Finland has one of the best education systems in the world, consistently scoring near the top on the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) test, given every three years to students in 65 countries. Now, Finland is looking to radically change their approach to public education, by phasing out classes that teach a single subject for an hour at a time in favor of classes that focus on multi-subject "topics".
The Fins call this "phenomena teaching", or teaching by topic. The Independent describes the change:
For instance, a teenager studying a vocational course might take “cafeteria services” lessons, which would include elements of maths, languages (to help serve foreign customers), writing skills and communication skills.
More academic pupils would be taught cross-subject topics such as the European Union - which would merge elements of economics, history (of the countries involved), languages and geography.
The new system also encourages alternatives to traditional lecture-format teaching, including an emphasis on collaborative learning in small groups, and interactive problem solving.
The program has faced some pushback from Finnish teachers who have spent their careers focused on a single subject, only to be told that they have to change their approach. The Christian Science Monitor points out that similar approaches were tried in the US prior to World War II, and again in the 1970s, only to be abandoned after facing similar objections by teachers.
The idea of combining subjects to better facilitate learning is nearly a century old. American philosopher and educational reformer John Dewey thought that schooling should better reflect real life. This educational approach was attempted in American schools; once before World War II and again in the 1970's with the "Open Classroom" movement, the Washington Post reported.
However, it was abandoned after it was found not to be compatible with an American public school model which expected students to have a certain level of knowledge to be able to move onto the next grade. Combining subjects in this fashion required teachers to have an extensive knowledge of all subjects they were teaching, and some teachers struggled to generate assignments that would placate to a wide range of students' strengths and interests.
Nonetheless, the Fins plan to move ahead, and have the changes universally adopted by 2020.
Marjo Kyllonen, Helsinki’s education manager says:
We really need a rethinking of education and a redesigning of our system, so it prepares our children for the future with the skills that are needed for today and tomorrow... There are schools that are teaching in the old fashioned way which was of benefit in the beginnings of the 1900s – but the needs are not the same and we need something fit for the 21st century.
What do people think? Is something like this approach needed in the US? Is such an approach even possible in the highly politicized atmosphere around public education in the US? What would this mean for US teachers?
I think I'm generally in favor, although I do worry that the curriculum sounds like it is so strongly oriented around the needs of employment rather than general education. It's quite appropriate to produce people able to contribute to the economy and find meaningful work. But is there a place in this system for an education that produces not just more complete workers, but more complete persons? A place for an education that is not necessarily what some future employer desires, but an education that is it's own goal? Is there a place for philosophy, logic, or classic literature in such a system? And is there a danger that in focusing on "topics", that students won't be taught subjects that might not be directly relevant to the topic, but would nonetheless provide a basis for understanding and tackling other topics in the future of an ever changing world?