Finland's new weird school courses say a lot about how we teach our kids. They're trying a different approach: rather than teach subjects as dry separate ingredients, from now on, it's all cooking together. Their new concept is called "phenomenon-based learning".Â
On the first day of the course, break the class into groups and then ask each group to come up with a topic for investigation. This process would take a (structured) week, each unit would be given roughly a month. The idea being each group could find something they were all interested in knowing more about and they would have to do a little preliminary research to make sure it is a broad enough topic. âSexismâ would be too broad and some thought might lead students to âwhy arenât women paid equally?â The teacher might suggest aspects of history to consider, but care must be taken not to press the students into a topic already favored by the teacher. Each group will also make a written proposal by the end of the week.
The teacher then selects the order of the topics of study for the term and begins gathering useful resources. They might decide on aspects of the topic for each group to focus on as well, using the proposals as a guide.
For any given unit, the members of the group who picked that topic would then disperse into the other groups as leaders for that unit. The teacher sequences the unit and work with each group to structure the project. Then each group with its leader investigates their aspect of the chosen topic. The teacherâs job is to help the students overcome difficulties in their information-gathering process, while not giving in to the temptation to âgive the students the answer.â After gathering their materials, each group puts together an oral presentation and some other âproductâ by the end of the unit, âVideos, Animations, Wikis, Mind-maps, PPTs and Documents using online platforms like Google Classrooms, Wikispaces, Storify, Flickr etc. to develop and demonstrate their understanding of the phenomenon.â Â The final week of the unit is given over to presentation and discussion.
During the presentation week, studentsâ homework is self-assessment (this is key, but I canât fit any more on the back of this matchbook). They explain their learning process, what they learned and what they still want to know, using a rubric provided by the teacher. They also evaluate their own pattern of work (what worked for them and what didnât) and their contribution to their team. They consider what the project left them wondering about and what they would like to study next. This way, students get into the (natural) habit of investigating something interesting to themselves.
https://facultyinnovate.utexas.edu/teaching/strategies/overview/experiential-learning
Experimental learning
deepen their knowledge through repeatedly acting and then reflecting on this action,
develop skills through practice and reflection,
support the construction of new understandings when placed in novel situations, and
extend their learning as they bring their learning back to the classroom.
knowledgeâthe concepts, facts, and information acquired through formal learning and past experience;
activityâthe application of knowledge to a âreal worldâ setting; and
reflectionâthe analysis and synthesis of knowledge and activity to create new knowledgeâ (Indiana University, 2006, n.p.).
Experience: Â As a member of a team, students engage in hands-on experiments related to a research project, each situation providing a new experience.
Reflection: Â Students reflect on their experience with peers, mentor, and research educator. Jointly, they make sense of what happened and note inconsistencies between the experience and their previous understanding.
Conceptualize: Â Reflection may lead students to develop a new idea or modify an existing concept; in addition, they may participate in a seminar with exposure to additional project-related concepts that may further clarify implications for action.
Test: Â Students return to their project to apply the new and/or refined knowledge in the research environment to see what happens.
