Less is More - Work Smarter, Not Harder!

Finland...the #1 country in Education in the world.  Children don't start formal schooling until they're 7, they have breaks every 15minutes in their day, they don't have a lot of 'formal testing' in their curriculum.  Reading about the Finnish system, I'm sure that every Kiwi teacher would be nodding their heads and raising an eyebrow at the idea of having shorter days, more non-contact time, children coming to school ready to learn, less curriculum to teach (fewer topics-more depth), less testing and analysis, fewer students, same students for 6 years (not sure how that would pan out with student/teacher personality clashes), and Masters qualified teachers.  

I found that I was constantly wondering what difference their systems and structures would make in the context of our schools.  New Zealand teachers consider themselves pretty good at what they do, and our system to be inclusive, cutting edge, indeed world class.  I work in a decile 1a school, where all students are nurtured through their learning.  We have a solid curriculum , that is current, engages students and achieves positive outcomes for our students..but, our achievement levels still aren't where we want them to be against National Standards. Teacher's work extremely hard,  many going above and beyond in striving to build upon their own teaching practice and providing students the best opportunities to learn.  After reading a blog post from FILLING MY MAP it got me thinking about the Finnish mantra "Less is More" and how this would work in our crammed curriculum.  I began reflecting on our expectations of classroom teachers and the pedagogy and practice of what they teach. 

It's not uncommon to hear of teacher stress levels being at breaking point due to the curriculum expectations and pressures put on them.  I believe our curriculum is sound and that we need to work smarter not harder in its delivery.  I related 'Less is More' mantra to Maths PD we are currently undertaking.  We've been encouraged to cut back on the number of problems we give students in a math lesson and focus on one problem solving activity.  The purpose for this is to have teachers and children drill into strategies through talk.  Lessons go for up to 45mins and children finish with a more in-depth look at the 'how's of problem solving.  Instead of solving 5 problems in one lesson, one problem is completely unpacked and each possible strategy explained, examined and shared with the children/by the children.    These groups are often taught in whole class or half class settings - meaning children are specifically taught by the teacher daily.  Teachers monitor learning, moving around the room looking for examples to be shared when the group comes back to share their problem solving strategies.  When the group returns the teacher engages in 'talk moves' (specific questioning techniques).  While sharing different strategies, the teacher then directs students in making connections between strategies, giving an opening (if warranted) for explicit teaching.

Before this approach, Teachers usually would have up to 4 or 5 maths groups in their classes, giving groups 20-30mins of rushed lessons to push through a guided strategy and then a number of similar examples for students to practice as a group, in pairs and finally independently...only really seeing each group twice a week (more often obviously with younger students - but shorter lessons to get through everyone).  These lessons are heavily teachers directed.

Literacy Across the Curriculum offers more when focusing on one topic and bringing depth to it through all areas of the curriculum.  Once again, we're looking at working smarter here.  Making connections to a single topic across the curriculum gives students opportunity to delve into a theme from many different angles and gives teachers opportunity to be creative in their practice using a variety of tools, media and pedagogical approaches in teaching their students.  With this variety, differentiation is more simply met.  Ultimately student voice and student direction should be the goal for teachers to nurture and grow students in to their learning.   I believe if we can simplify our teaching, we can grow the learning in a broader sense.
The less is more mantra...something to think about in our teaching!

TALK MOVES example - taken from YouTube