In Milan, the Simona Giorgi comprehensive school has decided to completely revolutionize its way of teaching, choosing to take inspiration from one of the most cited educational systems in the world: the Finnish one. The adoption of the Finnish Organizational Model represents a turning point in the Italian school landscape, because it introduces elements designed to harmonize time, collaboration and student well-being.
The idea was born from the desire to overcome the traditional face-to-face hours scheme, focusing on short lessons, shared activities and a structural reorganization of the entire day. The manager underlined how the transformation does not only concern the students, but also the teachers, who are already involved in a training course necessary to implement such a large-scale change. Attention to empathy, autonomy and the ability to work together becomes a priority, with the aim of building learning environments that work not through imposition, but through active participation.
A new way of being in class
The subjects no longer follow each other in sixty-minute increments, but are collected in thematic modules, so as to allow students to remain concentrated on a single field of meaning. The frontal lesson is reduced to a few, incisive introductions, while the rest of the time is dedicated to cooperative learning, workshops and participatory activities.
Among the methodologies chosen, the Writing and Reading Workshop stands out, which encourages writing experienced as a form of thought and interpretative, personal and shared reading. In this context the teacher is no longer just a transmitter, but a facilitator who guides the class towards learning constructed together.
Less homework
A distinctive element of the model is the drastic reduction of homework. School time, expanded with extended hours and afternoon activities, becomes the place to complete the entire learning process. The introduction of tablets and digital tools – purchased thanks to Pnrr funds – allows activities to be personalized without transforming technology into a simple ornament.
The project aligns with the principles that make the Finnish school an international reference: frequent breaks, evaluation entrusted to teachers and a balanced relationship between contents and relationships. The IC Simona Giorgi, thus, becomes a small Nordic laboratory, where the key word remains one: well-being.
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