The Finnish ‘phenomenon’ education model

As the December festive season draws close with most offices due to close next week, matters school will, momentarily, be shelved somewhere at the back of many parents’ minds. But I imagine the much needed break might also afford some of us an opportunity for unhurried reflection on the modes of education the children will be returning to come January. I am specifically thinking about the revolutionary education model officially launched in August 2016 in Finnish schools of what they are terming “phenomenon” teaching or teaching by topic. This is as opposed to traditional “teaching by subject”, say, the way we teach mathematics or history and other subjects separately. After raising much interest (some of it misplaced) in international media throughout the greater part of this year, Finland recently sought to clarify on what the radical education reform will entail. In order to meet the challenges of the future, a communiqué by the Finnish National Board of Education explains, the focus is on transversal (generic) competences and work across school subjects. Collaborative classroom practices, where pupils may work with several teachers simultaneously during periods of phenomenon-based project studies will be emphasised. This is what the education model means, as unpacked by the online newspaper, The Independent: A teenager studying a vocational course, say, might take “cafeteria services” lessons, which will include elements of maths, languages (to help serve foreign customers), writing skills and communication skills. Or, the “more academic pupils [will] be taught cross-subject topics such as the European Union which [will] merge elements of economics, history (of the countries involved), languages and geography.” According to the communiqué, the “modules are designed and implemented locally,” with the core curriculum requiring that the pupils should be involved in the planning. The “collaborative classroom practices” are also worth noting, as pupils will work in smaller groups to solve problems while improving their communication skills. This is opposed to the “traditional format where rows of pupils sit passively in front of their teacher, listening to lessons or waiting to be questioned.” This traditional seating arrangement is evocatively familiar, and persists in our classrooms here and across the world. A prominent British observer is quoted encouraging education that promotes character, resilience and communication skills in his country, rather than just pushing children through “exam factories”. Exam oriented education is an affliction lamented globally. Reflecting on this, it seems to me rethinking our mode of learning is a no brainer. It underscores what many of us acknowledge: That, we go through school learning subjects that we rarely – if ever – apply in real life. It therefore makes for a logical case that the Finnish “phenomenon” method of teaching is worth pondering as applicable the whole school year round, other than once a year. Technology has also overtaken some traditional teaching methods and tools, say, the blackboard or writing using a pen. Borrowing from schools across the US, the Finns were also set to have done away with the mandatory requirement in the education curriculum for cursive handwriting. This was to be replaced by lessons in keyboard typing by this year. This also seems to me worth mulling over locally. Laptops and tablets are now passé in our schools, as the ICT initiative towards the digital economy is now inexorable and continues to be more inclusive of our children in Rwanda and across the region. If a layman such as myself takes all manner of notes on the smartphone, having shed the paper notebook a while back, not to mention ditching the old fashioned annual diary favorite of corporate gifts come this time of year, where does it place the future of teaching handwriting in our schools locally? With the advancement in technology, we are at the cusp of an overreaching revolution on how we should educate our children. It is all research led, which has also made it emphatically questionable the place of homework the children bring from school. May the children enjoy their holidays, and Happy Festive Season to everyone.

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The Finnish ‘phenomenon’ education model