True, but look at neighboring country Norway. Ruffly 86% is of Norwegian ethnicity and of the remaining 14% half are of western decent. That’s 93% of Norwegian or western decent, a very homogeneous population. Yet Finland’s education results far exceeds that of Norway. Clearly how education is structured, not ethnicity of the pupils, is what determines country’s educational success.
it's not just the system.. School is looked as an important thing by everyone here.. It's a culture that centers into the idea on terms with education that it's like an extension of home for kids. where they go to learn but can still act like they always do and are able to play and explore.. that's why the system works, trust, responsible parents and reliable and professional teachers. with just that you'd see A LOT improvements with the american system for an example.
What i mean with principal component is the mathematical definition of a principal component, one that maximizes variation in one dimension of data. (see wikipedia for principal component analysis) Mutations, ie. specific versions of genes, which are then passed over to offspring are stochastic variables in analysiso f a large population. To understand the effects of multiple such variables one uses the LLN (central limit theorem).
We could have this in America too. It just takes a shift in thinking and an understanding of the best ways to support the developmental process of children across dimensions (intellectually, emotionally, socially, physically, creatively, morally, and so on). Montessori schools around the world have been doing it for over a century.
Ok, we do not agree on the last details. I count having close contacts with the student homes are a part of the school systems, and all that other are the outcome of a good school system. But we do agree, but have just diffrent ways of describe it.
The single most socially degrading problem here in Finland is the high use of alcohol and the amount of diagnosed psychological syndromes. Antidepressants are being prescribed like candy. Our education scores have been in decline also because parents simply don't care to discipline their children anymore. The average Finnish 13-16 year old is an kid without no authority or respect towards other people.
I see all those things you mention as part of the system. To decide that schools are important. That teachers are well educated and also well payed. To be able to trust teachers to do their work are part of the system. Not all school systems allows the teachers to be trusted to plan their lectures themselfs. To select which tests they want to give.
it's not all it's just the basic atmosphere and the attitude + teacher policy that i have included in what i just explained. the school system itself is just sampling the students, knowing how to spend the time in class and focusing on the individual students and their needs and pace. that's the system itself.. but what makes it work were those things i listed in my previous message.
1. No it's not at all obvious that let's say a high fat, vitamin rich diet over a carb based meager diet is the biggest factor. However, it is reasonable, and research seems to point that it is indeed the principal component. 2. No, but that's exactly what I said, according to the LLN, when a large number of stochastic variables representing mutations -even if many of them are separately indendently spatially correlated- are summed together, that sum remains globally relatively constant.
That's because most of those things you mention first are controlled by one gene alone, whereas cognitive ability is way more complex, it is controlled by a huge amount of different genes, which in turn means that on a population level you won't find large ethnic deviations because due to the law of large numbers that governs much of statistics multiple genes will average out to similar totals. Most valid research shows that early childhood nutrition and culture are way larger explanatory vars.
oh we do, but when we have a social security system that kicks in very early so they will never really truly "ghetto" it out. that alters the results and makes honest comparisons really difficult. there's also a segment with "oh my child would never do that" -parents causing havoc, so it's not all peachy. source: me, i work in a field where i see a lot of problematic sides of us, the finns.
Well, who are the ones who claim we do have to much multiculturalism? So, if you choose to use such words is up to you. And make no misstake about it, you don't have anything that supports your claim. By the way, the largest group of imigrants to Sweden are swedes returning followed by other scandinavians, like Finns. The problem with the education system in Sweden is that it's getting more Anglosaxon, more like US and UK schools systems.
Well, you are better then we are in this. And that because you have a better Education system. We used to have a good one, more or less like yours. But that have gone now and the schools are competing with each other like in UK and USA. And as expected out international rankings have fallen, a lot.
Well nice to hear that, living in Finland having a business that brings in money in the country, working my ass off to pay a lot of taxes, just like most of my non Finnish friends over here. Have to admit that people that are over 27 and still 'study' to get their second diploma that they do not need but in fact hang out, drink, travel,... was a new concept for me here in Finland. Maybe I should take example of that.
Poor you. What is that shit with "i have to work my ass off to pay my taxes?" You pay taxes only of what you earn. Don't you earn enough? Well, then your "business" is shit. You are always welcome to fuck off if it's so hard here. Planes and ships depart every day. Bye 👋
Well, there work, it's just to give every student access to good education with good teachers and schooldays. Like free good food in the midle of the day.
