Towards authenticity - major trend and challenge in learning

One of the main transversal themes in the new Finnish Core Curriculum of Basic Education (FCC) is the opening of school doors and classroom windows to the surrounding community and the world. Learning can be linked to real life in many different ways.

When authentic learning approach is applied, instead of reading textbooks the students go out of the classroom to explore the surrounding nature, the built environment and their own local community or visitors from local organizations, businesses and other stakeholders, and local artists and experts in cultural heritage are invited to the classrooms to share their knowledge and experiences. A school that supports and strengthens lingual and cultural awareness appreciates and makes visible multilingualism and cultural diversity represented at the school and in the local community.

Students are roused to take the interest in linguistic and cultural diversity of the school community and the world around and they are encouraged to communicate in authentic environments. FCC p. 134

In authentic learning, phenomena and problems are studied in their real context in which they actually occur in nature, the surrounding community and in the world, where local and global overlap and merge. They are explored as they are, extensive and diverse from different and changing perspectives, crossing the borders of different school subjects. Authentic learning is an alternative approach to the learning of facts and skills disconnected from their true context and to cramming pre-chewed and, in the worst case, outdated information. Many of the world problems, such as extreme poverty, climate change, inequality and war, worry and distress children and young people. To discuss these problems together, search for solutions and act locally to promote sustainable solutions, is an important part of learning, prevention of social exclusion and the new school culture.

Well-functioning learning environments promote dialogue, participation and collaborative knowledge construction. They also enable active cooperation between the school and the communities and experts outside school... Learning environments have to provide opportunities for creative solutions, as well as the examination and exploration of issues from different perspectives. FCC p. 27

Authentic learning environments can be and very often are virtual. For authentic learning it’s essential that the sources of information are authentic and interaction takes place in real life (even if online), not drills, materials and simulated situations created for learning purposes. During a learning meaningful authentic texts (i.e. pictures, videos, podcasts, multimedia, articles, essays, presentations, cartoons) in which new ideas and innovative visions emerge are both studied and produced by students.

process

As for learning foreign languages, an authentic environment and genuine interaction across language boundaries inspires and motivates the students to express themselves and take part in real life conversations. Information and communication technology offers excellent ways to create a language learning environment that is appropriate for teaching and that supports interaction between students. All you need is a partner class for any part of the world and you can start face-to-face real-time interaction  using user-friendly free apps like chats, forums and video conferencing (e.g. Skype, Google Hangout, FaceTime).

Information and communication technology offers a natural way to implement language learning in authentic situations and meet students' communication needs. This way of learning supports student active engagement and ownership of learning. FCC p. 131

Authentic learning emphasizes students’ engagement and experience of authenticity in relation to their own learning. The student’s own ideas and strengths are exploited throughout the learning process from planning to assessment. In authentic learning the students is the owner/subject of her/his learning, not the object. Thus, learning becomes meaningful and relevant and the school as learning environment supports individual growth and the development, interaction and learning of the whole community.

Rethinking BETT show 2015

This year´s BETT hype was computing, robotics and different kinds of little gadgets you can program to do different things. So far I’ve been thinking very positively about coding and even attended a couple of courses to understand a bit more about what it’s all about – especially as coding is now included in the Finnish school core curriculum. At BETT I started to get increasingly concerned about engineers taking over education.

It’s clear that the big businesses are mainly interested in selling (actual) things: tablets, laptops, mobile devices, robots, 3D printers, screens (the bigger  the better), smart boards etc. A few years back everybody was talking about serious games and gamification of learning. Well, it proved to be something teachers found exciting and full of possibilities, but the schools had/have no money, so the interest in developing serious games slowly expired. No big bucks in that line of business. Now, we've come to the point where teachers and students are encouraged to create learning games themselves. It develops creativity and problem solving skills. Yippee! And your hard work will be recognized by a cute digital badge, if you share your game with the rest of the world.

In the light of sustainable development and solutions for the future, I’d like to see more open learning solutions, less to do with different devices and more to do with thinking and problem solving. More BYOD-based and 1:2-4 learning, prioritizing collaboration and team work skills, communication and creative inquiry.  For me the idea of the internet of things in which I have to update my washing machine (and all other home electronics) once in six months and change it for a newer model every two years is a horrible nightmare. Perhaps, it’s not a surprise that WALL-E is one of my all-time film favorites.

