Examples of reflection questions:

• What do I think is most important about the key competencies in my work at my school?
• What key competencies have I placed the most emphasis on in my work with students?
• What key skills do I find most difficult to work on? How could I find help to improve them?

A group of teachers sits in a circle and considers which three aspects each of them feels insecure about or needs help with regarding key competencies in school work. The circle is passed and teachers read out their reflections, the others listen and offer to help or people pair up in smaller or larger groups to find common solutions.

In the chapter on expression and communication, emphasis is placed on students’ ability to express their thoughts, feelings, and opinions—orally, in writing, and in a variety of other ways. This includes the ability to share their knowledge and skills, present their points clearly and engagingly, and participate in conversations and discussions.
This competence is fundamental for each individual to be able to discuss and defend their human rights when needed. The expression of one’s own thoughts plays an important role in the self-image and self-awareness of an individual, and therefore in their health and well-being.
It is also a matter of equality that everyone has the opportunity to express their feelings and understanding, so that the voices of privileged groups do not solely determine which information and values are considered. Equal participation in dialogue is a cornerstone of democratic practices and plays a key role in education for sustainability.
Through training in expression and communication, young people gain tools to become active participants in shaping a better future together. Students can be given opportunities to express and communicate their opinions, emotions, and knowledge in countless ways and through creative means.
Speech and written language are not the only forms of expression—it is also important to develop students’ visual language, and their expression through music, movement, and drama.
It is fundamental to every person’s literacy to be able to express their own thoughts and compare them with those of others, with texts and other materials being studied. The interaction between one’s own thoughts and external stimuli is the key to reading comprehension—where individuals build upon their vocabulary and cognitive processes, using reading to expand their understanding and worldview.

In the chapter on creative and critical thinking, emphasis is placed on students’ ability for creative thought and initiative in how they approach topics and process information. It also focuses on their ability to analyze and work with data, draw conclusions, have the courage to seek new solutions, and apply critical thinking and reasoning.
Creativity and criticism are two sides of the same coin of thought—creativity fuels critical thinking, and critical thinking nourishes creativity. The cognitive skills described in the key competencies chapter are fundamental to literacy, which demands strong inferencing abilities: the reader must be able to relate new texts to previous understanding and evaluate the quality of facts and opinions presented in the texts.
Critical thinking is essential for democratic processes to function as they should, and for recognizing when individuals’ human rights are being threatened. It is a prerequisite for minority groups to be heard, and for their perspectives to carry weight on an equal basis.
Creative thinking is not only about artistic expression—it is also about the creation of ideas and connections, about thinking outside the box to find new solutions. When searching for sustainable solutions to problems, both creative and critical thinking are necessary. It is important to engage children in exploring different aspects of sustainable societies so that they can participate in actions for improvement.
It is crucial to work toward these high-reaching goals by training in creative and critical thinking, because the future well-being and health of children are at stake.

In the chapter on independence and collaboration, emphasis is placed on students’ ability to work independently, in cooperation with others, and under guidance. All school activities involve either independence or collaboration, and it is important that teachers are aware of the balance between these elements in students’ work.
Independent thinking and personal responsibility for one’s own methods are essential for general development, well-being, health, and welfare. Humans are social beings and do not thrive in isolation. It is therefore crucial to consider students’ social development throughout all school activities and to work purposefully on how children handle conversations, communication, and cooperation.
Responsibility in collaboration is important so that democratic practices function as they should and the human rights of all individuals are respected. Children strengthen this sense of responsibility, for example, by learning about realistic division of tasks and making joint decisions in a constructive manner.
Good collaborative skills involve considering the different interests of participants and ensuring equality among people with different needs and abilities. When successful, collaboration becomes a driving force for creativity, both in the innovation of ideas and in their material and practical implementation.
Dialogue and discussion are the cornerstones of literacy, as communication increases the number of mental connections a person has. Through these connections, vocabulary, understanding, and knowledge deepen.
The key competence of independence and collaboration is not only about different individuals being able to work together, but also about ensuring that each individual develops and thrives in their learning. By striking the right balance between student independence and collaboration, we support the development of learning communities within schools—communities capable of seeking knowledge and understanding about themselves, others, and the world, and taking action when needed to build sustainable societies for the future.