Have you any statistics on that, or is it just something you made up? But yes, there are things that is better in Finland than in USoA, as there are free education, health care, social security and unemploymen insurances which US citizens could only dream of. US do have the resources, but not the will. So yes, you are right that it's much better to grow up in Finland then in US.
Of course not. If you look 30-40 years back, Finnish students didn't perform this well. More in par with Sweden and USA. ;-) They started to spend on school, trying to make all equal, higher demands on schools, served free good food and made all schools free of charge. You could basicly go to the nearest school and get the same education quality as all schools. Following the same methods as in Sweden, Then Sweden started privatize schools, and Sweden lost rankings, while Finland didn't.
Also is because they are Nordics and other caucasians races, but, put a lot of inmigrants in that school, all start going down, even with master professors (my experience in my university) They are suppppperior in race in everything, all the races are not the same
Children that have educated parents do better than sudents without that help from home. Those children with educated parents do not need that much resources compared to the other (yes, there are a few exceptions). Usually the resources are divided the other way around. Thats where the segregation between students comes in. The best performance is when you mix these two kind of students. That is what Finland does. Did you not parse schools free of charge up including university studies?
You might want to check that figure again. And no, its because they have a good education system. You dont have a singel state in your country that have a decent public education system. And that is only by your own choice. You could have a great one too, as you pay more per citizen on the education system than they do in Finland. But its all up to you to screew yourself in this area or to change.
Not only, lousy school politics are a bigger part I thing. That money can't be spent on schools with problems, and because of that it gets deeper in problems. And the segregation of schools, that there are allowed to be so big difference between different schools. And that all schools are free, payed by taxes, ALL schools including universities.
No, we are doing wors because we have an "anglosaxon" system where schools compet with each other. Schools get resources on how good they perform and schools are segregated because of all private schools that have turned up. Has nothing to do with the nazi word "multiculturalism".
Hey, almost everything in Finlad is wonderful: no Tsunamis, no earthquakes, avalances and such almost minimal, no tornadoes... and so on. But, and the big but is: we Finns. We can be envious of those Finns who succeed. And I mean grownups. We don't slap on your shoulder if you succeed, if you are native. We are the opposite of the American way.
It's not the diversity of a countries population that makes the economy go well. It's how well they work together. For example, Europeans and Asians work very well together. Europeans and other Europeans, also work very well together. Asians and Africans, Europeans and Africans, tend to work less well together. Take a look at Detroit and New Orleans for example.
Can we learn from Finland ? Finland performs much better than England and the USA in the PISA test. In this international test the students have to apply their knowledge in novel situations. It seems that their average pupils achieve comparatively higher scores than those in other countries. Does this reflect Goverment directives, the headteacher, the teachers, teaching methods, continual assessment, revision methods or parental involvement? At the Government level ... The Government in Finland introduced a law so that all children have a 15 minute break after 45 minutes of teaching. This prevents cognitive overload for pupils and teachers. It also provides time for the teacher to speak to misbehaving pupils and achieve good discipline. The Government decided on mixed ability classes. (Mixed ability has recently been shown in EEF randomised trials to be more effective than streaming or setting). The Government sets out a curriculum that is short with only a few pages of text per subject. The curriculum is not overwhelming, leaving time in the year for teachers to plan local activities and innovate. The Government approves science and mathematics textbooks that have been tried and tested in schools. Textbooks have teacher guides and these provide lesson plans for teachers for every term. They also contain extension material, printouts and projects. Textbooks are supplemented with free internet material. The Government directs examination boards to set questions that assess the understanding of concepts and their application in novel situations rather than just factual recall. The application of knowledge (problem solving) is a higher order of skill in Blooms Taxonomy of Learning. There is a minimum reliance on multiple choice questions as these are viewed as only useful for testing factual recall. The Government believes that SATs testing is unnecessary as continual assessment provides sufficient data about pupil attainment. The Government is now reviewing the curriculum to periodically introduce topics that require strategies which are needed in modern industry, such as working together and creativity. At the Headteacher level... The school day is organised with one hour periods and each period includes a lesson of 45 minutes and a 15 minute break. There are also morning and afternoon 15 minute coffee breaks and a lunch hour. The Head meets with teachers in an interview every term to discuss class progress, any problems with individual pupils, innovations, new topics etc. There are no heads of department and one teacher is given responsibility for ordering equipment, materials etc. The Head is responsible for standards and these are checked yearly by the government who give an examination to a few pupils in a year group. School inspectors can visit if results are unsatisfactory. Poorly performing pupils or gifted pupils are interviewed with their parents, the class teacher, a school psychologist and a social worker present. The Head provides an academic route or a vocational route for pupils aged 13+. The Head insists that good discipline is introduced quickly in the school and is effective at an early age. Head teachers believe that learning cannot