News
An official part of Finland’s centennial celebrations, HundrED is an extensive look at the future of K12 education.
For decades the Finnish school system has been considered one of the best in the world. It naturally follows that the country should be a forerunner in current school reform efforts.
HundrED will trial 100 ambitious new experiments in Finnish schools over the course of one school year, create 100 case studies of exciting education innovations worldwide and interview 100 global thought leaders.
All 100 experiments will be trialed, validated and packaged into a format that can be applied in schools around the world.
HundrED is a not-for-profit organisation and its findings will be shared with the world for free in the Fall of 2017.
Why do schools need to change?
The world is changing rapidly and schools are struggling to keep up. This is not only a Finnish concern, but a global one as well.
Society of the future will need new kinds of professionals. In addition to the skills acquired in academic and basic education, schools should focus on the so-called ‘21st century skills.’ In practice this change means that amongst traditional subjects such as maths, history, biology, languages and others, schools would also teach lessons in creative thinking, collaboration, critical thinking and life skills, to name a few.
But how do you teach creativity? And if subjects are added, will others need to be taken out? What is an exciting way to learn history? Or foreign languages? How will teaching methods develop? What role does technology play learning? When might it be of disservice?
These are the types of questions HundrED is asking.
Not just a “think tank,” in which matters are merely discussed, HundrED is a “think and do tank,” in which bold ideas are not enough on their own - bold actions create the difference, both in Finland and across the world.
Over 500 applications, a tough selection
Through a call for applications in December, we announced that we were searching for new innovations to trial in schools across Finland from our five categories, which are:
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Skills - what are the skills that need to be taught and how?
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Teachers - how will the role of the teacher and teaching change?
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Assessment - what is the best way to measure development and learning?
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Environments - are the most exciting and effective learning environments?
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Leadership - what makes great leadership in schools? How will this change?
We believe that without this extensive approach, the experiments would remain shallow.
We received over 500 ambitious ideas from which our esteemed fourteen-person advisory board has selected the final 100 experiments.
Following the recommendation of our advisory board, we have decided to first announce seventy-five experiments which begin in Fall 2016. We will then release the final twenty-five in December 2016, to commence from January 2017. This approach leaves a window of time for further innovations to develop and be included. We are not only searching for new ideas but are also interested in developing and scaling already existing ideas that have been recognised as efficient innovations.
The advisory board focused on four criterias when making their selection:
Is the idea innovative? Is it pedagogically ambitious? Is is scalable and/or replicable in other settings? Are the people involved in carrying out the experiment leaders in their field?
If the answer to most of these questions was positive, we initiated an open discussion with the applicants in which we aimed to approach the experiment from several potential viewpoints.
What are the chosen seventy-five experiments?
You will find all of the chosen seventy-five experiments here. Below is a selected few, organised by category:
Skills
Increasingly, schools are required to teach a variety of skills, and so we have included different a range experiments in this category. There are experiments in which students participate in in robotics and coding, others that approach thinking skills, life skills and building self-esteem. There are also experiments that address challenges in immigration, sustainable development and caring for animals.
Teachers
The role of the teacher is already changing drastically. HundrED is including experiments in which bold, visionary teachers seek new ways of teaching, either in collaborative groups or as individuals, integrating modern technology in unexpected ways. In one experiment, teachers will be trained in creative problem solving skills and design thinking. In another, teachers will be taught to work under pressure and adapt to the changing environments.
Assessment
One of the most globally recognised areas in need of improvement is assessment - how does a school assess each student and how can students assess themselves? A number of our experiments challenge traditional grading systems and offer alternative methods.
Environments
Do we need desks? Do schools require an institutional building or can learning be facilitated in other kinds of environments? Amongst the HundrED experiments, we are trialing ideas in altering traditional school buildings as well as building completely new ones to suit the needs of students. One example involves teaching on a sailboat, while another creates temporary schools at sporting events.
Leadership
Change is impossible without strong, visionary leadership, but how can such large and complex reform be lead? HundrED will be following the development of educational systems across large cities and rural towns. There are examples of entire leadership development courses as well as experiments that tackle changing operational culture.
What about the final twenty-five?
Why are twenty-five experiments not being announced?
We want to give the 400+ ideas that were not selected in this round the opportunity to really show what they have got. Essentially, we are giving them a second chance to become a part of HundrED. We are also using this opportunity to actively seek and encourage more people in the field of education to apply with even bolder ideas.
What is still missing? A lot. The ball is in your court - we will never have too many groundbreaking ideas. New applications can be submitted until October 15th 2016.
We welcome you to join HundrED!