However, contrary to the show of things, I did enjoy the show of thoughts at BETT. Dr. Ashley Tan questioned the conventional way of flipping. It shouldn’t just be teachers working overtime making videos and students doing their homework in a bit different way than usual. Flipping entails rethinking of teaching and curriculum. In true flipping the conventional classroom roles are flipped, students are learning content creators and teach each other. For me that’s an inspiring idea and supports students engagement and them taking ownership of their learning. It shows way towards more personalized learning and design learning.

After spending three days looking at devices, gadgets, things and stuff, it was very refreshing and absolutely fascinating to listen to Sir Ken Robinson talking. He hardly mentioned technologies, but talked very critically about education. “I’m criticizing school culture and standardization, not teachers.” he said. Human mind is inherently creative. Creativity, imagination and innovation should form the corner stones of education. Education should support diversity instead of conformity. I totally agree. But how do I convince the decision makers, as creativity and diversity are difficult to measure and convert into Big Data. Blimey!

OPPI: celebrating learning

Finally, an international learning festival dealing with the most fascinating and mind-blowing issues in learning and discussing global challenges and mega trends without stiff self-important lectures and academic jargon. Even if some of the topics were serious and heartfelt, the atmosphere in general was relaxed and joyful.

As hierarchies are inevitably crumbling down and flexible global networks and learning communities are gradually replacing them, as students become more and more engaged in their own learning, more and more self-organized and they participate in the process as designers, it’s only proper that also in “conferences” participants are actively taking part, learning by doing, creating new contacts and joining new networks. The 21st century way of learning in which the learner is at the centre should be applied throughout in professional development, teacher training, seminars, workshops and conferences.

New ideas and fresh points of view were presented in many of the discussions, lectures and workshops. Students’ voices were heard and a little bit of music and circus and lot of play were included.

For me, PISA statistics and comparisons were very thought-provoking. Why do boys and students with immigrant background do so badly compared with girls? How much of that is due to teachers and teaching? Majority of Finnish teachers are white female high-achievers. Do they even speak the same language with boys and immigrant pupils? How is it possible that the Finnish students with very low self-belief, motivation and engagement still have the best learning results in Europe? Is it, at least partly, due to the “good girl” syndrome? And, seriously, what does this kind of lack of motivation and engagement do to creativity and collaboration?

On the other hand, Saku Tuominen’s workshop in which he presented his mindset for dreaming and doing was quite inspirational. I’ve always been an advocate of learning by boing, but now I think I’ll include dreaming in the equation as well. I’m sure a dreamstorming session now and then in a Finnish classroom would make a difference. Dreaming as such is fun, but including doing (realizing your dreams) in the process is what makes it life-changing. It goes very well together with “thinking globally, acting locally” principle.

I also took part in OPPI TeachMeet livestream, my first ever. I really enjoy these semi-spontaneous meetings in which the participants are at centre. The feeling was very warm and encouraging thanks to Oliver Quinlan and Tim Walker. I also shared a little OPPIstory from my classroom a few years back. Yey!

I love Sugata Mitra. I’ve once heard him lecture about the hole-in-the-wall experience/experiment a few years ago and I’ve been an absolute fan since. His school in the cloud is a dream almost come true. It was fantastic to hear him again. He never fails to challenge us. He’s all for minimally invasive teaching and self-organized learning. So, he suggested, teachers shouldn’t be guides but friends. Wow! What do you say to that? A lot of re-thinking to do!

Curriculum development - towards 21st century skills and literacies

Schools and learning worldwide are challenged by globalization and digitalization. New skills and literacies are required from the 21st century citizens. With people travelling more and more freely across borders to work and study, intercultural and communication skills will make an essential part of the new literacies. When using new technologies, we can travel anywhere and meet anyone (virtually) anytime. Digitalization and global networks are bound together in a way that is changing the world faster than we can imagine.

Instead of what, general education will have to be about how. How to find relevant information in the world in which new knowledge is being built constantly and its amount is growing exponentially? How to collaborate and work together in different kinds of teams, communities and networks that can be global and multicultural? How to find and use the best ICT tools and applications for a wide range of tasks and how to use audio, video, pictures and diagrams to present and express our ideas in the most appropriate way?