occur if minor disruption occurs in lessons. At the teacher level... Teachers enjoy their jobs and few leave teaching. Some teachers are only qualified to teach pupils between the ages of 7 to 13. They teach all subjects in a mixed ability class with less than 20 pupils. They keep the same class from year to year and soon know the pupils that need extra support. Other teachers are subject specialists and teach pupils aged 13+ Teachers on exchange visits comment that lessons are not drastically different to those in their countries and comment that Finnish teachers are not ‘super teachers’. A common lesson format is a period of teacher talk followed by the pupil reading the textbook and answering some factual recall and problem solving questions. A short test is then used to monitor learning in the lesson. In summary, passive learning is followed by active learning and a short test gives immediate feedback. Teacher talk probably accounts for 15 minutes in the lesson. Teachers are trained to monitor learning effectively with short tests in every lesson and termly tests. The results for the latter are used for grades (these are entered into a national database). This is continual assessment. Teachers keep a portfolio of children’s work and comment on this frequently. New targets are set after a discussion with the pupil. Teachers set a short homework every week and pupils mark their own homework in class as the teacher goes through the marking scheme. Pupils have to comment on their results and results are entered into the national database. If no homework is done this is also recorded. Teachers use textbooks and the lesson plans in the teacher guides. They feel there is no need to ‘reinvent the wheel’. Teachers are expected to design a new topic for lessons at the end of the year and show their creativity to the Headteacher. Teachers have 2 hours of professional development per week to discuss lessons, learning and new ideas. At the pupil level... Pupils enter the classroom and take off their shoes. Pupils listen, read their textbook and answer questions, write summaries and are tested in every lesson. Pupils keep a portfolio of work and are self critical about their own work using a proforma. Pupils say they appreciate the regular 15 minute breaks every hour. Pupils work well and quietly in class for 45 minutes. Pupils conduct peer to peer tests as a revision process before end of term tests. A bright pupil is paired with a less able pupil. Each pupil has to explain a concept to the other pupil and they persist until mastery is achieved. Older pupils do online guided projects using school computers and use a special program that has prompts. Some homework involves using the internet for research. Parents... Parents receive a form at the end of term which provides the grade for the end of term tests. They have to sign this and return it to the school. Parents attend parents’ evenings. Parents are satisfied that homework is brief (sometimes less than 30 minutes per week) and realise that children need time to have hobbies and interests. Some parents do not like the idea of peer to peer revision as it seems that the bright pupil is being used as a teacher. They want their bright pupils to do extra studies. Schools believe that this method benefits both abilities. Parents can see test results on a national database. Parents can be contacted by teachers using mobile phone messages if progress is slow or behaviour is poor. Parents buy school workbooks and textbooks. These are used daily in class and parents can see that their children are getting a broad, balanced and relevant curriculum. Parents pay for examination entries. Parents do not make sandwiches for their children. Pupils receive a free meal at school and they are not allowed off site to buy junk food. Comment... It would seem that there are many similarities and differences between Finnish education and that of other countries. There is certainly no one silver bullet for success. Finnish success has been achieved by implementing a complex well organised system. The major factors are:- 1. At the classroom level the most obvious factor is the typical lesson plan which is composed of a short teacher talk phase (15 mins), an active learning phase using textbook questions to enhance learning and a short test phase to provide feedback to the learner and the teacher. 3. The use of continuous assessment is another important factor in that Finnish pupils are regularly made accountable for their own learning through lesson tests, termly tests, portfolios and self assessment proformas. 5. Finnish examination questions have a standard format. Copious text is initially provided before questions and this must be carefully read and analysed by pupils. Questions then require the pupil to apply the concepts they know to the novel context. Teachers incorporate this type of question into their lessons as examination preparation and problem solving becomes a regular learning activity for pupils. Such questions are similar to PISA questions. The three factors above could easily be implemented in any country that is considering curriculum change. I believe that they are fundamental to the success of Finland in PISA. Further reading... ‘Cleverlands’ by Lucy Crehan on Kindle. Lucy Crehan was a science teacher who taught in several countries to understand their success. She wrote a book called ‘Cleverlands’ and there is a long chapter on the Finnish educational system. In the USA and the UK 50% of new teachers leave the profession within 5 years. In Finland almost none leave in 5 years! The educational system in Finland has 15 minute breaks every lesson period of one hour. This is not only to prevent cognitive overload for pupils it also prevents cognitive overload for teachers. It would seem that the implementation of this factor into a school timetable would have an immediate benefit. In the USA and UK the use of standardised testing and league table accountability has led to schools implementing months of revision preparation using previous questions. It is now even leading to schools reducing the range of subjects taught in each year. Cramming unfortunately leads to cognitive overload and mental health problems. The Finnish model of yearly national samples taken from a few pupils each year in each school is a check on standards and this could be easily introduced together with continuous assessment to provide further data about school performance. Inspectors would then only need to visit failing schools and support them.
