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InformED Report 11/29/16

10/21/2016| London | Breitbart London

Students march through London demanding free university education

Breitbart London | Twitter

An estimated 15,000 students and lecturers marched in London on Saturday demanding the government provides them with free university education.

Students marched through the UK capital holding signs about a wide, disparate variety of issues, including tuition fees, Donald Trump and Brexit.

Far-left speakers such as Owen Jones and Malia Bouattia, the controversial president of the National University of Students (NUS), addressed the crowd, criticizing the government for allowing universities to increase their fees in line with inflation.

The NUS-organised an “afterparty” for students who attended the demonstration Goldsmiths University of London.

To read more visit Breitbart London

Students and lecturers march against Tories’ education bill

Rebecca Ratcliffe | The Guardian | Twitter

Students and lecturers have marched through central London to protest against government plans for an “ideologically led market experiment” that would open up UK higher education to the likes of Trump University and leave students facing escalating fees.

Waving signs that read “For Sale: students’ future” and “Hi Mum, I’m broke”, protesters marched on Saturday from Park Lane in London, calling for a free, quality education.

Earlier this week the government tabled amendments to its controversial higher education and research bill but failed to address critics’ key concerns relating to private providers and fees.

The bill will introduce a teaching excellence framework that will rank universities by quality, and allow the best-performing institutions to raise their fees in line with inflation.

To read more visit The Guardian

Demonstrators marching in London urge more funding for education

The Daily Mail | Twitter

Hundreds of demonstrators have marched in central London to demand access to free, quality education across the UK.

Carrying placards reading “fund our colleges” and “education, not deportation,” activists gathered near Parliament for a rally organized by the National Union of Students (NUS) alongside the University and College Union (UCU).

A range of speakers voiced their opposition to the Higher Education Bill, which includes plans to allow universities in England to increase their tuition fees in line with inflation.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn appeared in a short video pledging his support for campaigners, while Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack took to the stage to back demonstrators.

To read more visit The Daily Mail

10/21/2016 | Poland | DW

Thousands of teachers in Poland protest government education reforms

DW | Poland

Rally organizers said up to 50,000 people attended the demonstration on Warsaw’s central Pilsudski Square – the latest in a series of protests critical of government policies. Police put the figure closer to 30,000.

The reforms envisage changing the three-tier school system to just two levels, which means that many high schools would be closed.

Demonstrators were also concerned over proposed changes to the school curriculum, including the inclusion of “patriotic values” espoused by the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party.

There were placards claiming Poland’s education system was headed for “chaos.”  Slawomir Broniarz, the head of Poland’s main teachers’ union, was cheered as he called on Szydlo’s PiS party-led government “not to destroy the assets” of Poland’s current education system. Broniarz called for a “massive social front” to mobilize against the reforms.

Prime Minister Beate Szydlo told a Catholic broadcaster that schools should not only teach but also “raise” children.

To read more visit DW

Poland’s Teachers Protest Education Reform, Feared Jobs Loss

Monika Scislowska | ABC News | Twitter

Thousands of Poland’s teachers and parents on Saturday protested the conservative government’s plan to phase out middle schools that serve children between the ages of 12 and 16.

Organized by the teachers’ union, the noisy protest in downtown Warsaw was another public show of discontent with the policies of Poland’s year-old Law and Justice government. The organizers said about 50,000 people participated, while police estimated the crowd at 15,000.

Over the past year, Warsaw has seen repeated massive protests against various steps taken by the government, especially those which critics say undermine the rule of law.

The Education Ministry wants to do away with the country’s three-year middle schools starting next year. The ministry says the middle schools do a poor job of educating students. It wants to go back to a system used under communism of eight-year primary schools followed by a four-year secondary school. That system was changed in 1999 when middle schools were introduced, also amid great objections that it would complicate the education process.

To read more visit ABC News

10/21/2016 | Finland | Business Insider

Finland has one of the best education systems in the world – here are 4 things it does better than the US

Abby Jackson | Business Insider | Twitter

Finland is an innovative country when it comes to education, and its innovation yields results.

It’s consistently one of the highest performing developed countries on the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), an important tool for measuring education systems worldwide.

While Finland’s ranking dropped to 12 in the most recent PISA ranking, it’s still a lot higher than the US ranking of 36.

Here are some things Finland does differently — and arguably better — than the US when it comes to education:

To read more visit Business Insider

Finland Education Reform Introduces Phenomenon-Based Teaching

Chris Brandt | University Herald | Twitter

Finland has been the model of what education should be and with good reasons. Its students have scored higher than their peers on international assessment tests. Thanks to the education reforms it has made since the 1970s and now, they are introducing phenomenon-based teaching.

Framework 2016 into effect and along with it, they are rethinking the concept of education and what it means to the children of today. Furthermore, Finland wants to focus on the multidisciplinary approach to education, and phenomenon-based education is the way to achieve that.

Phenomenon-based teaching can also be described as problem-based teaching as the learners seek answers to the real-life phenomenon that interests them. Examples of these phenomena include topics on climate change, community, or the European Union. However, it takes problem-solving to a higher level because it does not only focus on one point of view but studies different points of view. As a result, it crosses the boundaries between subjects and brings all subjects and themes together.

To read more visit University Herald

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