In the chapter on media and information literacy, emphasis is placed on students’ ability to use information and various forms of media in a responsible, creative, and critical manner in the pursuit and processing of knowledge. The competence objectives in this chapter also aim to enhance students’ ability to communicate information in diverse ways.
There is significant overlap between this subchapter and the subject area of Information and Technology Education, and it is important that the two are used together in school practice. The key competency criteria describe what media literacy entails and demand a broad understanding of literacy. With strong media literacy, individuals and groups can use a wide range of texts and data presented in different media to seek knowledge and create meaning.
The ability to evaluate the quality of information has become essential in order to filter out misleading content, which can negatively affect readers’ understanding, but also their self-image, mental health, and well-being.
There is a need to look at media and information usage from a sustainability perspective, for example, by reflecting on questions about how data is presented—whether in printed or digital form. Human rights such as privacy and freedom of expression also raise important questions in relation to the use of media and information.
Competence in using and communicating information is essential for young people to participate in discussions about societal issues and in the search for solutions necessary to build sustainable communities. Students must be taught diverse methods of accessing information, such as using text-to-speech tools and artificial intelligence, which can greatly increase access to information for individuals with different needs.
By teaching students a wider variety of methods to access information, we promote equality between different groups and enable more people to participate in democratic conversations and decision-making. The general use of digital media and the diversity of modern jobs also requires that schools teach students creative ways to express opinions and share information, and help them learn to use appropriate media for various contexts.

The chapter on responsibility and assessment of one’s own learning emphasizes the ability of students to take responsibility for their own learning, evaluate their own work practices and performance, and connect their learning to possible future jobs. This includes, among other things, being able to set realistic goals, comparing their own performance with success criteria, and being able to use information and feedback to find the best ways to achieve the goals that have been set. These aspects are crucial for individuals’ learning awareness, for them to learn to learn, and for them to be able to monitor their own learning progress. A strong sense of learning enhances literacy and strengthens the self-image of individuals, which in turn has a positive effect on the health and well-being of the person concerned. When an individual has to face his own performance and take responsibility for it, he learns to see himself as an active participant in the society that surrounds him. The student needs to learn to assess his own position, whether it is in accordance with his own human rights and those of others and contributes to the equality of all in the group. They need to be responsible for their contribution to democratic debate and respect the results that the group agrees on. Such self-responsibility is a prerequisite for individuals to take their position seriously in societies that need to do better to achieve the sustainability necessary for citizens of the future. The self-knowledge that the key competence of responsibility and evaluation of one’s own learning aims for is also a prerequisite for an individual to see whether he is independent and creative in his work or follows others in uncritical blindness.

To effectively develop students’ learning skills, it is necessary to organize a stimulating learning environment and diverse project work, as discussed in Chapter 17 of the National Curriculum Guide for Compulsory Schools. Topics should be related to the culture of society, the environment of children and young people, and everyday life. Students need to be given diverse opportunities to apply their skills in a variety of projects in a constructive way. Care must be taken that the student integrates their knowledge and skills, while at the same time training them in communication based on respect for human rights and equality. Care must also be taken that the student practices expressing their opinions and explaining their procedures in a responsible, critical, and clear manner.

Formative assessment methods are particularly well suited to enhancing students’ learning awareness and key competencies. Formative assessment emphasizes that students know which competency standards they are aiming for in their studies and participate in defining learning goals. Students regularly compare their own position and the position of their peers against the competency standards and receive feedback from teachers that they can use to take the next steps and enhance their competencies even more. This approach trains many key competency areas and enhances learning competencies in a targeted manner. Explanations and instructions for formative assessment can be found in support materials on the National Curriculum Guide website, among other things.