there are other cultures.. the reason why it looks homogenous is because there's too small numbers of different cultural variety.. foreigners at least with what i can observe are treated with respect and welcomed with open arms...though there's a sort of a cultural thing about having a hate/love relationship with the swedes in wanting to be better than the swedes.. that's just about it.
Ok, any prof anywhere of that you state now? You should know about presenting scientific profs, as you claim you study in university level. And you should not blame your shortcoming on the professors, just because you are not of Nordic heritage... :-)
A people tend to be less hateful towards foreigners the more homogeneus they are. Only if the foreigners start to propagate for the destruction of the Finnish culture and people for their own selfish short term benefits, (like in Sweden) would the Finnish start hating immigrants.
Finland is a tiny country and half of Finland (North) is not livable. The population of New York city is 5 times bigger than the entire country of Finland. The country has less racial diversity and easier to manage and that is why they are number 2 but America still dominates the world when it comes to science.
Very simplified, and because of that wrong statement. You should simplify, but not to much. You simplify to much. By the way, there are a party in finland that hates imigrants to, a nationalistic party which, like swedish SD, also blames everything on imigrants. Even if they have nothing what so ever to do with that. It so painfull to see all that hate.
Please check your figures. The number of finnish criminals are much larger then imigrants. And imigrants are more economical than a Finn, as Finland had to pay lots for the children before they even have grown up to start at school or university. Where you usually just can put the imigrants without the expesive childhood that just cost money. And imigrants usually take the jobs Finns doesn't want to have, like in most countries.
True, but look at neighboring country Norway. Ruffly 86% is of Norwegian ethnicity and of the remaining 14% half are of western decent. That’s 93% of Norwegian or western decent, a very homogeneous population. Yet Finland’s education results far exceeds that of Norway.
Clearly how education is structured, not ethnicity of the pupils, is what determines country’s educational success.
i'm from Indonesia. after watching this video, i feet bad now. packing and moving to finland
it's not just the system.. School is looked as an important thing by everyone here.. It's a culture that centers into the idea on terms with education that it's like an extension of home for kids. where they go to learn but can still act like they always do and are able to play and explore.. that's why the system works, trust, responsible parents and reliable and professional teachers. with just that you'd see A LOT improvements with the american system for an example.
What i mean with principal component is the mathematical definition of a principal component, one that maximizes variation in one dimension of data.
(see wikipedia for principal component analysis)
Mutations, ie. specific versions of genes, which are then passed over to offspring are stochastic variables in analysiso f a large population. To understand the effects of multiple such variables one uses the LLN (central limit theorem).
Of course it is. There are no mosquitose and tics in the winter.
We could have this in America too. It just takes a shift in thinking and an understanding of the best ways to support the developmental process of children across dimensions (intellectually, emotionally, socially, physically, creatively, morally, and so on). Montessori schools around the world have been doing it for over a century.
Ok, we do not agree on the last details.
I count having close contacts with the student homes are a part of the school systems, and all that other are the outcome of a good school system.
But we do agree, but have just diffrent ways of describe it.
