How does Finland's Education Become the Best in the World?

As Michigan students take their MEAP tests this week, we are reminded that the United States education system is too tied to testing. This article about Finland's education system is a good reminder that we need to focus on critical thinking skills and encourage life-long learning.

"Education is looked upon as a life-long process in any job. People are generally much more educated in any trade or professional jobs than they are in other countries. They do an excellent job in having the highest work force readiness of any nation"

Hope for the First-Year Teacher

A fellow teacher wrote this up summary of a great article on traditional vs. non-traditional teaching methods:

"The Educational Value of Creative Disobedience," is a fascinating article in Scientific American (July 7, 2011) in which Andrea Kuszewski explores the difference between traditional educational methods and those based on arousing curiosity.

Kuszewsji described a study which compared "a group of students taught by an inexperienced instructor, but one that utilized hands-on demonstrations and student involvement...and a similar group taught using traditional methods (lecture) by a highly rated experienced professor." The result: "increased student attendance, higher engagement, and more than twice the learning in the section taught using research-based instruction."

"The quality of the instructor didn’t have nearly the impact on student learning that getting the students actively involved in the learning process did. Just by moving the students from passive observer to active participant, you are lighting a fire in the brain—making more connections across association areas, increasing plasticity, and enhancing learning. Not only that, students that are more actively engaged are more intrinsically motivated to learn—no bribes or artificial rewards needed, just pure enjoyment of learning."

Ok, back to the job hunt. . . Thank you for your patience. I promise to post more soon!