Examples of reflection questions:

• How do I understand the sentence „Key competencies are based on the basic elements of education“?
• How do I integrate the fundamentals of education into all school work? How can I integrate the fundamentals of education into specific student projects? Conversations with students? Themes? Learning environments? In other ways?
• Will there be any fundamental elements missing from my work? If so, how can I find ways to improve it?

Look at the discussion of the fundamentals of education in your school curriculum. Is what it says reflected in your daily work? If not, how can you improve it? Does the school curriculum need to be changed? Does anything need to change in the way the school operates?

The group of teachers sits in a circle and reflects on which three aspects each of them feels insecure with or needs help with regarding the basic aspects of education in the school’s work. The circle is passed and teachers read out their reflections, others listen and offer to help or people pair up in smaller or larger groups to find common solutions.

Look at the discussion of the fundamentals of education in your school curriculum. Is what it says reflected in your daily work? If not, how can you improve it? Does the school curriculum need to be changed? Does anything need to change in the way the school operates?

The group of teachers sits in a circle and reflects on which three aspects each of them feels insecure with or needs help with regarding the basic aspects of education in the school’s work. The circle is passed and teachers read out their reflections, others listen and offer to help or people pair up in smaller or larger groups to find common solutions.

Plan a short project (1-2 lesson hours) using 1-3 key competences to work with the basic elements of education, one or more basic elements. Decide whether to focus the project on the key competences specifically or whether to also use competences from the subject curriculum. Finally, schedule when you will present the project to students.

Find 2-4 ways to promote democracy and human rights in your classroom. Make at least one change in your teaching next week to encourage democratic participation by all students. Examples of ways:

• Have students write questions from the reading material and then set up tasks based on those questions (you can use the competency standards from the key competency section on creative and critical thinking).
• Give students a choice between tasks (you can use the competency standards from the key competency section on responsibility and assessment of one’s own learning).

Hold a class meeting. Prepare for the meeting by getting suggestions from students about what they would like to discuss in the group. If several suggestions are received, a secret ballot can be held to choose the first topic for discussion (you can use the competence criteria from the key competence section on expression and communication).

Find 2-4 ways to increase equity in your classroom. Make at least one change in your teaching next week to promote equity for all. Examples of ways:

• Choose a prompt from Jóhann Björnsson and Björn Jóhannsson’s book Are Everyone Different? as a prompt for a conversation about equality issues.
• Conduct an anonymous survey of the strengths and weaknesses of students in the class. Give each student two pieces of paper, one in each color. On one piece of paper, write the things they think they are good at (e.g. reading, frying eggs, playing soccer) and on the other piece of paper, write something they think they need help with (e.g. reading, frying eggs, seeing, climbing steep stairs). Hang all the pieces of paper on the wall, one piece of paper in each color. Discuss with students whether and how what is written on the strength pieces can be used to help with what is mentioned on the weakness pieces.
• Texts and projects in the curriculum Me, You and All of Us – Stories and Facts about Equality offer diverse research on equality in our society.

Find 2-4 ways to increase sustainability in your classroom. Make at least one change in your teaching in the next week to promote sustainability within your school. Examples of ways:

• With a team of teachers: Choose one chapter from the Sustainability – Roadmap quality survey. Implement what you see that you can do yourself.
  Provide suggestions to school administrators about what the school can do. Get students involved in writing a letter to the local government or other government authority about issues that can be improved. You can also invite local government officials to talk to students about a specific issue.Með teymi kennara: Veljið einn kafla úr gæðakönnuninni Sjálfbærni – Vegvísir. Framkvæmið það sem þið sjáið að þið getið sjálf gert.
  Komið ábendingum á framfæri við skólastjórnendur um það sem skólinn getur gert. Fáið nemendur í lið með að skrifa erindi til sveitarstjórnar eða annars stjórnvalds um atriði sem hægt er að bæta. Einnig er hægt að bjóða sveitarstjórnarfólki í samtal við nemendur um ákveðið málefni.
• Review the Sustainability curriculum. Choose one project you can work on with your students this month.
• Examine the waste management at school. What sorting is available? Do students and staff sort waste whenever possible? Are there materials in the waste bins that can be used as raw materials for project work?
• View a selection of learning materials on the UNESCO website for schools working on sustainability education with connections to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Find 2-4 ways to increase health and well-being in your classroom. Make at least one change in your teaching in the next week to promote the health of students and staff. Examples of ways:

• A daily walk has become common in many schools. In a short video on the page “A Journey Through the Icelandic School System – Series 2”, students and teachers at Dalvíkurskóli explain why they think a daily walk is important.
• Short exercises in mindfulness, yoga or other physical exercises help everyone to renew their energy. On the website Hreyfistund you can access a variety of physical exercises in short videos and on the website Heillastjarna there are hundreds of meditation projects available.

Find 2-4 ways to increase creativity in your classroom. Make at least one change to your teaching next week to encourage creativity among students and staff. Examples of ways:

• Review the Creative School handbook. Choose one activity that you haven’t tried before and incorporate it into your lesson next week.
• Visual Power is a curriculum from the National Gallery of Iceland that emphasizes enhancing students’ visual literacy.
• Give students the opportunity to choose how they submit their assignments and show them examples of creative submissions. Svava Pétursdóttir has collected ideas for creative submissions on this website.
• If this is not the sun – what is this?

Help students think outside the box with simple drawing exercises. Give each student a post-it note and a writing utensil. Draw half a picture on the board, for example half a sun or half a house. Tell students to copy the picture onto their post-it note and then complete it without drawing the obvious part, the sun or the house. Give students 3-5 minutes to think and draw, then everyone sticks their picture up on the wall and the group looks at what pictures they came up with.

Find 2-4 ways to increase the variety of literacy work in your classroom. Make at least one change to your lesson next week to deepen students’ reading comprehension. Examples of ways:

• A dialogue based on a philosophical text. Hugrún is a learning material intended for the youngest and middle school students, and Hvad heður ðu? is intended for the junior high school students.
• Word of the day, word walls, concept maps and crossword puzzles are examples of activities that strengthen students’ vocabulary, which is a necessary foundation for reading comprehension. The website Orð af orði (Word of Words) describes a number of methods that are well suited to teaching vocabulary.
• Writing is important for developing literacy. Conversational journals can be a great way to get students to write in a relaxed, thoughtful way without having to constantly worry about spelling and formatting. Conversational journals involve a student writing a journal entry to their teacher once a week, and the teacher writing back briefly before the student writes the next entry. Jennifer Gonzales has described the method in a blog on the Cult of Pedagogy website.

When students’ learning is organized into several themes over the school year, it can be a good idea to focus on certain key competence standards in each theme. By making key competence standards visible to students in their daily work and providing them with feedback on the skills they demonstrate in the theme work, the key competences gradually become a natural part of students’ learning. Thematic projects also provide opportunities to combine related competence standards from different subject areas, for example on student transfer of tasks, critical thinking or use of sources. On Askin’s Learning Resource Center, teachers can access a large number of integrated projects for all levels of compulsory school, where key competence standards are used as the basis for work on competence standards in the subject areas of the curriculum.

In progress: Thematic project on a symbol system that integrates Icelandic, mathematics and key competences

At Stapaskóli in Reykjanesbær, teachers at the junior high school level have joined forces to set up competence standards for key competences and information literacy in the school curriculum (see the Stapamix website). Each subject teacher read through the competence standards in their subject area and selected those competence standards that were closely related to the key competence standards. The section with key competence standards expanded considerably, but all teachers use it in the same way, by integrating the competence standards from there into all task descriptions for students. The teachers feel that a lot of teaching time is saved in this way because instead of different teachers teaching, for example, the use of sources in their classrooms, the teachers join forces on competence standards and teaching in this area and all refer to the same competence standards in their daily work with students.

