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The Finland Phenomenon: The Best Education System (sub spanish) — Transcript

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1:39Hi, I'm Tony Wagner, the Innovation
1:41Education Fellow at the Technology and
1:43Entrepreneurship Center at Harvard.
1:45I recently wrote a book called The
1:47Global Achievement Gap, which explores
1:49the new skills all students will need
1:51for careers, college, and citizenship in
1:54this global knowledge economy versus
1:56what's being taught and tested even in
1:58our best schools here in the US. This
2:00resulted in an extraordinary invitation
2:02from the National Board of Education of
2:04Finland to consult with them as they
2:06think about their comprehensive
2:08education system for the 21st century. I
2:11accepted because Finland is the highest
2:13ranked country in the world by any
2:16education standard and I wanted to
2:18understand what is it that has gotten
2:20them this far and what might be some of
2:22the lessons we could learn here in this
2:24country. So, join me as we take a trip
2:27to Finland to learn about their
2:28extraordinary education system.
2:39The question that is oftentimes asked
2:41when we get visitors from other
2:43countries to Finland, why are Finnish
2:45students successful?
2:48In Finland, families value education.
2:51They think that it's important.
3:04We offer the same system for all the
3:07pupils.
3:10No matter what their social background
3:13is, no matter what their parents do and
3:15so on. So, everybody gets the same
3:16similar education.
3:19We have a consensus about what we want
3:22young Finns to be after.
3:25We want to provide a broad citizenship
3:28for a for every Finn.
3:39There is no one reason for Finland being
3:42on the top in all these rankings.
3:46I would say there are many mu- mutually
3:49uh kind of a interactive factors.
3:52Politicians, principals, teachers,
3:55universities
3:56have all understood that this is
3:59actually the the only resource that we
4:02have in Finland that has to be taken
4:04good care of, the brain,
4:06the young people, the education.
4:09So, these decisions have all aimed at
4:11the same goal, to be able to provide our
4:14kids with the type of education that are
4:17making them possible to compete at the
4:19international work market.
4:39So, how do you go about understanding a
4:41country's education system?
4:42Well, some folks like to start with the
4:44rules, the policies, the curriculum. My
4:46preference is to start with the students
4:48and understand their perspectives and
4:50then go into classrooms.
5:42While we were in Sippo, I visited an
5:43elementary school, grades one through
5:45six. Couple things stood out for me.
5:47First of all, the size of the school,
5:49small. Their schools, elementary,
5:51middle, and high are much smaller than
5:53ours cuz they understand the importance
5:55of more intimate working relationships
5:57between teachers and relationships
5:59between students and teachers. Class
6:01size also tended to be smaller, on
6:03average about 20. But the other thing
6:04that stood out was in this particular
6:06lesson I observed, where students were
6:08learning about different sources of
6:10energy, both renewable and nonrenewable,
6:13in second grade.
6:14But after they'd been studying energy
6:16for several weeks, the teacher asked
6:17them to write a puppet show imagining
6:20that the power had gone off in their
6:22home and then representing what would
6:24happen.
6:25Real life experience, thoughtful
6:27concepts,
6:28and the arts integrated into one
6:30curriculum.
6:33What is your dream? What would you like
6:34to do or accomplish in your future?
6:38And it's okay if you say I don't know
6:39right now, but it's okay if you just
6:40have a dream, just just a thought about
6:43the future. What is it
6:44that you would like to do in the future
6:46at some point?
6:47Disney animator.
6:49A Disney animator?
6:50Yeah.
6:50Okay.
6:51A vet.
6:52A vet?
6:53I'd like to be an engineer.
6:55I'd like to
6:57I play ice hockey.
6:59So, if I can't play in the S S M League
7:02or so, so I can be I like to own
7:07Coca-Cola.
7:11All right.
7:12Well, I have always wanted to be a
7:13musician.
7:14Musician?
7:15Yeah.
7:16I I just want to be rich and be in the
7:19Bahamas Islands.
7:21I don't really know, but maybe a
7:23teacher. It would be cool to act or
7:28uh
7:29do some other things with movies and so
7:32on.
7:33Or be
7:35the director of a youth organization or
7:36youth leader. Yeah.
7:39A youth leader?
7:40Okay.
7:41Um psychologist.
7:42Psychologist. Good.
7:45As you imagine your future as an adult
7:48and growing up,
7:50do you believe you you
7:52you want you want to have more than what
7:53you've got now, the same, less?
7:56Your thoughts?
7:58I think the same would be because
8:00uh
8:01my we're living in a quite good
8:04standard, my family, but and I think
8:07it's more important to that I like my
8:10job and what I do than how much I earn
8:13money.
8:14I agree. It doesn't matter that much how
8:17much money you have.
8:19It's like not that big deal.
8:23But uh as much as you need money.
8:27It's more important to me that
8:29uh that I love the things that I do than
8:33have money.
8:34Uh I also agree with the fact you have
8:36to like what you do, but if you don't
8:38make any money, like if you want to be
8:39an actor and then you just can't get a
8:41job, that is not wise. I don't think so.
8:44So I am
8:46pretty satisfied with the situation that
8:49my family is. So more or less, the same.
8:53Mhm.
8:53Yeah.
8:54Jobs that give you much much money also
8:58take usually lots of time.
9:01So if you hate what you do, but get
9:04millions
9:05of euros,
9:07it's not worth it. So
9:10less is sometimes more.
9:12I agree too, but I want to be a
9:14millionaire, too. But
9:19We used to have 45 minutes and then then
9:22we used to have also these like double
9:24lessons, so we had like 90-minute
9:26lessons.
