn.. and not what is structured to gain the university the highest profit by UN-necessary classes as a mandated program outline.
this is not to discount University, because it is a needed system, but imagine how soon Doctors would be able to become educated, skilled and informed, is they ruled out all the non essential classes often generated wasted time, in the first 3 yrs. which could be devoted to specifically medically concerned subject material, workshops and other medically related information. We'd have a system which could produce doctors with more in-depth knowledge over the course and cut out years on what it takes to produce a highly educated and highly skilled doctor. Instead of 12 yrs, this could be reduced to 6-8 yrs and that included the spectrum of specialties. The cost factor of becoming a doctor will be dramatically reduced.
As it is common knowledge that doctors, continue learning long into and through their career, it would put them in the field with good skill and they will be closer to the cutting edge of techniques far sooner.
We need a change from the Universities gouging our young people with a list of program course that does not contribute nor relate to the field of study the student has enrolled to pursue.
Even in High Schools more invested into craft and skill shop training, which would become a more prominent focus which keeps the students actively engaged. By 18 they have marketable skill training to enter into various specific within the workforce. We'd develop a more creative society, and innovations would become progressively beneficial to the whole of society. As young people are naturally creative. But when we hold them back until they are in their mid 20's before we proclaim them to have a focused interest, we have lost 6 yrs of creative energy and innovative developments.
We need to explore the factors of how learning changes in the 21st Century. In doing so, it may help us develop better performing schools and produce a higher interest and motivations by students to embrace the art of learning.
Location: Simi Valley, California - which was once part of the USA
350 posts, read 537,272 times
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That's ridiculous, IMO. I went to school in California, and got bombarded with all the new-agey education techniques and did horrifically. My parents moved me to a private Christian school in 9th grade where the teaching style was very much old school (blackboards and textbooks and rote memorization.) and I thrived and graduated with a 3.7 GPA. I'm a senior in college now.
I think the new-age teaching techniques, the smart boards, the iPads, the calculators, the computers etc. are incredibly detrimental.
Interesting Article and Changes in Educational Trajectory
This in many ways factors well with my ongoing support for Vocational and Technical programming to become more heavily emphasized as educational tracts for young people. ( many may choose to include some university courses later, but they have a working skills and the ability to learn a great deal in the hands on real work of the field. As it is evident that all fields change with times and new innovations, in some ways it is more practical than some university course which teach outdated principles; when the real world business and industrial climate has morphed and modified how it engages the functions and variables in the field. The person who is in the field with vocational or technical training, will have learned through the transitions of the fields progressions.
Finland may be on to something, which teaches people what they need to know related to the topic of the students interest. We have more people who leave college early, because they get burned out by no seeing how what they are being taught connects to the real world and the field they have a focused interest.
It may well change the nature of University, from being one who build curriculum based on profit modeling, and be forced to build curriculum on topic with topic specific programming, so people are learning what they entered the University to Learn.. and not what is structured to gain the university the highest profit by UN-necessary classes as a mandated program outline.
this is not to discount University, because it is a needed system, but imagine how soon Doctors would be able to become educated, skilled and informed, is they ruled out all the non essential classes often generated wasted time, in the first 3 yrs. which could be devoted to specifically medically concerned subject material, workshops and other medically related information. We'd have a system which could produce doctors with more in-depth knowledge over the course and cut out years on what it takes to produce a highly educated and highly skilled doctor. Instead of 12 yrs, this could be reduced to 6-8 yrs and that included the spectrum of specialties. The cost factor of becoming a doctor will be dramatically reduced.
As it is common knowledge that doctors, continue learning long into and through their career, it would put them in the field with good skill and they will be closer to the cutting edge of techniques far sooner.
We need a change from the Universities gouging our young people with a list of program course that does not contribute nor relate to the field of study the student has enrolled to pursue.
Even in High Schools more invested into craft and skill shop training, which would become a more prominent focus which keeps the students actively engaged. By 18 they have marketable skill training to enter into various specific within the workforce. We'd develop a more creative society, and innovations would become progressively beneficial to the whole of society. As young people are naturally creative. But when we hold them back until they are in their mid 20's before we proclaim them to have a focused interest, we have lost 6 yrs of creative energy and innovative developments.
We need to explore the factors of how learning changes in the 21st Century. In doing so, it may help us develop better performing schools and produce a higher interest and motivations by students to embrace the art of learning.
Do you have a link to the article that works? I get a FORBIDDEN error when I try the link.
It sounds like they are going to teach the subject still but just in a different way to weave them together. I mean you can't talk about the EU and it's history without teaching history.
Sounds like they have been doing this for the upper grades already so they should have a pretty good idea what they are doing and how to do it. It will be interesting to watch since I think our current methods of teaching here in the USA could use a revamping too,.
From those articles it looks like they're still have subjects but also dedicating some time to the topic based learning, hardly a wholescale change. My kid starts school here in 2018 so maybe she'll be experiencing it then.
It's actually an old idea that was used by early childhood and elementary teachers. You basically took themes and interwove things the children needed to learn. You might be learning about Texas history. So you learn map skills, read about texas,create a play about those facts,write an essay, do a diorama, and incorporate texas facts in your math games and word problems.
They are taking the same concept and taking it to a deeper and more complicated level.
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