The single most socially degrading problem here in Finland is the high use of alcohol and the amount of diagnosed psychological syndromes. Antidepressants are being prescribed like candy. Our education scores have been in decline also because parents simply don't care to discipline their children anymore. The average Finnish 13-16 year old is an kid without no authority or respect towards other people.
I see all those things you mention as part of the system.
To decide that schools are important. That teachers are well educated and also well payed.
To be able to trust teachers to do their work are part of the system. Not all school systems allows the teachers to be trusted to plan their lectures themselfs. To select which tests they want to give.
Yup. Expo are my golden teachers.
it's not all it's just the basic atmosphere and the attitude + teacher policy that i have included in what i just explained. the school system itself is just sampling the students, knowing how to spend the time in class and focusing on the individual students and their needs and pace. that's the system itself.. but what makes it work were those things i listed in my previous message.
1. No it's not at all obvious that let's say a high fat, vitamin rich diet over a carb based meager diet is the biggest factor. However, it is reasonable, and research seems to point that it is indeed the principal component.
2. No, but that's exactly what I said, according to the LLN, when a large number of stochastic variables representing mutations -even if many of them are separately indendently spatially correlated- are summed together, that sum remains globally relatively constant.
That's because most of those things you mention first are controlled by one gene alone, whereas cognitive ability is way more complex, it is controlled by a huge amount of different genes, which in turn means that on a population level you won't find large ethnic deviations because due to the law of large numbers that governs much of statistics multiple genes will average out to similar totals.
Most valid research shows that early childhood nutrition and culture are way larger explanatory vars.
Ethnicity has nothing to do with educational attainment...poverty does.
oh we do, but when we have a social security system that kicks in very early so they will never really truly "ghetto" it out. that alters the results and makes honest comparisons really difficult. there's also a segment with "oh my child would never do that" -parents causing havoc, so it's not all peachy. source: me, i work in a field where i see a lot of problematic sides of us, the finns.
Well, who are the ones who claim we do have to much multiculturalism? So, if you choose to use such words is up to you.
And make no misstake about it, you don't have anything that supports your claim.
By the way, the largest group of imigrants to Sweden are swedes returning followed by other scandinavians, like Finns.
The problem with the education system in Sweden is that it's getting more Anglosaxon, more like US and UK schools systems.
Well, you are better then we are in this. And that because you have a better Education system. We used to have a good one, more or less like yours. But that have gone now and the schools are competing with each other like in UK and USA. And as expected out international rankings have fallen, a lot.
Well nice to hear that, living in Finland having a business that brings in money in the country, working my ass off to pay a lot of taxes, just like most of my non Finnish friends over here. Have to admit that people that are over 27 and still 'study' to get their second diploma that they do not need but in fact hang out, drink, travel,... was a new concept for me here in Finland. Maybe I should take example of that.
Poor you. What is that shit with "i have to work my ass off to pay my taxes?" You pay taxes only of what you earn. Don't you earn enough? Well, then your "business" is shit. You are always welcome to fuck off if it's so hard here. Planes and ships depart every day. Bye 👋
And then you adjust for the social level, and the difference are a lot smaller.
Yes, criminals of any nationality should be subject to the same laws.
Well, there work, it's just to give every student access to good education with good teachers and schooldays. Like free good food in the midle of the day.
Is there a part 2?
Have you any statistics on that, or is it just something you made up?
But yes, there are things that is better in Finland than in USoA, as there are free education, health care, social security and unemploymen insurances which US citizens could only dream of. US do have the resources, but not the will.
So yes, you are right that it's much better to grow up in Finland then in US.
Of course not.
If you look 30-40 years back, Finnish students didn't perform this well. More in par with Sweden and USA. ;-)
They started to spend on school, trying to make all equal, higher demands on schools, served free good food and made all schools free of charge.
You could basicly go to the nearest school and get the same education quality as all schools.
Following the same methods as in Sweden, Then Sweden started privatize schools, and Sweden lost rankings, while Finland didn't.
Also is because they are Nordics and other caucasians races, but, put a lot of inmigrants in that school, all start going down, even with master professors (my experience in my university)
They are suppppperior in race in everything, all the races are not the same
Children that have educated parents do better than sudents without that help from home. Those children with educated parents do not need that much resources compared to the other (yes, there are a few exceptions).