To cope with the constant changes, besides communication and ICT skills, citizens of the future will need flexible intellectual capacity to think creatively, learn to learn and reflect on their thinking/learning. But being a global citizen is not only being connected and move smoothly from one network to another. It’s also about feeling responsible for the well-being of the world, making choices that support sustainable development and fostering peace, equality and human rights.

To educate a new generation capable of meeting the challenges of the 21st century, the school culture (the way we do things at school) has to be radically changed. In the future, the learning process will be characterized by asking questions, finding answers and building knowledge (rather than transferring information). Teachers and students will collaborate and work together in flexible teams and classes. Students will design their own learning and exploit their strengths in project-, problem- or inquiry-based learning activities. They’ll learn by doing, playing and discussing.

The learning environments will be diverse and open in many different ways.  A lot of learning takes place in real-life or virtual environments. Textbooks are used as any other sources, not guiding the learning process or defining its content. Students build and create their own eBooks and learning materials and share them with other learners. Students can consult experts and work together with their peers in other countries around the world and share knowledge and ideas.

Sounds exciting, doesn’t it? Hopefully, building communities across borders and making friends around the world will also make us gradually understand the true essence of global citizenship and this globe of ours a bit better place to live.

Network for Sustainable Innovation

eTwinning ambassadors are a network of teachers committed to promote cross-border collaborative learning between European students and teachers. They have experience and expertise in project-based learning and enthusiasm for spreading the good word.

Last weekend almost 300 eTwinning ambassadors gathered in a conference in Catania in Sicily. The special theme of the conference was Network for Sustainable Innovation, containing three equally important terms that are at the basis and define the essence of eTwinning.

Network

eTwinning is a huge network consisting of (216,000) European teachers, HTs and librarians sharing the desire to connect and collaborate across borders, develop the understanding of different cultures, find friends and enhance 21st century skills such as communication, ICT, team work, creativity, entrepreneurship etc. Through its members the eTwinning network is connected to over 100,000 schools and more than a million teachers around Europe.

Within this continuously growing network there are smaller networks of practice (foreign language teachers, school librarians, creative classroom teachers, ambassadors etc.) There are also communities of learners, often developed during a Learning Event or around a special group with shared objectives and interests.

Sustainability

In the global world with common world-wide problems such as pollution, global warming, limited resources and poverty, it’s vital that children learn to understand the consequences and the environmental impact of their actions. As citizens of the world we bear the responsibility of protecting and saving our environment for future generations.

Through eTwinning and internationalization at home we don’t only enhance values embedded in global education but also support sustainable way of life by offering a real possibility of working together and making friends on the net and promoting virtual cooperation and collaboration instead of actual traveling.

Innovation

By their nature eTwinning teachers are pioneers of educational change. They are willing to explore and plunge into the unknown. They’re looking for new ways of learning and willing to open the classroom doors and windows to the future. This creates the mental state and atmosphere in which creativity and innovation bloom. The moment when you enter the discomfort zone is crucial. Innovation can only take place outside the box, preferably working, learning and building knowledge together in a Network for Sustainable Innovation.

Sharing - at the heart of the new way of learning

We had a two-day seminar for 80 teachers and HTs interested in global education. The central issue and focal point of the meeting can be characterized by one word “sharing”. How does the internationalization of schools and global education support the culture of sharing and working together and help pulling down the barriers between different school subjects and the walls around schools? How can we gradually change the way of working and learning at schools so that, in August 2016, teachers and students are ready to start implementing and carrying out the curriculum-based learning of the new era?

The teacher's role has traditionally been to act as the guardian at the gate of knowledge. She weighs and chooses the information to distribute to her students at the appropriate dose of chunks. Knowledge moves in one direction from top (teacher) to bottom (student).

In a networked system information flows in all directions. Students and teachers form a network in which information, messages, and knowledge flow according to individual needs and interests. Self-interest and concealment of information will soon backfire. In a networked school, you are what you share. The teachers are learners alongside the pupils.

Knowledge sharing has not been part of the traditional school culture. Students that have been punished for sharing (= cheating). Textbook based teaching culture doesn’t encourage teachers to share (= extra work). But in printed educational material information becomes obsolete very quickly and the contents don’t tend to support the acquisition of skills needed at work and in life today and in the future. They need to be complemented and replaced by learning materials produced collaboratively by students applying the key phases of knowledge construction process: search, critical evaluation, constructing, presenting and sharing of knowledge. It's about learning to lean differently.