9:28And they changed it because, you know,
9:30when a class starts, the first 5 minutes
9:32go to the everybody sits in place and is
9:35everybody now here and then the last 5
9:37minutes usually go that everybody is
9:39putting away their stuff. So now now
9:42they told them okay now we save time we
9:44just take a little bit longer lesson so.
9:47We arrive at school maybe something like
9:508:00 but if you're lucky you can come to
9:53school later.
9:54Like 10 maybe 11 or
9:58last year I had like we both had
10:02actually like almost every day from 8:00
10:04to 4:00.
10:05But if you
10:06when when we are now seniors
10:09so life is much easier now so in the
10:12next period where when we have only like
10:15four courses
10:16or three
10:17or three
10:18so we have what maybe some days we have
10:20only two lessons we come to school at
10:2212:00 and leave at 4:00 or come to maybe
10:2511:00 and leave at 2:00. So it really
10:27depends how you do your course how you
10:29choose them.
10:30Most people do this upper secondary in
10:34three years but it's also possible to do
10:38this in two or four years. So of course
10:41if you do
10:42in four years that means
10:46yeah you don't have
10:48that many lessons every day.
10:50In our in my free time I will
10:53see my friends and I I I fence you know
10:57sword fighting
10:59and then I play with my computer and
11:02I don't usually see my friends until the
11:04weekend because then you have more time
11:07uh
11:08yeah I do sports I do boxing or go to
11:12gym or yeah I spend a lot of time in
11:15front of the computer too.
11:17Facebook is
11:19it's just
11:20it's very easy to get addicted to.
12:33So, what can America learn from a small
12:35country like Finland? Well, the better
12:37comparison is actually with our states,
12:39which have substantial autonomy for
12:41their education systems. So, we think
12:43it's actually interesting to compare the
12:45results from Finland with a state that
12:47has similar demographics, size, and
12:49population, and in fact was settled by
12:51Scandinavians, Minnesota. Minnesota,
12:53according to the last national NAEP
12:56test, our nation's report card, scored
12:58fourth highest in eighth grade math
13:00scores, and second highest in the
13:02country on eighth grade reading. But,
13:04what most Americans don't understand is
13:06that our best is simply not good enough
13:09by international education comparisons.
13:41So, we're here to visit a Finnish school
13:44which is connected to the university
13:45that does teacher training. So, what we
13:47expect to see are regular academic
13:49classes being taught by teachers who are
13:52also training student teachers.
13:56Uh here what we have is the lesson plan
13:58for the math class we're about to go
13:59visit uh with Johannes and he outlines
14:03for us uh what what was done in the
14:05previous lesson which was the discovery
14:06of the Pythagorean theorem which he just
14:08described to us. Now, what we're going
14:10to apparently see is some oral
14:11calculation, proof of theorem, checking
14:13homework, how to calculate legs, that'll
14:16be interesting, written examples,
14:17individual practice, a short test of
14:20taught matter, and finally homework and
14:22self-evaluation. And it's a 75-minute
14:24class. So, we're off to learn some math
14:26this morning.
14:33This is a normal sixth-grade math class,
14:36not tracked, not advanced. And yesterday
14:38this sixth-grade class was discovering
14:40the Pythagorean theorem.
14:43So, in some respects, this is a fairly
14:45traditional class, teacher at the front
14:47of the room, kids facing the blackboard.
14:49But one thing that's quite different is
14:51the fact that it's the kids doing the
14:53problems at the blackboard, not the
14:55teacher. So, that's
14:56the teacher's way of really trying to
14:58understand what these kids know and what
15:01they don't know.
15:02It's it's a dramatically better way of
15:04testing their thinking than just
15:06collecting homework and grading it.
15:09Behind this glass are seven student
15:11teachers who are observing this lesson
15:14as a part
15:15of their basic training. They're
15:17required to observe a large number of
15:19lessons and they don't really just
15:21observe them, but then go and in small
15:23groups critique and discuss those
15:25lessons.
15:27We have very little testing, perhaps,
15:29you know. We don't have practically any
15:31testing until the end of the high
15:33school.
15:34Yeah, the matriculation exam.
15:35Yes, yes.
15:36The more relaxed atmosphere that
15:38characterizes classrooms now seems to
15:40facilitate and improve learning and
15:41student motivation.
15:43We we try to all the time say that it's
15:44up to you that you learn.
15:46Yes.
15:47And this is good for your future and
15:48it's fun to learn.
15:50So, what did students have to do? You
15:51wanted them to understand this theorem?
15:52I wanted them to discover the theorem.
15:54To discover it?
15:55To discover the theorem.
15:56Well, that's a really important
15:57discussion, isn't it?
15:58Yes, yes. The emphasis is not so much on
16:00mechanical performance, but on using
16:03math in concrete situations
16:05and sort of understanding the math.
16:08Our school system is very much oriented
16:11toward toward this kind of understanding
16:13and reading
16:15and also some problem solving and this
16:16kind of things.
16:18Teachers have always been revered in
16:19Finland. In the villages, they were the
16:22wise elders that people went to for
16:24advice and so on. But what is
16:26particularly striking about the Finnish
16:28story is how they have changed the
16:30nature of teaching. Teachers are no
16:33longer assembly line workers. Page 87 by
16:36October 5 in the textbook. They have
16:38become knowledge workers working
16:41collaboratively, thinking of their
16:43classroom as their laboratory for
16:45continuous innovation, trying to
16:47understand how to ensure that all
16:48students achieve at very, very high
16:50levels.
16:53Teachers
16:54are the ones who facilitate students to
16:57create, to do knowledge work together.
17:02And this kind of a knowledge co-creation
17:05happens in these learning environments.