Usually the resources are divided the other way around. Thats where the segregation between students comes in. The best performance is when you mix these two kind of students. That is what Finland does.
Did you not parse schools free of charge up including university studies?
You might want to check that figure again.
And no, its because they have a good education system. You dont have a singel state in your country that have a decent public education system. And that is only by your own choice. You could have a great one too, as you pay more per citizen on the education system than they do in Finland.
But its all up to you to screew yourself in this area or to change.
This is Farid Zacharya, a Muslim from India, he works for an American tv, and seems to have more knowledge about world's affairs than the US has.
Not only, lousy school politics are a bigger part I thing. That money can't be spent on schools with problems, and because of that it gets deeper in problems. And the segregation of schools, that there are allowed to be so big difference between different schools. And that all schools are free, payed by taxes, ALL schools including universities.
its also critical to note that Finnish schools are 98% Finnish.
*irony on* and Finns are known to be able to hold their liquor and no problem with high consumation of it *irony off*
Top in the world in Science and 2nd best in the world in Maths.
WOW !
Like how? I've been a Finn for 57 years. To me it seems that actually part 4 is going on by/through my sons.
Welcome!
... well if you ever do, I hope you really enjoy your state :)
No, we are doing wors because we have an "anglosaxon" system where schools compet with each other. Schools get resources on how good they perform and schools are segregated because of all private schools that have turned up.
Has nothing to do with the nazi word "multiculturalism".
Hey, almost everything in Finlad is wonderful: no Tsunamis, no earthquakes, avalances and such almost minimal, no tornadoes... and so on. But, and the big but is: we Finns. We can be envious of those Finns who succeed. And I mean grownups. We don't slap on your shoulder if you succeed, if you are native. We are the opposite of the American way.
Where is the last part???
And well, that IS the school system, everything you explaine.
It's not the diversity of a countries population that makes the economy go well.
It's how well they work together.
For example, Europeans and Asians work very well together.
Europeans and other Europeans, also work very well together.
Asians and Africans, Europeans and Africans, tend to work less well together.
Take a look at Detroit and New Orleans for example.
No, its because they have a GOOD EDUCATION SYSTEM.
But I have already told you so.
Can we learn from Finland ?
Finland performs much better than England and the USA in the PISA test. In this international test the students have to apply their knowledge in novel situations. It seems that their average pupils achieve comparatively higher scores than those in other countries. Does this reflect Goverment directives, the headteacher, the teachers, teaching methods, continual assessment, revision methods or parental involvement?
At the Government level ...
The Government in Finland introduced a law so that all children have a 15 minute break after 45 minutes of teaching. This prevents cognitive overload for pupils and teachers. It also provides time for the teacher to speak to misbehaving pupils and achieve good discipline.
The Government decided on mixed ability classes. (Mixed ability has recently been shown in EEF randomised trials to be more effective than streaming or setting).
The Government sets out a curriculum that is short with only a few pages of text per subject. The curriculum is not overwhelming, leaving time in the year for teachers to plan local activities and innovate.
The Government approves science and mathematics textbooks that have been tried and tested in schools. Textbooks have teacher guides and these provide lesson plans for teachers for every term. They also contain extension material, printouts and projects. Textbooks are supplemented with free internet material.
The Government directs examination boards to set questions that assess the understanding of concepts and their application in novel situations rather than just factual recall. The application of knowledge (problem solving) is a higher order of skill in Blooms Taxonomy of Learning. There is a minimum reliance on multiple choice questions as these are viewed as only useful for testing factual recall.
The Government believes that SATs testing is unnecessary as continual assessment provides sufficient data about pupil attainment.
The Government is now reviewing the curriculum to periodically introduce topics that require strategies which are needed in modern industry, such as working together and creativity.
At the Headteacher level...
The school day is organised with one hour periods and each period includes a lesson of 45 minutes and a 15 minute break. There are also morning and afternoon 15 minute coffee breaks and a lunch hour.
The Head meets with teachers in an interview every term to discuss class progress, any problems with individual pupils, innovations, new topics etc.
There are no heads of department and one teacher is given responsibility for ordering equipment, materials etc.
The Head is responsible for standards and these are checked yearly by the government who give an examination to a few pupils in a year group. School inspectors can visit if results are unsatisfactory.
