Yleisradio's Kulttuuriykkönen gathered a group on Monday, March 17, to discuss open learning environments. The reporter was interested in:
Where did they come from, what is known about them, what have the experiences been like?
Where is the design of learning environments heading?
The background and motivation for the discussion was Helsingin Sanomat's colorful and confrontational reporting on school construction, especially in Helsinki, which lasted for several years. The discussion was attended by researcher Professor Pauline von Bonsdorff, classroom teacher Sanna Pirttinen, mother tongue teacher Juho Vehviläinen, Helsinki's new director of basic education Ville Raatikainen and myself.
The journalist had chosen the headline "Open learning environments in schools in the crosshairs - scandal or small mistake?"
Since it was a discussion program, I did not want to correct the concept of an open learning environment, which can be found, among other things, in our study's definition:
An open learning environment is related to teaching and learning methods and the underlying concepts of learning and teaching. In short, as the learning environment becomes more open, learning becomes more student-centered instead of the traditional teacher- or educational institution-centered approach (Manninen & Pesonen, 1997). |
A closed learning environment therefore includes the idea of teacher- or educational institution-centered thinking, in which the learner is the object of instruction, while a learning environment is associated with learner-centered thinking, in which the learner is an active actor. Learner-centered thinking has been our pedagogical foundation for over fifty years, i.e. throughout the entire comprehensive school. You can read about this, for example, in our report , Chapter 5. The impact of curriculum principles on school construction. So no major changes have occurred, although people may claim otherwise.
I sent our research paper to the editor in advance for him to review, and it was great that he was clearly familiar with it. In addition, the discussion was mainly based on facts and was constructive. Thanks to this group for that. It would be good if such open and broad-minded school discussions could be held more widely and more often.
School architecture and the learning environment theme are not only discussed in Finland, but on May 15th, a day-long seminar will be organized at the Royal Danish Academy in Copenhagen with the theme: "Turning quality research into quality schools." Register , places are limited, and come along to broaden your perspective.
