Less material, more depth: An appeal for educational reform

Volker Reinhardt is an educational scientist and professor of political didactics at the Freiburg University of Education.

Devastating – there is no other way to describe the results of the current Pisa study. In the areas of reading, mathematics and science, German students are doing worse than ever since Pisa began comparing the performance of 15-year-olds around the world 25 years ago. As always, the bad news is followed by the well-known ritual: Ministers of Education demand structural reforms, trade union associations demand more teaching positions - and many bloggers demand a long overdue educational revolution!

Because of the federal organization, the education tanker is difficult to maneuver; structural reforms require an incredible amount of time and effort. There is a type of change for which no one has to wait for the next reform - it could be implemented in the classroom immediately: sort out the material and concentrate on the essential learning content! From my many years of work as a school and teaching developer, I know: Especially in high schools - but not only there - knowledge is conveyed according to the foie gras principle: Everything has to go in, even if it's already too much. The educational curricula in most federal states are completely overloaded.

The students therefore encounter a mass of terms and factual knowledge in up to eight or nine subjects every day that no one can process in depth and meaningfully. In the end, many topics can only be teased - which, as learning psychology knows, is of no use. New Zealand education researcher John Hattie says he will only advise an education minister in Germany if he cancels at least half of the education plan.

If every teacher decides for the school year that has just begun to sort out some of the learning material in each individual subject and only delve deeper into the really important topics with the students using examples, then we could get out of this trap. Instead of indigestible terminology, one could specifically address students' questions and ideas with more time, which would cognitively activate children and young people and support them individually.

Educators increasingly feel like they have to “cover everything.” Everyone knows that what has been taught does not mean that it has been learned! And in research projects we have seen impressively: Where learning content is reduced and you focus on central topics together and deepen these with the students in learning studios or learning workshops, students do very well in knowledge tests. That's why the rule should be right now: less material, more depth.

Classwork can also be avoided. Especially where they are usually not required at all. For example in the minor subjects in middle school. They should be replaced by meaningful performance tests: workshop or project reports that check in-depth, exemplary learning.

In-depth thinking and intensive engagement with content are important success factors for sustainable learning. That's what the Pisa study says: "The most successful education systems concentrate on selected learning areas." We still won't get cleared out educational plans in a hurry. That's why I appeal to all teachers: Declutter yourself! Discard topics generously and concentrate on a few important contents that are worked on with the students in a questioning, thinking and supportive manner. It's about conscious focusing and conscious omission.

This means that everyone involved will learn and teach much better, more deeply and hopefully more relaxed. Anyone can start tomorrow. It is the beginning of a path that will eventually lead to better Pisa results.