Poorly performing pupils or gifted pupils are interviewed with their parents, the class teacher, a school psychologist and a social worker present.
The Head provides an academic route or a vocational route for pupils aged 13+.
The Head insists that good discipline is introduced quickly in the school and is effective at an early age. Head teachers believe that learning cannot occur if minor disruption occurs in lessons.
At the teacher level...
Teachers enjoy their jobs and few leave teaching.
Some teachers are only qualified to teach pupils between the ages of 7 to 13. They teach all subjects in a mixed ability class with less than 20 pupils. They keep the same class from year to year and soon know the pupils that need extra support.
Other teachers are subject specialists and teach pupils aged 13+
Teachers on exchange visits comment that lessons are not drastically different to those in their countries and comment that Finnish teachers are not ‘super teachers’.
A common lesson format is a period of teacher talk followed by the pupil reading the textbook and answering some factual recall and problem solving questions. A short test is then used to monitor learning in the lesson. In summary, passive learning is followed by active learning and a short test gives immediate feedback. Teacher talk probably accounts for 15 minutes in the lesson.
Teachers are trained to monitor learning effectively with short tests in every lesson and termly tests. The results for the latter are used for grades (these are entered into a national database). This is continual assessment.
Teachers keep a portfolio of children’s work and comment on this frequently. New targets are set after a discussion with the pupil.
Teachers set a short homework every week and pupils mark their own homework in class as the teacher goes through the marking scheme. Pupils have to comment on their results and results are entered into the national database. If no homework is done this is also recorded.
Teachers use textbooks and the lesson plans in the teacher guides. They feel there is no need to ‘reinvent the wheel’.
Teachers are expected to design a new topic for lessons at the end of the year and show their creativity to the Headteacher.
Teachers have 2 hours of professional development per week to discuss lessons, learning and new ideas.
At the pupil level...
Pupils enter the classroom and take off their shoes.
Pupils listen, read their textbook and answer questions, write summaries and are tested in every lesson.
Pupils keep a portfolio of work and are self critical about their own work using a proforma.
Pupils say they appreciate the regular 15 minute breaks every hour.
Pupils work well and quietly in class for 45 minutes.
Pupils conduct peer to peer tests as a revision process before end of term tests. A bright pupil is paired with a less able pupil. Each pupil has to explain a concept to the other pupil and they persist until mastery is achieved.
Older pupils do online guided projects using school computers and use a special program that has prompts. Some homework involves using the internet for research.
Parents...
Parents receive a form at the end of term which provides the grade for the end of term tests. They have to sign this and return it to the school.
Parents attend parents’ evenings.
Parents are satisfied that homework is brief (sometimes less than 30 minutes per week) and realise that children need time to have hobbies and interests.
Some parents do not like the idea of peer to peer revision as it seems that the bright pupil is being used as a teacher. They want their bright pupils to do extra studies. Schools believe that this method benefits both abilities.
Parents can see test results on a national database.
Parents can be contacted by teachers using mobile phone messages if progress is slow or behaviour is poor.
Parents buy school workbooks and textbooks. These are used daily in class and parents can see that their children are getting a broad, balanced and relevant curriculum.
Parents pay for examination entries.
Parents do not make sandwiches for their children. Pupils receive a free meal at school and they are not allowed off site to buy junk food.
Comment...
It would seem that there are many similarities and differences between Finnish education and that of other countries. There is certainly no one silver bullet for success. Finnish success has been achieved by implementing a complex well organised system. The major factors are:-
1. At the classroom level the most obvious factor is the typical lesson plan which is composed of a short teacher talk phase (15 mins), an active learning phase using textbook questions to enhance learning and a short test phase to provide feedback to the learner and the teacher.
3. The use of continuous assessment is another important factor in that Finnish pupils are regularly made accountable for their own learning through lesson tests, termly tests, portfolios and self assessment proformas.
5. Finnish examination questions have a standard format. Copious text is initially provided before questions and this must be carefully read and analysed by pupils. Questions then require the pupil to apply the concepts they know to the novel context. Teachers incorporate this type of question into their lessons as examination preparation and problem solving becomes a regular learning activity for pupils. Such questions are similar to PISA questions.
The three factors above could easily be implemented in any country that is considering curriculum change. I believe that they are fundamental to the success of Finland in PISA.
Further reading...
