Lthe morning begins with a welcome song about the value of friendship. Then, after a short frontal lesson lasting a quarter of an hour, we move on to the practical part: “In this period with my third grade children we are working on difficult sounds, such as” gl “or” gn “” says the teacher Barbara Tinarelli , who teaches at the Balanzano complex of the Comprehensive Institute of Perugia 12. «They practice inventing short phrases, which they then rework into a small text, so they have fun. I hardly ever use photocopies or preset cards, I prefer to calibrate the tests on each childworking on his talents. ”Balanzano is one of the 80 Italian schools that follow the Mof, the Finnish organizational method departed from the Comprehensive Institute of Piandimeleto (PU).
Barbara Tinarelli, referent of the Mof in her institute, explains that last year not all the classes participated but when, in June, the enthusiasm of the families and the positive teaching results emerged from an internal monitoring, those who were outside joined. And today the membership of teachers is 100 percent. «From 2023», he adds, «we will start from lower secondary school, where children have ever shorter attention spans and, if we continue with traditional teaching, we lose them. The success of the Finnish method in the Italian school depends on the fact that it responds to today’s needs ».
The idea
The idea was born from a former professor of literature, Antonella Accili, who first experimented with her classes and then in the school where she became a manager, in Piandimeleto, the method that allowed the Finnish school to be considered one of the best in the world or even the first, according to the Global Partnership for Education organization, which awarded it in 2019. “I approached it with curiosity, I contacted Finnish teachers, I took ideas from other systems in Northern Europe and harmonized them with ours, for example with the Montessori method which is very popular in Finland»Explains Antonella Accili who, in addition to Piandimeleto, currently directs the all-encompassing Della Rovere in Urbania, which goes from kindergarten to high school.
The relaxation corner of the comprehensive Institute of Piandimeleto (PU), leader of the network of schools with the Finnish method in Italy.
The Finnish method: fewer tasks and merged subjects
The revolution of the executive started from the timetable, to the primary: “In the Italian school the subjects are scattered. An hour of Italian on Monday, a couple on Wednesday, another on Thursday… We meet the needs of teachers and not those of the students, who are dispersed between disciplines and are overwhelmed by homework. Here, on the other hand, as in Finland, the subjects are grouped together: for example the humanistic pole in the first part of the week, the scientific one in the second“. First result: fewer tasks. “We don’t delegate learning to the afternoons, we don’t force families to cope with gaps with private tutoring. Here, the school becomes central againand the teacher is a determining figure ».
But having three hours of Italian in a row means reviewing the teaching, if you want to avoid yawning. So, also here as in Finland, the frontal lesson lasts a quarter of an hour, then we move on to the creative part: «The children work in groups of 3-4» continues the teacher Tinarelli. «They have just drawn an error vacuuming machine, on cardboard: a cardboard with the error enters the tube and the correct one comes out:“ celo ”enters, and“ sky ”comes out. For the laboratory on the H we have created silhouettes with “Mr. H” and to the questions on use the children answer by raising the paddles “H yes” and “H no” ».
The success of the Finnish method: teaching is a sub, not a surf
The scientific reference point is the cooperative teaching by the educational psychologist Stefano Rossi, who is also a consultant to the Mof: «Cooperative teaching has nothing to do with teamwork, where the best works and the others don’t» explains Rossi. “Rather, it means turning the classroom into a small learning community where we grow together. The method needs extended times, which is why it is well suited to the hourly compaction of the Mof. The problem with frontal teaching is that it focuses on quantity: in 60 minutes I bombard you with information, which is then forgotten. It’s like a surf: it goes fast but stays on the surface. Cooperative teaching, on the other hand, is a sub, it goes down slowly but allows you to reach deep understanding. Quantity is replaced by depth, speed by slowness“.
According to Rossi, there is no risk of knowledge in pills like Instagram: «Today the problem is the opposite. We have a bulimia of information that stays on the surface. This teaching goes against the trend ». Dr. Accili adds: “We say no to an anxious transmission of knowledge. In our schools relationships improve, respect is taught. Among the extracurricular activities we give space to musicals, which bring together many skills ».
The success of the Finnish method in the Italian school also depends on the fact that, like their Northern European “models”, the children of the “network” do many outdoor activities, and the older ones help the little ones. Without the stress of competition and individualism, the climate is more relaxed: “The environment is soft, the teachers sit next to the children, the families have a positive attitude, the conditions are created for an emotional balance in everyone, young and old” adds Rossi, who has just published My son is a mess (Feltrinelli / Urra) which helps parents and teachers to create a relationship full of trust, encouragement, empathy.
If you feel good in school, school dropout is prevented: “Suspensions have drastically decreased and there is a boom in enrollments in high school,” says the executive. «In Piandimeleto, when I arrived, there was a very high hidden abandonment: during the school year the children left for Africa – the homeland of many of them – and it was not known when they returned. By the time we got to high school, they disappeared from the radar. Now they are happy to come to school, for us it is the best result. At the professional institutes of Urbania, where the method started a couple of years ago, the results are improving, in the face of a drop in disciplinary suspensions ».
Teachers visiting the comprehensive school of Piandimeleto (PU), leader of the network of schools with the Finnish method in Italy.
You can leave and re-enter the classroom as long as you are in silence
With the teacher at your side, who monitors the daily work step by step, teaching adapts to the personality of each child: “The school must understand what students can do best, if not with study, perhaps with music or sport, as they do in Finland”, continues the headmaster. “Like this it improves self-esteem and strengthens the bond with the institution. The breaks are related to the needs of teaching. But those who do not make it can leave the classroom and return in silence, without bothering. So we avoid the dripping of requests and we take responsibility“.
In the class of teacher Tinarelli, the pupils are working on autumn. «They have to reproduce on an A4 sheet the image of a tree made with pixels, which they see on the Lim. There are 200 squares: they learn to count, to use space, to be precise. The checks are daily, they only serve to help them. If the atmosphere is peaceful, you work better ».
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