In progress: Key competences and ICT in the school curriculum – EXAMPLE

Many teachers link the key competences to what was previously called attitudes and practices and assessed as part of the final grade in each subject. The key competence criteria describe the learning skills that students should acquire and are very suitable for training their responsibility, mental skills, work methods and collaboration skills. At Álftanesskóli, you can see examples (teaching plans on the school’s website) of how key competence criteria are linked into teaching plans in all subjects at the junior high school level and with emphasis in relation to the basic elements of education in all grades of the school.

It is important to carefully examine how the key competence criteria are used within the subjects. For example, it is not appropriate to reduce a student’s final grade in a subject if he/she has not demonstrated good key competences, for example, low activity in lessons. The lack of activity may be due to the fact that the subjects in the lessons are too easy for the student and therefore he/she shows lack of interest. Instead of using key competence criteria as part of a final assessment, it is better to think of them in the context of formative assessment and emphasize them in conversations with students and family members about working methods, attitudes and progress of learning. Teachers’ experience shows that weak key competences in students cause weak academic performance and, on the other hand, good key competences are a prerequisite for better academic performance.

Read Meyvant Þórólfsson’s article (2003) Time, space and causality, learning as a social construct. Discuss the content of the article and put it in context with your own teaching experiences.

Examples of reflection questions:

• How can a teacher see and work with students’ preconceptions?
• What key competency standards help teachers work with students’ preconceptions?
• What connections can we find between key competence standards and competence standards in the subject areas? How can these competence standards be combined in the school curriculum?

Watch the video Key points on teaching key competencies (10:05 min). Discuss the topic and put it in context with your own work.

Examples of reflection questions:

• What eight points are said in the video to be important when teaching key competencies (from minute 5:04)?
• How do our school’s values ​​relate to the key competency standards?
• Which of these items describe the organization of teaching in your school?
• What aspects are missing from your work? Is there a reason to include these aspects in your teaching? Why/why not? If there is a reason for change, what needs to be changed?

The National Curriculum Guide for Compulsory Schools does not provide assessment criteria as is done in chapters 19-26 where different subject areas are discussed. One reason for this is that it is very difficult to set a benchmark for key competences, which are often more subjective than competence in the subject areas and are not subject to the principles of assessment scales in the same way as when knowledge or skills are assessed. For example, it is impossible to say once and for all that a student is independent in their working methods because such independence depends on the circumstances. A person who has become very independent in calculating addition problems in mathematics may be completely helpless when faced with multiplication or other subjects that he has not yet mastered. While key competences should permeate all of a student’s learning, they must not become just a technical subject, as can happen if we reduce them entirely to competence and assessment criteria. When working with students’ key competences, there must be scope to consider the person in the broad context of the person, the values ​​that surround them and their relationship with the society to which they belong. The key competences are intended to be a guiding light on the path of education, guiding the way towards the goal of children becoming eager to learn and good people. But it is not easy to measure when this has been achieved and even downright inappropriate. It is therefore better not to place too much emphasis on such assessments (Atli Harðarson 2019, Schaffar, B., 2021).

At Hrafnagilsskóli in Eyjafjörður, teachers at the junior high school level have included key competences in the students’ curriculum as a separate subject, although they also clearly link it to the school’s values ​​and school spirit. The reason why teachers have chosen to define key competences as if they were a subject is that they believe it makes it clearer to students and parents what key competences are and how important they are. The teachers believe it is important for students to receive feedback and assessment in key competences because it increases students’ and parents’ respect for this important area of ​​competence. You can read more about the project in an article in Skólaþráð.

Brekkuskóli in Akureyri provides a good overview of how key competencies are worked on in each year group, see the learning indicators. The school has clearly defined which key competency standards are worked on in each year group, and the learning indicators include examples of how the competency standards are broken down into learning objectives that clearly show what students do to train the key competencies.