‘Cleverlands’ by Lucy Crehan on Kindle.
Lucy Crehan was a science teacher who taught in several countries to understand their success. She wrote a book called ‘Cleverlands’ and there is a long chapter on the Finnish educational system.
In the USA and the UK 50% of new teachers leave the profession within 5 years. In Finland almost none leave in 5 years! The educational system in Finland has 15 minute breaks every lesson period of one hour. This is not only to prevent cognitive overload for pupils it also prevents cognitive overload for teachers. It would seem that the implementation of this factor into a school timetable would have an immediate benefit.
In the USA and UK the use of standardised testing and league table accountability has led to schools implementing months of revision preparation using previous questions. It is now even leading to schools reducing the range of subjects taught in each year. Cramming unfortunately leads to cognitive overload and mental health problems. The Finnish model of yearly national samples taken from a few pupils each year in each school is a check on standards and this could be easily introduced together with continuous assessment to provide further data about school performance. Inspectors would then only need to visit failing schools and support them.
that is because they are biologically superior naturally due to blond hair and blue eyes, they dont have to study and they are all genius?
Voi elämä repeilin noille suomalaisien lausahduksille tuol välissä;D
how many students are there per teacher or class
About 20. Sometimes just that 20, sometimes like 26
whats the graduating rate there how many percentage of finns go to universities
I don't know..... Maybe you should ask someone wiser:D
thats it. IM MOVING TO FINLAND!
there are other cultures.. the reason why it looks homogenous is because there's too small numbers of different cultural variety.. foreigners at least with what i can observe are treated with respect and welcomed with open arms...though there's a sort of a cultural thing about having a hate/love relationship with the swedes in wanting to be better than the swedes.. that's just about it.
come on jackie. don't be like that.
Who said anything about irony?
they were still way better then americans, and the all asian breed classes performed well as well
arent all american schools filled with american citizens
Use that good education system with blacks, then tell me... XD LOL
wish i lived in Finland
The American economy has prospered only through the diversity of immigrants. The best student have come from abroad.
Ok, any prof anywhere of that you state now? You should know about presenting scientific profs, as you claim you study in university level.
And you should not blame your shortcoming on the professors, just because you are not of Nordic heritage... :-)
A people tend to be less hateful towards foreigners the more homogeneus they are.
Only if the foreigners start to propagate for the destruction of the Finnish culture and people for their own selfish short term benefits, (like in Sweden) would the Finnish start hating immigrants.
what you mean even. allot of countries are better than the USA most of them are European
Your non irony was worse then...
While your sentiment about ADHD medicine is correct, if you can can a PH.D there's hope for me.
first, you're going to need a source to prove that non-europeans in Finland are preforming as well as the natives..
Naah. Finns are very tolerant, even to other Finns.
ice hockey, just say. ;-)
finland is well in education.papulation is less.
I envy..
Finland is a tiny country and half of Finland (North) is not livable. The population of New York city is 5 times bigger than the entire country of Finland. The country has less racial diversity and easier to manage and that is why they are number 2 but America still dominates the world when it comes to science.
dats true
Northern Finland is livable and also very beautiful.
onnea suomi
There is no big secret to it. We're homogeneous. Sweden and Norway is performing worse because they have too much multiculturalism.
Your irony wasn't graeat...
i gdzie te kurwa napisy
Finland is not very pro immigration, unless you already live in one of the other nordic countries or Estonia
Very simplified, and because of that wrong statement.
You should simplify, but not to much. You simplify to much.
By the way, there are a party in finland that hates imigrants to, a nationalistic party which, like swedish SD, also blames everything on imigrants. Even if they have nothing what so ever to do with that.
It so painfull to see all that hate.
i hope finland won't get invaded by russians, seeing their military budget can't be that high in contrast to education.
+xXxTr0nxXx Most Finnish men have a military training. It worked the last time, too.
serving at army is obligatory for every finnish man over 18 years old.
they spend less on education than the US does, actually. fun fact
south korea is better math and science or death
Please check your figures. The number of finnish criminals are much larger then imigrants.
And imigrants are more economical than a Finn, as Finland had to pay lots for the children before they even have grown up to start at school or university. Where you usually just can put the imigrants without the expesive childhood that just cost money.
And imigrants usually take the jobs Finns doesn't want to have, like in most countries.