17:08Today, teachers in Finland
17:12lead this kind of a multi uh,
17:15professional
17:16work together with those who who work in
17:19libraries, science centers, museums.
17:23If you want to become a teacher, you
17:26have to do pretty well, and also you
17:28have to have pretty high marks, high
17:31grades to be able to enter the
17:33university. And if you do well, then you
17:36might be might be accepted. Not
17:39everybody who who succeeds really well
17:41and has good grades, they are not
17:43automatically accepted.
17:45In a lot of countries, teaching is
17:46something that those people who can't
17:49get other jobs do, but in Finland it's a
17:52job where people apply to the teacher
17:54education and to be teachers. So, it's
17:57it's it it's an esteemed
17:59profession.
18:00Young people in Finland, they want to be
18:02teachers.
18:04And we get very competent
18:07teacher students.
18:08We have five-year study programs for all
18:11teachers, both class teachers and
18:15subject teachers. Subject teachers, they
18:17major in their subject, and class
18:19teachers, they major in their in
18:22educational studies. So, it's
18:25three years of bachelor's and two years
18:29of master's.
18:30I've been told that it's quite rare that
18:32all teachers have the university
18:35master's degree.
18:36Yeah.
18:36I think most countries don't have that.
18:38It's it's probably
18:40one factor.
18:41The main reasons for our success, I
18:43would say that it's teacher education.
18:47That we're able to to to that we have
18:50teachers that all have master's.
18:54We call it research-based teacher
18:56education. And it means that it's much
19:00more important to learn to think
19:03pedagogically and be a reflective,
19:05inquiry-oriented teacher.
19:08Even if you do extremely well in both
19:11your matriculation examination and have
19:13a good grades in your report card, you
19:15cannot just walk in. So, you have to do
19:18well also in the entrance examination.
19:21And for that, you have to study
19:23quite quite a lot, I'm afraid, because
19:26the percentage you get who manage to
19:28start their studies at the university,
19:29that's quite low in Finland. We have
19:33much more applicants than what we can
19:36take in. So, teachers' profession is
19:38very very
19:40highly appreciated here in Finland. This
19:43year, there were
19:451,600
19:48applicants and we could take in only 10%
19:51of those people. But if you manage to
19:55get into the university, so you start
19:59your subject studies,
20:01they have to have a degree in the
20:03subjects that they teach. They have
20:06lessons, they have tutorials, they have
20:08small group discussions at the
20:09university. Then they sit down with the
20:12supervising teacher, and then we
20:15actually start planning the lesson or
20:17lessons.
20:18They write a lesson plan, usually they
20:21plan their own teaching. We discuss it,
20:24and then they they make the changes,
20:27they send it back to me again, and then
20:30they give their lesson.
20:32After that, we have a quick feedback
20:35session with the students who have also
20:37been observing the class. These feedback
20:39sessions, they are very very important.
20:43Actually, it takes a lot more time
20:46to actually fulfill one one fulfill one
20:49lesson.
20:50So, it means that
20:52the students we get in, they are very
20:55motivated, and they are very very uh
20:58um well educated
21:02when they come in. So, they are very
21:05high
21:06quality students.
21:09Of course, sometimes we do have a cases
21:11where we just have to say that okay,
21:14maybe you should
21:16uh
21:17do something else. But this is not maybe
21:19your your place, but very rarely.
21:34The beginning of the classes used as
21:36either warm-up or cool-down. The
21:38teachers talk about it in different
21:39ways, but it's a way of relaxing the
21:41kids and also engaging them. I'm also
21:43struck by the fact that this teacher has
21:45never seen this group of kids before,
21:47but his rapport and his interaction with
21:49them is just wonderful. They're lively,
21:51interesting, fun, but also very
21:54academically demanding.
22:01He's using very good
22:04He's teaching fairly basic content at
22:07the moment.
22:08The three questions at the time are who
22:10is the person, what is the ministry, and
22:12what is the role of the ministry, and
22:13what is the role of the party?
22:31The student will be taking my place now.
22:33This student teacher put up the
22:35frameworks for comprehensive education
22:37that was approved by the ministry some
22:39years ago. And the student just said,
22:41"Well, do you think the ministry has
22:43lived up to the promises they've made
22:45about what a good comprehensive
22:47education should be?" So now they're
22:48debating the quality of the education
22:50they received versus what was being
22:52promised to them.
22:54whole group
22:56asked very
22:59tough question.
23:00Yes.
23:00Maybe, I think.
23:01Yes.
23:02But
23:03But fortunately, you have very good
23:06uh
23:06knowledge of the subject. Not a once you
23:10were lost. What do you think about that
23:13Uh lesson, I thought it was a very nice.
23:17Um
23:17I wouldn't have spoken so much in the
23:20lesson and and I would have given them
23:22more space.
23:23But it's a difficult subject. Uh
23:26and they ask questions all the time, so
23:29it took the time.
23:31The challenge for any of us as teachers
23:33is what uh Ted Sizer said, which he said
23:36it less is more.
23:38Yeah.
23:38Doing less, going in greater depth.
23:41Again, maybe too much talk from me.
23:44And I like to have a little bit more
23:48activity for students.
23:50Yes.
23:51I understand also your problem that you
23:53have you have had so much
23:56to teach that it's
23:58very difficult to cut.
24:00They observe our classes in
24:02multi-subject groups. So all those who
24:05are considering coming to the teaching
24:08practice follow lessons given by us. We
24:12just teach. We do our everyday work. And
24:14they they follow us.
24:16So you're really modeling the behavior
24:19uh or behavior being of transparency,
24:21right? You're having whole groups of
24:23kids
24:24future teachers come in and watch you
24:26teach.
