March 2019, Agnes Vask (teacher of physics) and Ott Maidre (teacher of biology) travelled to Iceland in order to go on the third structured educational visit of this project. The mobility activities were carried out in Reykjavik under the guidance of English Matters.
Every participant got a detailed overview of the Icelandic educational system and learned to know three different types of schools: Háaleitisskóli Álftamýri, Menntaskólans við Sund and Flensborgarskólinn.
The Icelandic school system strongly supports student self-management skills in the learning process. A student learns a teacher facilitates and provides their students with learning materials. Learning environment is pleasant and flexible enough to meet every student’s individual needs.
The majority of the Icelandic upper secondary schools have adopted a course-based curriculum. So instead of traditional single-grade classes, upper secondary students choose their own study program, just the way university students do. This type of system doesn’t support a sense of togetherness between fellow students, but it does create a much friendlier atmosphere anyway.
By visiting the three schools mentioned above, we realized that the Icelandic educational system enables schools to design their own curricula, so their students would be more motivated to complete their education. This a rather drastic change proves that if the system is not working, one has to fix it. Priority should be given to people rather than abstract ideas.
Þakka þér fyrir!
