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"A recent study revealed students at an international school in Finland significantly outperformed U.S. students on tasks which measure digital literacy in social media and online news. The researchers suggest this may be due to the Finnish and International Baccalaureate curricula's different way of facilitating students' critical thinking skills compared to the US system and curriculum. The results of this study were published in the Journal of Research in International Education in April. Critical thinking is a 21st century skill considered essential for today's students to navigate the Information Age and for their future work life."

"Finland is no stranger to the higher ranks of the international education tables, and the country's universities are regarded as global leaders in higher education (HE). So, how does one of the world's smaller nations lead the way when it comes to educating and inspiring its young people?"

"Countries with greater gender equality see a smaller proportion of women taking degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), a new study has found. Policymakers could use the findings to reconsider initiatives to increase women's participation in STEM, say the researchers. Dubbed the 'gender equality paradox', the research found that countries such as Albania and Algeria have a greater percentage of women amongst their STEM graduates than countries lauded for their high levels of gender equality, such as Finland, Norway or Sweden."

Finland is getting rid of their subject areas in K-12...it seems that tapping into the way in which youth already use technology to facilitate their own learning goals would be a good first step for teachers. Any schools using competency based assessments for fully personalized learning absent of subject matter classes?

Recently I have found a number of ideas on the web that were particularly interesting and together paint a compelling picture of education's future. Each fits into a model where the focus is on developing skills, dispositions and habits that will last into the future - long life skills.

"We really need a rethinking of education and a redesigning of our system, so it prepares our children for the future with the skills that are needed for today and tomorrow"

"Finland is planning to phase out handwriting classes in favour of keyboard skills, a recognition that this generation will never write a letter, birthday card or love letter. Instead, they'll text, tap and tweet."

"Finland is planning to phase out handwriting classes in favour of keyboard skills, a recognition that this generation will never write a letter, birthday card or love letter. Instead, they'll text, tap and tweet."

Finland recently made the news for its decision to shift away from a focus on handwriting. Beginning in 2016 students will not be required tl learn cursive handwriting and instead will be taught typing skills. If this was anywhere other tan Finland the decision might be ignored or ridiculed but the Finnish Education systems reputation for producing quality learning backed by innovative practice makes this hard to ignore.

Pasi Sahlberg Blog Finnish education reform Originally published in Washington Post, 24 July 2014 An intriguing question whether innovation in education can be measured has an answer now. The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development in its recent report "Measuring Innovation in Education: A New Perspective, Educational Research and Innovation" measures Innovation in Education in 22 countries and 6 jurisdictions, among them the U.S.

Coverage from the Helsinki education festival

An elementary teacher in a 99% school elaborates on how the CCSS can improve the current system that we have.

Documentarian Morgan Spurlock visits Finland schools to compare their structures of education to the U.S. He even teaches a lesson and receives feedback from students and administrators!

Teacher autonomy and a flexible curriculum are reasons often cited when explaining the Nordic powerhouse's chart-topping performance. But having taught there, Nicki Berry has some reasons of her own...