24:26That's true.
24:27And in part, which as I hear you say
24:29this, you're saying that this is the
24:30norm. That the norm is we're going to
24:33watch each other teach all the time. Is
24:34Is that a Is that a fair summary?
24:37The stage is open for everybody. You
24:39could drop into any classroom here and
24:41watch. And it's also encouraged before
24:44they start teaching themselves. So we
24:46have these these observation sessions uh
24:49ongoing all the time.
24:51And they're they're told what to be
24:53looking for.
24:54The questions that that we have designed
24:57for that purpose is they are quite
24:59simple. What did you see? It could be
25:01one question. What would you have done
25:03differently?
25:05What are your thoughts about some
25:08points? Three very simple questions
25:10because we realized these three simple
25:13questions might in a way
25:16lead their
25:18concentration to to the the content.
25:26So, this is a Swedish class. It's been
25:29taught entirely in Swedish and this is a
25:31student teacher who is
25:33giving a formal lesson that was
25:35constructed put together with the master
25:37teacher who is observing here in the
25:39back and several other student teachers.
25:44The teacher trainer has sent me the
25:46lesson plan by email on Sunday.
25:48I have been commenting on her plan and
25:51ideas
25:52through email correspondence. And she's
25:56been reviewing it and sending it back to
25:58me.
25:59What do I do now during the lesson?
26:03I have the lesson plan in front of me
26:04and I comment on it.
26:07Looking at things she does and probably
26:10giving her hints what could have been
26:12done differently.
26:14She gets right away my comments after
26:17the class. Of course, we also discuss
26:19things
26:20face-to-face after the class.
26:29She's going well using other material,
26:31for example, YouTube video and text from
26:33other resources but going back to the
26:36actual resource textbooks after these
26:39introductory sections.
26:41John Goodlad in his studies of high
26:43schools in the 1980s described that
26:45teacher talk time comprised 85% of the
26:49lessons in American high schools across
26:51all content areas. So, what are you
26:53seeing here in terms of teacher talk
26:54time versus student work time?
26:57I would like to see that it would be 60%
27:01student and 40% teacher. And I'm going
27:04to give the feedback to her
27:06that every time she would have had a
27:09chance to throw the ball in the
27:11classroom,
27:12she should have done it.
27:17So, can you say a little bit about why
27:19you chose that video? Why did you show
27:21it?
27:21The theme of this lesson was the future
27:24and what the what these 15-year-old
27:27people are going to do after this class.
27:29They're going to high school or or
27:31whatever. This song was quite good for
27:33to support the theme and I've learned
27:35that it's good to to use just music for
27:38some listening comprehension exercises
27:40or something like that to cool down the
27:41class. And
27:44I've experienced that it works.
27:45Listening comprehension exercises and
27:47music is the best way to calm down a
27:49class that is a bit
27:51How do you say it? Well, not that calm.
27:54Yeah.
27:55So, I've just spent the day observing
27:57classes, talking to teachers and
27:58students, and trying to better
28:00understand what is it that actually
28:02happens in classrooms that accounts for
28:04these extraordinary results.
28:06Several things we observed that were in
28:08common to all of these classes. These
28:10classes really focused on teaching
28:13students how to think,
28:15giving students a sense of
28:17being able to really actively engage in
28:20their learning,
28:21not penalizing mistakes. Finally, I was
28:24struck by the attention to detail of in
28:26the ways in which
28:28these master teachers work with student
28:30teachers in their classes. There is a
28:31technique, a methodology, if you will, a
28:33national curriculum for preparing these
28:36teachers so that they get a great deal
28:38of classroom experience, they get a
28:39great deal of coaching on how to become
28:41a better teacher, and there's a clear
28:43understanding about what in fact is good
28:46teaching.
29:27In Finland we have got a high living
29:30standard and
29:32and almost everybody can can travel and
29:35have have houses and
29:38and it's it's enough. It was very
29:41satisfied for me to hear from my
29:44daughter that she doesn't want anything
29:47more.
29:48So I I think it's good to have this and
29:52spend time to things that you like to do
29:57with people you love.
30:01We've had a chance to explore what
30:02Finnish students do in the classroom,
30:03but what do they do after school?
30:05Well, a ninth grade girl and her mother
30:07were kind enough to invite me into their
30:09home so that I could better understand
30:10how they spend their free time and their
30:12parents perspectives on their children's
30:14work.
30:15So, you come home. How much homework do
30:17you typically have to do?
30:18We don't have that much
30:20have that much homework. And you're in
30:22ninth grade.
30:23Yeah. Yes.
30:23So, do you expect when you go to upper
30:25secondary you'll have more homework? Do
30:26you hear from students there?
30:28Yeah.
30:28How much So, how much do you do now? Do
30:31you do some every day or not even every
30:32day?
30:33Not even every day.
30:34Not even every day.
30:36And so, how many hours a week would you
30:39say?
30:403 hours.
30:413 hours a week? 3 or 4 something?
30:43Yeah, about that.
30:43Finnish education system way out
30:45performing every other country. How do
30:48you understand that as both a teacher
30:49and a parent?
30:51A big part of it is that we take care of
30:55those children that are not doing so
30:58well at school. So, we have got very
31:02qualified special education.
31:04Early interventions, we hear.
31:06Yes. We try to find out what's the
31:09problem behind the learning problems,
31:13because often it's something that we can
31:17avoid by teaching in different way.
31:21Mhm.
31:22So, here is our class. So, we had a
31:23theme day in school.
31:25What was the theme?
31:26Uh we we are mafia mafia family.
31:28Ah, I get I kind of guessed.
