Pasi Sahlberg visits MC!

Professor Pasi Sahlberg, renowned Finnish educator and author, visited MC classrooms and led a teacher staff meeting on Wednesday 17 May. Prof. Sahlberg’s visit to MC was to support the continued implementation of the MC’s K-12 MCX program, which identifies academic excellence, design thinking, the global competencies and differentiated approaches to personalised student learning in the context of Adventist Education, as being essential to supporting MC’s young people to attain the academic results, skills and dispositions to best equip them for the workplaces and careers of the future. 

Prof. Sahlberg’s expertise in globally-informed, future focused education makes him an invaluable resource for MC’s teachers as they continue to create engaging, student-centred learning experiences for the young people of MC.

Considered a global expert in play-based learning, Prof. Sahlberg identifies play-based learning as providing an excellent context for children to develop essential skills such as creativity, problem-solving and collaboration, noting that MC, by embracing play-based learning in K-2, also provides students with a solid foundation to achieve academic success as they apply core literacy and numeracy skills across a range of practical, play-based tasks.

Prof. Sahlberg’s time at MC included lunch with senior leaders provided by MC Eats – featuring food items from our canteen’s chef prepared plant-based menu, followed by time spent in MC’s Stanford University d.school -inspired design labs.

While design thinking, as part of the MCX program, is itself closely aligned to the OECD’s Global Competencies for Education , the MC Eats program was of particular interest during this visit given the close alignment of the MC Eats menu to the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals which place a strong emphasis on sustainability.

This week’s visit to MC by Prof. Sahlberg will be followed later this year with an in-person opportunity for parents to attend a session where Prof. Sahlberg will provide an overview of emerging trends in global education and will explore the value that the MCX program provides to the young people of MC.

We are truly grateful to Prof. Sahlberg for taking so much time to visit Macquarie College, and are very encouraged and inspired by his affirmations.