Debbie Rhea, professor and associate dean for health sciences and research in Harris College of Nursing & Health Sciences, recently returned from a sabbatical to Finland, where she studied the strengths of its education system. In the past decade, Finland’s students raised their scores on math, science and reading assessments from F to A+ and Debbie set out to discover how they did it since U.S. schoolchildren’s scores have declined steadily for the past 20 years.

 

The man largely responsible for the turnaround in Finland is Dr. Pasi Sahlberg, whom Debbie got to know and learn from during her time in his country. She was allowed to monitor a typical school there, where curriculum is designed to offer a more focused educational experience. Fifteen minutes of each hour of the school day is spent in physical activity. Hourly outside games and recess integrated into the school day allow students to conduct themselves in an orderly manner, and also maintain excitement in learning.

 

Rhea has returned with a passion to put what she has learned into practice in the public school system of Texas. She is establishing a pilot program for up to three independent school districts in North Texas. The plan is to begin with K-1^st grade, with an additional grade added each year through ninth grade. She has met with legislators, school superintendents and other interested groups, and anticipates the pilot program beginning in fall 2014. It consists of four steps:

 

1. Increase the amount of physical activity in the schools
2. Create equality across content areas; add ethics as a content area
3. Assess students differently, with state/federal assessments given twice (at the end of fifth and ninth grades)
4. Restructure the school day (less hours in the classroom for K-6 students; extra time in play/creativity)

 

 

 The Department of Kinesiology and Harris College of Nursing & Health Sciences will host Dr. Pasi Sahlberg, director general of the Center for International Mobility and Cooperation in Finland, who will conduct workshops March 19 and 20, and present a public lecture on campus at 7 p.m. on March 20. Sahlberg will discuss what the Finnish have accomplished in their schools over the past few years at the lecture on March 20.

 

 

Sahlberg also will conduct workshops throughout the day on March 19 (for university leadership) and 20 (for K-12 leadership) related to educating our students differently at the University and K-12 levels. Topics will include assessments, physical activity/creativity, equality and ethics.

 

The College of Education will take part in training the instructors, superintendents, teachers, administrators and team players of the system at the three school districts.

 

“We will know within two to three years, based on an evaluation piece that we will implement, if this is effective. We will be measuring burnout, self-esteem, cognitive pieces, obesity rates and learning disabilities,” Rhea said.

 

Rhea will work closely with the schools. “I see myself as the director of this program, the one who orchestrates and organizes the different pieces and makes sure that everything is getting done from the top position. I will play more of a visionary role,” Rhea said.

 

The intended outcomes of this program would be increased math, reading and science scores; increased social responsibility with less discipline problems; increased creativity and problem-solving skills; increased confidence in learning and self-esteem; less teacher burnout; and increased teacher respect. In addition, Rhea and others involved with this new program hope to see healthy weight changes that positively impact young children.

 

To learn more about how this pilot was developed, visit www.drdebrhea.blogspot.com. For more information on Pasi Sahlberg, visit www.pasisahlberg.com.