31:29Yeah. And also also homework
31:32I'm not concerned about that at all.
31:34I've always known that they do their
31:37homework. I I never check if they
31:40do
31:41You don't have to check. You don't
31:43Do you even ask, "What's your homework?"
31:45Or how much homework do you have this
31:46week?
31:47No. Sometimes when I try to be a good
31:50mom
31:51I had a chance to visit some schools
31:52while I was in Finland. The Sepo School
31:54was especially interesting. We spent
31:56some time in elementary classes, but
31:58then we went over to the high school.
32:00The high school there is grades 10
32:01through 12. And what is particularly
32:03interesting about what they call their
32:05upper secondary is that students have a
32:07choice between a more academic track or
32:10a vocational track. About 40% 45% choose
32:14the the the non-academic technical
32:17track, cuz they know that's going to
32:19prepare them for a good job right out of
32:21high school. There's a respect and a
32:23dignity about all work in Finland. And
32:26what matters most is the skillfulness
32:28and intelligence you bring to whatever
32:30job you may have.
32:33Long time ago I I I went to to the
32:37technical university
32:38and I studied
32:41electrical engineering and electronics.
32:44And
32:46after that I have been working at
32:48different companies for
32:5030 years.
32:52I wanted to decrease the stress level
32:55because I was a technical director in a
32:57in a company and and this is
33:00how I did it.
33:01I started to teach something I I have
33:04learned.
33:06One one
33:08big finding was that uh
33:10that uh
33:12experts don't know how people learn.
33:15Because there are
33:16many different understandings.
33:19So
33:20I'm trying to
33:22understand how it really happens in
33:25practice. So
33:27yeah.
33:28What I like
33:29in in teaching is is many things. That
33:31this is
33:33demanding. A lot of challenges.
33:37You can see the results.
33:39You have long
33:41summer vacations.
33:44What else you need?
33:47In practice
33:49all students here may also select
33:52courses from from the academic
33:55side.
33:57It's possible on also in the in the
33:59opposite way even though not many many
34:02are doing that.
34:04Directly after basic education young
34:08Finns uh
34:10go to about 45% go to vocational
34:14education training.
34:15About 50% go to upper secondary general
34:19schools.
34:21The balance between vocational education
34:23training sector and upper secondary
34:25general sector is is very good for for
34:27for Finland and we set
34:30a our target a ago for us that that we
34:33should actually have more balanced
34:36situation in in Finland. Reasons behind
34:39it, there must be actually developments
34:42of of vocational education training
34:44sector.
34:46However, there isn't any dead ends
34:49nowadays. We have actually made our
34:51education system so so flexible that
34:55actually you can continue studies after
34:58vocational education and training at
35:00universities or you can actually come
35:03back to
35:04general education if you want to. So
35:07it's very open nowadays.
35:09In American schools, technology is
35:11primarily introduced as an aid for the
35:13teachers' presentations, whiteboards,
35:15PowerPoints, and so on. But in Finland,
35:18the emphasis is much more on the
35:20students using the technology for their
35:22learning.
35:24How long have you been teaching here in
35:26the upper secondary?
35:27Uh 26 years.
35:28Oh, just starting then.
35:31In in this in the in the in that school
35:33that same school.
35:34Yes.
35:3526 years.
35:35That's a long time. So, have you seen
35:38much difference in the students? Are
35:39they different uh to teach now than when
35:42you started?
35:43uh students are almost the same, but uh
35:45relationship between uh students and
35:47teachers are better nowadays.
35:49In what ways?
35:50Uh we are working together more and
35:52more.
35:53Oh, that's excellent.
35:53Yeah.
35:54We just had a nice
35:57uh 25-minute lunch in the school
35:58cafeteria, but you told me your class
36:00started 25 minutes ago. You mean you
36:02trust them to work on their own?
36:05Yeah, yeah. I trust them to work alone
36:07and they have, you know, deadlines. Then
36:10they work what they have to do and they
36:12have this learning environment Moodle
36:15and they make maps there and
36:18So, tell us about Moodle.
36:20Uh
36:21Moodle is a learning environment and you
36:24can I put all kind of material and you
36:27can discuss and you can evaluate with
36:30Moodle.
36:30Mhm.
36:31Learning is something
36:33to use cultural tools.
36:36Mhm.
36:38All kind of tools.
36:39Mhm.
36:40If you have a lot of tools, you can
36:42learn even more.
36:43Mhm.
36:43And they
36:44So, it's like an online learning
36:45environment.
36:46It's online learning environment.
36:47Where they are sharing projects with one
36:49another.
36:50everything is shared, yes.
36:51Everything is shared. They're working on
36:53projects together online.
36:55Yeah.
36:55You're giving them lectures online that
36:57they can access.
36:58Uh no, not lectures.
36:59But you give them problems or
37:00challenges.
37:01Yeah, yeah.
37:02That they have to solve.
37:02Yeah, yeah.
37:03So, tell us a little bit about the class
37:04we're just going to go see.
37:06Uh
37:06it is I think there are some 20
37:09students.
37:09And what are they going to be working
37:10on?
37:11They are working um
37:13kind of
37:14geography study about African countries.
37:17Okay.
37:18Hannah, can you tell me what you're
37:19working on, please?
37:21Um I'm searching some information about
37:24African plant, Togo,
37:27which is
37:28Mhm.
37:30How much time do you have to work on
37:31this project?
37:32About 5 weeks.
37:335 weeks just to work on this project?
37:36Yes.
37:36And you're working alone for 5 weeks?
37:38Yeah.
37:39Is that hard?
37:41Well, I don't think so. It's actually
37:43quite fun. I enjoy this.