International projects have long been applying new ways of learning. It’s natural and meaningful to combine the learning of foreign languages, communication and ICT skills with culture, geography, natural sciences, history or any other school subject for studying collaboratively hands-on. The projects cannot rely on the information provided by textbooks, but the information is searched by students and constructed into presentations, quizzes, photo galleries and videos that are shared with a partner classes and students. Students meet on Skype and at forums, learn by discussing and chatting, asking questions and telling stories, in short, sharing.

The school will develop into learning community in which teachers and students work together sharing knowledge and experiences across class boundaries. Students can share what they’ve learned and experienced in the project by visiting other classes or at morning assemblies, by organizing exhibitions and creating photo galleries (online or real-life), writing in a blog, creating eBooks, giving workshops or organizing theme days, and by inviting parents, supporters and other stakeholders to visit school and the project website. Sharing is a skill that is learned by doing. It is a way of learning that empowers equally the sharer and the receiver. It will increase your responsibility and appreciation of your own work and the respect of others’.

I sometimes wonder if there was a special significance in that my project, which almost 10 years ago won the eTwinning competition in the series of pedagogical innovation, was called "Learning and Sharing"?

Thinking 2013

In November, the Finnish National Board of Education published the first draft of the national curriculum framework of basic education. This started a nation-wide discussion on the future of education which will, hopefully, continue all through the year 2013 and which all teachers and students and other stakeholders will take part in.

To stay up-to-date schools will need to be increasingly connected with the surrounding society locally, nationally and world-wide. International contacts and networks, partner classes and different kinds of learning projects will provide our students with the skills they’ll need as citizens of the global world.

Learning in an authentic context in collaboration with one’s peers makes learning meaningful, creates a feeling of involvement and enhances commitment. Authenticity is also at the heart of the phenomenon-based learning. Creative ideas are born and thinking skills develop in an open environment in which different cultures, languages and points of view meet.

As the world is changing and technologies are developing at an accelerating pace, many of the ‘good old’ practices need to be questioned. Teachers can’t be experts in every topic and individually responsible for the student’s development. Instead we need collective responsibility and shared expertise, co-teaching and team work.

To integrate the use of new technologies in learning we need the students to bring their own devices (BYOD) to school and the informal learning of the students to be recognized and made use of. The students will learn more and more outside school. When they bring their knowledge and skills to the classroom, they'll enrich the learning process and promote thinking outside the box. The school must be ready to take advantage of this. Learning contents can’t be so narrowly defined that the developing technologies and approaches, innovative ideas and individual learning paths won’t fit in.

I hope that the New Year 2013 will lead us towards the school of the future. I hope the discussion on the new curriculum framework will spread to every corner of Finland and changes of learning culture will start to take place. I hope we teachers open our hearts and minds and welcome the world in our classrooms. I wish you …

The Future School - School in 2020

In November I gave a three-week online course for nearly one hundred eTwinning teachers from all over Europe. The topic of the learning event was the future school. We watched videos and presentations, and discussed future trends together. Participating teachers shared opinions and ideas about the future of learning in small groups comparing different scenarios.

The same issues worry teachers across Europe: the poor economic situation leading to cutbacks that target schools and educational development, the enormous pace of technological development impossible to keep up with without major education policy changes and concerns about technology replacing human interaction.

When discussing what  future school buildings and learning environments would be like, a large part of the teachers were in favour of large, spacious and adaptable areas containing workstations for various activities and facilities that support learning in groups of various sizes and independent work. Virtual environments will allow individual learning paths, learning together in international projects, large scale interaction with the world outside and overlapping of school and free time activities.

On the whole, the participants felt that, in the future, collaborative student-centered learning methods will be prevalent. By working together students learn important skills: communication, knowledge-building, creative thinking and learning to learn, of which the last one, the teachers considered of a special importance.

Teaching profession was discussed using five different scenarios. Many participants found especially interesting the scenario in which teachers specialize in one or two different learning methods. Teachers offer a variety of learning paths for students to choose from, so that they can follow the path that suits their learning style best and is the most motivating and appealing. This scenario is built on the idea of teachers’ continuous professional development, networking and cooperation. Flexibility and student-centered learning methods are its corner stones.

You can read more about the learning event here. If thinking about the future with other teachers interests you, there will be a new course in April 2013.

Here you can read the results of the team work:

Open publication - Free publishing - More education