Teach Like Finland: 33 Simple Strategies for Joyful Classrooms

Teach Like Finland: 33 Simple Strategies for Joyful Classrooms

Teach Like Finland: 33 Simple Strategies for Joyful Classrooms

Teach Like Finland: 33 Simple Strategies for Joyful Classrooms

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Overview

Easy-to-implement classroom lessons from the world’s premier educational system.

Finland shocked the world when its fifteen-year-olds scored highest on the first Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), a set of tests touted for evaluating critical-thinking skills in math, science, and reading. That was in 2001; but even today, this tiny Nordic nation continues to amaze. How does Finnish education—with short school days, light homework loads, and little standardized testing—produce students who match the PISA scores of high-powered, stressed-out kids in Asia?

When Timothy D. Walker started teaching fifth graders at a Helsinki public school, he began a search for the secrets behind the successes of Finland’s schools. Walker wrote about several of those discoveries, and his Atlantic articles on this subject became hot topics of conversation. Here, he gathers all he learned and reveals how any teacher can implement many of Finland's best practices.

Remarkably, Finland is prioritizing the joy of learning in its newest core curricula and Walker carefully highlights specific strategies that support joyful K-12 classrooms and integrate seamlessly with educational standards in the United States.

From incorporating brain breaks to offering a peaceful learning environment, this book pulls back the curtain on the joyful teaching practices of the world's most lauded school system. His message is simple but profound: these Finland-inspired strategies can be used in the U.S. and other countries. No educator—or parent of a school-aged child—will want to miss out on the message of joy and change conveyed in this book.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781324001256
Publisher: Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date: 04/18/2017
Pages: 240
Sales rank: 1,053,237
Product dimensions: 6.40(w) x 8.70(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Timothy D. Walker is an American teacher who taught in Finland for six of the eight years he lived there. He lives in Milford, Connecticut, and is author (with Pasi Sahlberg) of In Teachers We Trust: The Finnish Way to World-Class Schools.

Pasi Sahlberg is a Finnish educator who has worked as a schoolteacher, teacher-educator and policymaker in Finland and advised national education reforms around the world. Pasi has published over 100 articles and books about education and school improvement. His bestseller, Finnish Lessons: What Can the World Learn from Educational Change in Finland? has contributed to better understanding Finland’s education system. He is a recipient of several education awards, including the 2013 Grawemeyer Award and the 2016 Lego Prize. Pasi is professor of education policy at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Foreword Pasi Sahlberg xi

Introduction xxi

1 Well-being 3

Schedule brain breaks 9

Learn on the move 15

Recharge after school 26

Simplify the space 32

Breathe fresh air 38

Get into the wild 42

Keep the peace 47

2 Belonging 57

Recruit a welfare team 57

Know each child 61

Play with your students 66

Celebrate their learning 72

Pursue a class dream 76

Banish the bullying 82

Buddy up 86

3 Autonomy 91

Start with freedom 94

Leave margin 98

Offer choices 104

Plan with your students 108

Make it real 114

Demand responsibility 121

4 Mastery 129

Teach the essentials 130

Mine the textbook 137

Leverage the tech 141

Bring in the music 145

Coach more 150

Prove the learning 157

Discuss the grades 163

5 Mind-set 167

Seek flow 170

Have a thicker skin 174

Collaborate over coffee 178

Welcome the experts 182

Vacate on vacation 185

Don't forget joy 188

References 191

Index 199

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