37:45I think it's quite fun.
37:47I have to do something in every
37:50Every category?
37:51Yes.
37:52You're working on
37:53Chimbu Province nature map and I have to
37:56make one map on paper and one map on
37:58internet.
37:59Oh, I see. So, you're also having to
38:01write here
38:03some answers that the rest of the class
38:04will see that will be shared from the
38:06software. And other students will
38:08comment on your work.
38:09Yes. Yes.
38:10Do you find this useful? Would you
38:12rather be reading a textbook and taking
38:14tests?
38:14think this is quite good way to learn.
38:16Use more of your own creativity, your
38:18own thinking, and your own ideas about
38:19how to create an effective mind map.
38:22Yeah, exactly.
38:24Yeah.
38:46We are studying
38:49business marketing. So, at at this
38:52moment we are studying the social media
38:55marketing, which is a quite new area.
38:57You know, no one knows where the
38:58marketing in social media is going.
39:01So, students are actually in the
39:03Facebook, which they love, trying to
39:06find out different kind of articles,
39:09especially on about Facebook and
39:11marketing. They are using Wikipedia.
39:14It's quite interesting because when you
39:16see something new is growing, so you
39:18need to
39:20go right to it and and to see where it's
39:22going to.
40:12Innovation and entrepreneurship
40:14education came into our curricula 15
40:18years ago approximately.
40:20It should be included in every teaching
40:23and every subject.
40:25What does it mean to educate an entire
40:28country to develop the capacities for
40:30innovation? Finland is among the top
40:33five countries in innovation, global
40:35competitiveness, and entrepreneurship.
40:38But yet this country is now asking what
40:41I would say are some of the
40:42post-industrial questions.
40:44If education is to be something that
40:47maybe is for its own sake, to develop
40:50curiosity, to develop imagination, to
40:52develop social bonding and networks,
40:56what does that mean that we might need
40:57to do differently? How do we free up
40:59time and space for more exploratory
41:02learning, not just transmitting
41:04information, but giving young people
41:06chances to explore, to experiment, and
41:08to create new knowledge and new
41:10information?
41:12I was 16 when I started my company. We
41:14have three
41:16full-time full-timers.
41:18So, like I am.
41:20So, we go to school, but when we are
41:23out of school, then we do some jobs and
41:25marketing and such.
41:27Uh it's specialization in making home
41:30computers and mostly what what we do
41:32gaming computers for
41:35kids like us.
41:37We know what we want, and that's what we
41:38do.
41:40So,
41:41um this is actually the main site.
41:44As you can see, there's again my friend,
41:46and he's eating a motherboard.
41:50It's so easy. I can't lose any money,
41:52but I can make money if I work hard.
41:56Well, if it can provide us
41:58when we are
41:59graduating and
42:01and don't get any better jobs, then then
42:03it's a good that we have somewhere to
42:06work. Somewhere to work.
42:08You know, by luck I stumbled on this
42:09student project in one of the schools,
42:12where students were learning about
42:13innovation and entrepreneurship by
42:15forming teams that had to produce a new
42:18product or service overnight, quite
42:20literally. They were spending the night
42:22in schools with their teams and with
42:24adult chaperones
42:25learning the skills of innovation and
42:27entrepreneurship. You know, it's a very
42:29rare school in our country that teaches
42:31anything like that. We have some schools
42:34that do extraordinary job of giving all
42:36students a work-based internship. Some
42:38schools that enable students to do what
42:41we call service learning, community
42:42service. But I think in Finland these
42:45things are far more common,
42:47whereas in our country they are the
42:48exception to the rule.
42:51Tell us a little bit about this
42:52innovation camp. What What is it about?
42:54Well, it's about what is called
42:57entrepreneurial
42:58Entrepreneurship?
42:59Yeah.
43:00Okay.
43:01And
43:02um we're here to um
43:05How do I say this? Well, people are
43:07coming here. Uh we are forming groups of
43:10five, six,
43:12seven people about in a group, and
43:15they're going to start up business here.
43:18Is it true you're going to be here all
43:19night long?
43:20Yes.
43:2024 hours.
43:21Uh 26.
43:2326 hours?
43:24Yes.
43:25What is the point of being here all
43:26night long?
43:27It exhausts you to the limit where you
43:30really got to push it to the
43:31Yeah, limit, yeah.
43:32Well, if you hang around for 24 hours
43:34with the same people over here, well,
43:36you learn to know the people that you're
43:38working with. So you get better
43:39teamwork.
43:40Uh teamwork, of course.
43:42And think more freely, not so
43:46More open-minded.
43:47Yeah.
43:48Okay.
43:49Yeah. Um well,
43:53you have to be really social in these
43:55things, really.
43:57It's It's not that obvious for everyone.
43:59So well, people may think that you can
44:02well, I can
44:04make a company of my own and I can do it
44:05all my by myself. I don't need any help.
44:08That's not true.
44:10Hey, you learned here.
44:13Back in the 1970s, Finland realized it
44:15really could leave no child behind
44:18because every child was needed to be a
44:20part of a greater wealth of the country.
44:22So, what have you done? You said you've
44:23been kind of creating your education
44:25system from scratch since 1970s. What
44:27are the hallmarks?
44:28To be frank, we didn't start from
44:30totally from scratch, but actually we
44:32formed comprehensive school in Finland
44:34during 1970s.
44:36The comprehensive school
44:38is intended for all.
44:42Not
44:43segregating the age group. The parallel
44:46system refers to the system that is
44:49still present in Germany, for example,
44:51in the five first years during your your
44:53education at the age of 11 that they
44:56tell
44:58that you're a poor performing student.
45:01You're never going to end up with the
45:03academic profession.
