August Nilsson, Anne Stifoss-Wilson and Julie Bræck Lunde in class 7A at Nesoddtangen school are working on practical maths when the Minister of Education has brought news to visit. Aids are a ruler, kitchen scale, pencil case, pencil and paper. There are no iPads to be seen on the desks. – They are busy with problem-solving tasks that involve measuring with a meter stick, weighing pencils and various other things. This is practical maths, explains contact teacher Øyvind Skjæret. August, Anne and Julie have a clear message for the Minister of Knowledge: – It would have been great fun to be able to do a lot more of this. We already do a lot of this, but it would be fun to include it in other subjects as well, they say. – Science and social studies become a bit the same. It’s fun experimenting and using things around you, not just pencil and book. Contact teacher Øyvind Skjæret and pupils Anne Stifoss-Wilson, August Nilsson and Julie Bræck Lunde in class 7A at Nesoddtangen school. Photo: Kristian Skårdalsmo New elective On Friday, Minister of Education Kari Nessa Nordtun (Ap) presents the parliamentary report “A more practical school – better learning, motivation and well-being in grades 5 to 10”. The goal is for the students to feel better and learn more with practical teaching. – In recent years, we have seen historically poor learning results in Norwegian schools. It is a development we have to reverse. We know that the key lies in increasing motivation in school, she says to news. – In order to achieve that, we need to provide even more practical teaching. We know that the teachers and students want that. They need equipment, the premises and good methods to make it happen in all subjects. YOUTH STAGE: Minister of Education Kari Nessa Nordtun visits Nesoddtangen school to talk about measures for increased motivation and better results. Photo: Kristian Skårdalsmo Already at the end of primary school, pupils should be able to have electives, the minister believes. She also wants to have a separate working life subject in secondary school. And Nordtun says that money will be included in the state budget for next year. The government is setting aside NOK 130 million in fresh funds in the 2025 budget for equipment and the development of more practical teaching in maths, reading, science and writing. Budget leak for more practical learning Funds are set aside in next year’s state budget to enable teachers and schools to offer more practical teaching: 60 million for the development of practical teaching plans that teachers across the country can use to strengthen learning in mathematics , reading, science and writing. 30 million for a national program for practical learning (experience bank, pilot schools). 29 million more for equipment for practical learning, a total of 160 million in 2025. This pot was new in the 2024 budget, but is now being strengthened. 10 million for school libraries (continues the same level from the strengthening in the revised national budget 2024). (Source: Ministry of Education) Here are some of the concrete measures the government is proposing: Introduce two hours of elective subjects for pupils in grades 5 to 7, with a practical and physical orientation. Nordtun proposes to take at least one hour from the framework of the flexibility in the distribution of subjects and hours of 10 per cent. Another option is to use an English class. Make it compulsory to offer working life subjects at secondary school. Here, students will be able to try out more in vocational subjects. Establish a national teaching program for more practical schools. Create a separate bank for the exchange of experience between schools and municipalities. Consider scrapping the extra language subject – such as German, French or Spanish – at secondary school. Clarify that 10 percent of the hourly distribution can be decided locally. Establishment of own pilot schools for practical learning and physical school. WELCOME: The Minister of Education was welcomed with song at Nesoddtangen school in Akershus. Photo: Kristian Skårdalsmo – Requested At 12.00, the Minister of Knowledge will present the full report to the Storting. – What kind of problem is this message supposed to solve? – We need Norwegian schools to become even more practical and varied. It is because we see that the motivation among Norwegian students drops a lot around the 5th grade. Then something happens. We have to deal with that, says Nordtun. – How can you know that the results and motivation will improve by making school more practical? – We know that this is what the students themselves are asking for. They need to experience more variety in teaching. They need to use their bodies more and be more physically active, she says. The Minister hopes that the new measures can provide increased motivation and better school results. – So are you open to scrapping a second language subject at secondary school? – We think it is very important that foreign languages are offered in upper secondary education and also in secondary school, but we are open to seeing if it should be arranged differently. Minister of Education Kari Nessa Nordtun (left) and mayor Cathrine Kjenner Forsland in Nesodden municipality. Photo: Kristian Skårdalsmo Another move The Conservative Party’s education policy spokesperson Margret Hagerup points out that in January 2022 the Conservative Party won approval in the Storting for the government to present a reform of secondary school, to make it more practical and varied. – We have waited a long time, and we have had high expectations. But with the caveat that I don’t know more, I have to say that I am disappointed, she says to news. – This does not answer the challenges Norwegian schools face. We see that absenteeism is increasing, and many struggle to read, write and do math properly. EXPECTATIONS: Education policy spokesperson Margret Hagerup in the Conservative Party. Photo: Anders Eidesvik / news Hagerup believes that the proposals for elective subjects, working life subjects and experience sharing are exciting, but believes that other measures are far more important. – Pupils who need it must receive intensive training and close follow-up. Teachers must have career paths where they can develop their own teaching. All secondary school students must have a compulsory vocational elective, she says, and continues: – The classroom must be expanded through closer cooperation with the business world. And students must receive better and more coherent advice on further education choices. Published 13.09.2024, at 05.42
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This is how she wants to make school more practical – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
