As the former
Coordinator of Middle School Initiatives for the City of New York, much of my
work revolved around addressing the low 4 year graduation rates of our H.S.
students by strategically targeting the quality of “middle level schooling”.
Today in NYC, “achievement/access gap data” continues to reflect low level outcomes
in addition to disproportionate numbers relative to high school graduation and
college readiness.
This week I
will travel with a cohort of eight colleagues to Finland to spend time with
Pasi Sahlberg, faculty from the University of Helsinki, school leaders,
teachers, students and parents. My
overarching objective is to gain a glimpse into the systemic practices that
have enabled Finland to so effectively transform the face of education
throughout the country. The PISA report
of 2006 concluded that the success of Finish education occurred largely due to
“effective teacher education” and a systemic model of design that employs the
following:
- Flexibility and Diversity relative to school-based curriculum development informed and supported by relevant data (quantitative and qualitative)
- Emphasis on Broad Knowledge placing an equal degree of emphasis across developmental pathways considerate of the acquisition of knowledge, skills, creativity, personality, morality, etc.
- Trust through Professionalism creating and maintaining a practice of belief that teachers and administrators are professional practitioners with requisite skills and a clear sense of mission to effectively teach/lead.
During my time
abroad, I intend to specifically explore and better understand the emphasis
Finland places on the facilitation of “Broad Knowledge Learning”
and how the country’s policies, practices and protocols facilitate a holistic
approach to student development. Although
time will be limited (seven days), I intend to forge a focus within my focus looking
at student diversity and the manner in which Finland explicitly/implicitly
addresses diversity (considering curricular and instructional implications).
The question to which I would want to find answers would be; what
strategies/approaches can we as educators educating in a system of significant
diversity employ to more effectively facilitate learning across racial,
socio-economic, gender and special learner lines?
Officially, my
contribution to this collective University of Pennsylvania study will offer
insight into the broad based and school level curricular/instructional
practices within the context of the country’s diverse population of learners.
On a more personal note, I am interested in chronicling curricular and
pedagogical practice throughout middle level grades. It has always been my
contention that much of our focus on learning in the middle grades should be
informed by deeper understandings of curricular designs focused on early
adolescent developmental needs. Finland’s emphasis on “Broad Knowledge” offers
a promising perspective by which we can forge (in some cases revisit) “a
learner centered conversation”.
I invite you
to join me as I set out on this odyssey.
My invitation to you is not a request for passive reading. Quite the contrary, I am requesting that you
actively engage in this study by sharing relevant thoughts, ideas and personal
experiences. If you elect to join in, prior
to posting, I encourage you to take twenty minutes to view the Pasi Sahlberg
TED.com presentation. Simply click onto
the copy of the book to the left of this post where you will be redirected to
our cohort’s itinerary postings. If you
find yourself wanting to learn more about Finnish education, feel free to
acquire a copy of Sahlberg’s “Finnish Lessons”.
Welcome to what I believe will be a productive experience and a rare opportunity
to engage in relevant and transformative discourse.