45:05And that's like a that's like a weapon
45:07that they use.
45:09Like a whip.
45:11And it's totally different from the idea
45:14that we have about education providing
45:17everybody the same possibility, the same
45:20opportunities, even the same curriculum.
45:24We started to discuss about the
45:26possibility of
45:28a single and unique and equal education
45:30for all and it took five years to
45:33discuss that but finally it came into
45:36force in 1973 that there should be a
45:39kind of basic education that is similar
45:42for everyone regardless of of social or
45:45economic background.
45:47The system in Finland relies on the
45:49principle of equality and equity.
45:53As a parent, you are sure
45:56wherever you live in this country that
45:59your child is getting same type of
46:02education with same type of curriculum.
46:05So, it's equal and it's free. They get
46:09to all the materials free of charge.
46:12They get their food, lunches, even
46:14snacks like in our school free of
46:16charge.
46:18It's very democratic in that in that
46:20way.
46:22Can you tell me about the balance
46:23between what what is done nationally
46:26versus what is done locally?
46:27Yeah.
46:28Nowadays Finnish state and actually
46:31Finnish National Board of Education sets
46:33core curriculum
46:35for basic education. It's
46:38gives much leeway to to
46:41schools and and municipalities to
46:42operate.
46:43It's also blessedly brief, isn't it? I
46:45mean, your curriculum frameworks are
46:46about this thick, aren't they?
46:48Which is really extraordinary when I
46:49think about our textbooks.
46:51It's It's That's true.
46:52In our society we have a
46:55uh core curriculum and then schools make
46:59their own curriculums and they have lots
47:02of liberty in making the their own
47:05decisions.
47:09Second phase was actually that that
47:12during 1980s
47:15we moved
47:16uh teacher education training
47:19to universities
47:21so that all teachers are required
47:25nowadays master's degree in
47:27universities.
47:29We do not have any kind of a
47:30inspectorate.
47:33You know, there are no
47:34inspecting
47:36schools or teachers.
47:39We kind of trust to our system.
47:42You know, we have a whole system where
47:45principals are supposed to come in and
47:46formally evaluate the teacher, but you
47:48don't do that here, do you?
47:49In Finland the schools education system
47:52is based on trust.
47:54That the teachers are trusted to do
47:58their work properly.
48:00If people are trusted, then they
48:03want to be worth that trust. They they
48:06are more bound to be trustworthy.
48:08I think people perform better when they
48:10are trusted.
48:11They do better job when they are not
48:13controlled because
48:16nobody wants to be told what to do.
48:18So,
48:19there is a huge trust to all levels in
48:24this education or system we have.
48:27Ministry trusts on the schools and and
48:30the system parents trust on our
48:33educational system that allows you to
48:37act freely, concentrate on your
48:39individual way of learning how to learn.
48:43Actually, it took 25 years to learn how
48:46to trust. And
48:49in 1991-1993,
48:51when we localized the curriculum process
48:54I told you previously, we learned to
48:56trust each other.
48:59I think if people are always checking up
49:01on you,
49:02then you are just trying to show them
49:05that or or try to look that you are
49:08doing your job well.
49:10But if if somebody
49:13really trust you, then you I think it's
49:16a
49:17a basic human quality uh one wanting to
49:21be worth that trust.
49:24A compliance-based system, you know, is
49:26something we see around us all the time
49:28where students are saying, "What What's
49:30What do I have to do to get a C or a B?
49:31What's the minimum?" Teachers sometimes
49:33complying with the district mandates,
49:35districts complying with the testing
49:37requirements. Everybody trying to figure
49:39out what's the minimum they have to do
49:41to just get by.
49:42So far, the the trust has been very
49:45important. And I would like to say that
49:48that why we can have trust is that we
49:50have trained and and educated teachers
49:53so well, we can trust them. They are
49:55professionals in their field and
49:57otherwise we couldn't work actually. If
50:00we had set too strict guidelines for
50:02teachers and they are highly trained,
50:04why to bother? It's it's up to teachers
50:07to do their job. But uh trust is is uh
50:11incorporated in in many ways in Finnish
50:14society.
50:16You know, I've seen some wonderful
50:17schools in this country.
50:19Almost all of them were small. Almost
50:21all of them were startups in the sense
50:23that they were new
50:24uh small schools within schools, schools
50:26of choice or charter schools.
50:29And almost all of them were based on
50:31trust. So, there's no question in my
50:33mind that a trust-based system, trust
50:36with professionalism, can get absolutely
50:39better results. The question is can we
50:41do trust at scale?
50:43I think it's a necessary experiment. We
50:45have to find out because the compliance
50:47system at scale is simply a spiral
50:50downhill.
51:45Now, I went to Finland as a guest of the
51:46National Board of Education who who was
51:49sponsoring along with the Finnish
51:50Ministry of Education a conference
51:53called Education 2020. And they had
51:55invited some of the leading policy
51:57makers, educators, and so on to come and
51:59really talk about how the comprehensive
52:01education goals may need to be shifted
52:04or changed in the coming years for all
52:07students in Finland. So, the question we
52:10might ask ourselves is, how do we talk
52:12about education in a way that's not
52:14punitive? And in a way that's
52:16future-oriented, and in a way that
52:18grounds the conversation in the
52:20experiences and in the needs of young
52:23people themselves, as well as in our
52:26economy and in our democracy.
52:29So, tell me about this 2020 conference.
52:31You're here today to talk about
52:33education in 2020. You're already the
52:35best in the world. What are you worrying
52:37about? Why are you thinking about 2020?
