Should the Classroom be Quiet?

Should the classroom be quiet?

Teachers from Patamäki, Oulu, Finland:

Mr. Jukka Miettunen

Mrs. Paula Vorne

Mr. Timo Fordell

Mrs. Kaisa Loponen

The most common issue talked about Finnish schools at the moment is the noise in the classrooms. Teachers are complaining that they cannot concentrate in teaching and parents that their children don’t learn because of the disturbance. The sound of “shhhh” is often heard. This reminds us the times when teacher was standing in front of the class and the children were strictly listening. But world has changed, learners and learning has changed. Should we do something else in the classrooms also?

This is once again a question about how we learn, different learning styles and the working methods used in teaching and learning. Our school Patamäki Primary has used collaborative methods for several years. All the work is based on sitting in groups that change at least once a month. Teachers act as counselors of learning more than lecturers.  Vice versa the students act as active learners instead of passive responders. Once the instructions are given, materials and resources shared and technology selected, students start working in groups. The group members have different roles that vary depending on the work. We emphasize the individual, group and class accountability from the students. While working the whole school is a learning environment which we have tried to change comfortable and motivating by furnishing, colors and technology like wlan, laptops and tablets available.

Working this way the noise is there. We love the sound of children solving problems together. They talk, sometimes shout, agree and disagree. We call it “controlled positive noise”. Usually after a while they come to a mutual understanding and you can imagine the light in their eyes when they’ve discovered and learned something new together.

In every class there are pupils who prefer moving and being active while learning. It is hard to sit still. It is important that the teachers can canalize the energy right to support the working. A possibility to choose the learning environment and versatile co-operative working methods helps a lot.

You must give up complete silence because the co-operation claims talking and discussing. The perfect school day must contain also moments of silence.