Sharing Good Practice
What is Phenomenon-Based
Learning?
By Bashaer Al Kilani
Union. To answer these questions
knowledge and skills from economics,
history, geography and languages are
to be integrated.
Why Phenomenon-Based
Learning?
T
he exponential growth in
knowledge is speeding up the
expedition to the era beyond
knowledge consumption to
innovating with knowledge. The rise
of the Innovation Age is redefining
the key skills needed for an individual
to be a productive contributor to the
society and economy. Individuals in an
innovation context need to have the
aptitude and competence of building
new skills and knowledge through a
life span. Pedagogical transformation
is critical to empower learners to be
self-directed and life-long learners.
One approach for this transformation
is Phenomenon-based learning.
What is PhenomenonBased Learning?
Finland will go through a new
education reform that will take over
in the academic year 2016-2017.
Phenomenon-Based Learning will be
complementing Finland’s traditional
subjects. The Phenomenon or Topic
Based Learning is being planned to
be conducted over periods during the
year and could be paced in projects -
16 | May - Jun 2016 |
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is the old new in Finland’s education.
For more than three decades,
Finnish schools have had a form of
Phenomenon-Based Learning. What
will change in 2016-2017 is that it will
be obligatory in all basic schools f or
seven to 16-year-olds.
Phenomenon-Based Learning tackles
real-world scenarios holistically from
different subject areas’ perspectives.
This method will entail a rich learning
experience, which is relevant to
learners’ lives. The interdisciplinary
learning could be conducted in
a simple way, by linking similar
knowledge areas between different
subjects and introducing them at the
same slot of the academic year. This
develops awareness of how curricula
intersect to form the broader frame
of knowledge. A more sophisticated
interdisciplinary
approach,
such
as
Phenomenon-Based
Learning
occurs when we go beyond simply
linking different subjects to applying,
organizing centers and essential
questions to plan topic teaching.
One example could be the questions
students have about a topic such
as the importance of the European
Class Time
By working on finding answers to
questions on specific real world
scenarios learners will gain genuine
skills. The latter will apply outside
the walls of the school, in learners’
daily lives. Depth, authenticity and
coherence of learning will provoke
higher order thinking skills. The
distinguished feature of PhenomenonBased Learning is that students along
with their teachers will identify the
projects that they will work on and
the gaps that they need to fill. They
will also lead their own learning by
conducting
self-assessment
and
reflecting on it. Learners will be
profoundly motivated and involved.
The more in-depth learning the
more able the students, will become
in bridging the gap between the
different subject areas. They will be
able to answer the most persistent
question which is “Why do we
learn?” This will lead to a meaningful
involvement putting exploration at the
forefront of the learning process. As
mentioned earlier, the school will plan
Phenomenon Based Learning. This
will give the teachers the flexibility
they need to design this learning
experience. Working with their
students on plans and projects both
teachers and students will have a voice
and a choice.
While Finland is proceeding with
its new reform, educationist around
the world will have an eye on how
the reform will evolve and whether it
will turn into another lesson to learn
from Finland’s education system.
Regardless of how this reform will
progress we - as educators- know
that the world is transforming around
us and that we need to transform
our education systems accordingly.
Learners cannot appreciate learning
unless it is approached in a meaningful
way that makes their learning
experience purposeful.