52:39Although uh PISA tables say that that we
52:42are
52:43topping many of the the PISA PISA
52:45studies. Our national evaluations show
52:47that that we have areas where we need to
52:50go further. For example, writing skills,
52:53communication skills. But
52:57to to be more more
52:59profound, it is about
53:01education itself. What are the the
53:04outcomes of education? And there we have
53:07to bear in mind that that
53:09we have been too strictly academic so
53:13far. So, it's it's not enough to
53:15memorize things. We should actually
53:18learn how we use the knowledge. It's not
53:21distinction between 21st century skills
53:24or academic skills. We need both. And
53:27and we don't want to abandon the good
53:30situation we have in in academic skill
53:32area. No, no, that's definitely true.
53:36It's much more important to learn to
53:39think than to learn to repeat some basic
53:44uh
53:45uh
53:46subject matter things.
53:50Family values are important. Education
53:53is important. Reading is important.
53:57It's important to understand reasons
53:59behind things. Concentrate, read, dream,
54:04talk, understand, reason,
54:08find solutions yourself.
54:12Finnish education is still
54:15too subject-oriented.
54:18We should actually highlight
54:20thinking skills, collaboration skills,
54:23and that kind of skills which are more
54:25higher-order.
54:29As we think about what has to happen in
54:30this country, it's not just changing
54:32what's taught and how things are taught,
54:35but really reshaping the teaching
54:37profession. And it's not about money.
54:39It's about teachers thinking of
54:41themselves as knowledge workers.
54:43Teachers understanding that they have to
54:44be innovators in the classroom every
54:47single day as they think about bringing
54:49all students to high levels of
54:51attainment.
55:08You want to go on?
55:09Mhm.
55:10So, I am
55:11Okay. Awesome.
55:13Yeah, I don't know her. Maybe she's like
55:15good, but
55:16Yeah.
55:17She's good.
55:18No.
55:33You know what most impressed me about my
55:35experience in Finland? It's the way an
55:37entire country has focused relentlessly
55:40on preparing all students
55:43for work and citizenship in the 21st
55:45century.
55:47But the real question is, what can we
55:49here in America learn from their
55:50experience? Clearly they're a very
55:52different country, different culture.
55:55Our country is far more heterogeneous
55:56and larger. And obviously what works in
55:59one country may or may not work in
56:00another. Nevertheless, I think it would
56:02be a serious mistake to just dismiss
56:04Finland. In fact, I believe we need to
56:07see Finland as a laboratory for 21st
56:10century educational innovation. A place
56:13that has done sustained research and
56:15development to create a truly
56:18world-class education system for a new
56:20century.
56:22Oh, well done. Good job.
56:30One of the most important lessons from
56:32Finland is that the business of school
56:34is learning, period. It's not sports,
56:38nor is it even extracurriculars. Nothing
56:40interrupts the learning process in
56:42classrooms. It is sacrosanct.
56:46A second valuable lesson is the way in
56:48which they have totally transformed the
56:50education profession over the last
56:52quarter century. Very high standards for
56:54admission into schools of education, so
56:56only the very top students become
56:58teachers.
57:00All teachers must earn a master's
57:02degree, which brings far more academic
57:04rigor into the classroom. And the kind
57:06of training these student teachers
57:08receive, where they observe master
57:10teachers and have their own teaching
57:11practices critically evaluated, really
57:14prepares them to enter into the
57:15classroom ready to engage all students.
57:20Yet a third lesson from Finland is the
57:22idea of less being more.
57:24Very few national curriculum guidelines,
57:27which can be adapted locally.
57:29Class time is longer and there are fewer
57:31classes in the day, which allows
57:34students far more time to do projects
57:36and to go into greater depth in their
57:38academic studies.
57:40Then there are the ways in which Finland
57:41has focused on how best to motivate
57:44students.
57:45Students have many more choices for the
57:47projects they pursue in their classes
57:49and the arts are far more well
57:50integrated into every class.
57:53But perhaps most important, by
57:54developing a very comprehensive
57:56vocational education system at the high
57:59school level, which prepares students
58:01for jobs immediately out of high school.
58:03I have to wonder that if we gave every
58:05student a choice of a high caliber
58:08vocational education system in every
58:10high school in America, might we not be
58:12able to significantly reduce our
58:13epidemic dropout rate?
58:17But what I found most surprising of all
58:19is the way in which the Finnish
58:21education system is built up on trust.
58:24The ministry trusts the municipalities
58:26to adapt and adopt the national
58:28curriculum as needed.
58:30The municipalities trust the teachers
58:32and the schools to do what's right. The
58:34teachers even trust the students to use
58:37their time wisely and to use the
58:38internet and other technologies
58:40responsibly.
58:42Of course, trust doesn't happen
58:43overnight.
58:45The Finns began with developing a real
58:47consensus about the importance of
58:49education and the purpose of education.
58:52This consensus
58:54has enabled Finns to work far more
58:56collaboratively and cooperatively to
58:58prepare all of their children for a rich
59:00and satisfying and productive life in
59:03the new global knowledge economy.
59:06So, is there anything Finland might
59:07learn from some of America's best
59:09education practices?
59:11Actually, I think there is.
59:12In the best schools that I've seen in
59:14this country, students have digital
59:15portfolios and publish their work.
59:18Teachers videotape their own and one
59:20another's lessons,
59:21leading to a kind of transparency for
59:24all students and teachers in learning
59:26and teaching.
59:27So, of course, we have some wonderful
59:28teachers and extraordinary schools here
59:30in America. But, what was so inspiring
59:33about Finland is the way in which they
59:35are doing this kind of high level of
59:36education for every single student in
59:39the country.
59:40For me,
59:42this is the Finland phenomenon.

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