Choose one or more of the videos that show exemplary teacher practices in Australia. Watch together and then discuss which key competencies are being trained in the project being discussed.

Examples of reflection questions:

• What learning outcomes can be linked to the students’ tasks in the video?
• How does the teacher integrate key competencies into daily work with students?

The videos:

• Kindergarten: Setting standards for iPad use (3:52 min)
• Youngest level: Student communication (4:39 min)
• Intermediate: Training students’ learning skills (3:46 min)
• Intermediate: Making standards and learning visible (4:36 min)
• Middle/Teen Level: Working with Students’ Preconceptions (5:30 min)
• Adolescent level: Empathy in working with students from different cultural backgrounds (4:12 min)

Watch the video Good practice in assessing key competencies (7:45 min)

Examples of reflection questions:

• Why is a final assessment (e.g. an exam) poorly suited to assessing key competencies?
• Which methods, of those mentioned in the video, have you used in your teaching?
• The National Curriculum Guide for Compulsory Schools in Iceland does not provide assessment criteria for key competencies. How can key competencies be assessed in everyday work despite the fact that assessment criteria are not provided in the National Curriculum Guide for Compulsory Schools?

Examples of project work in a teaching team:

• Choose one of the methods mentioned in the video that you haven’t tried before. Plan how you can use this method in your work with students over the next 2-3 weeks.

View support materials about guidance assessment on the website of the Center for Education and School Services. /www.adalnamskra.is. What can you use from the ideas presented there?

Antikainen, A. (2006). In search of the Nordic model in education. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 50(3), 229–243. https://doi.org/10.1080/00313830600743258

Atli Harðarson. (2019). Two-year term: Philosophy of education and the modern school system. Netla – Online magazine on parenting and education: Special issue 2019. https://netla.hi.is/tvimaelis-heimspeki-menntunar-og-skolakerfi-nutimans/

Eva Harðardóttir. (2024). An education system in crisis? School Threads – a magazine of an association of people interested in school development. https://skolathraedir.is/2024/10/26/menntakerfi-i-krisu/

Jonsson, Oh. P., Demant-Poort, L., Wolff, L-A., Witzel Clausen, S., Walk-Johansson, E., Oras, R. and Gunnarsdóttir, G. J. (2024). Sustainability education in the Nordic countries. The Nordic council of ministers. https://pub.norden.org/nord2024-038/nord2024-038.pdf

Ministry of Education and Culture. (2011 with subsequent amendments). National Curriculum Guide for Compulsory Schools, general section. https://adalnamskra.is/adalnamskra-grunnskola

Ministry of Education and Children’s Affairs. (2024). The National Curriculum Guide for Compulsory Schools, subject areas. https://adalnamskra.is/adalnamskra-grunnskola

Ministry of Education and Culture. (2013). Learning for the Future – On the Basics of Education. Author. https://mms.is/namsefni/nam-til-framtidar-um-grunnthaetti-menntunar

Meyvant Thorolfsson. (2003). Time, space and causality. Learning as a social construction. Netla – Online magazine about upbringing and education. https://vefsafn.is/is/20201017180805/https:/netla.hi.is/greinar/2003/001/index.htm

Guðríður Sveinsdóttir. (2022). I have learned to appreciate the key competence better as I have worked more with it. School Threads, a magazine of an association of people interested in school development. https://skolathraedir.is/2022/12/28/eg-hef-laert-ad-meta-lykilhaefnina-betur/

Gunnar E. Finnbogason. (2016). Keys to the future. Key competences in Icelandic and European educational policy. Netla – Online magazine about upbringing and education. Special issue 2016 – Education, human intelligence and diversity. Articles from Menntakvik. https://netla.hi.is/serrit/2016/menntun_mannvit_og_margbreytileiki_greinar_fra_menntakviku/002.pdf

Kolbrún Þorbjörg Pálsdóttir and Kristján Kristjánsson. (2023). Prosperity as the goal of education: A call for action. Journal of Parenting and Education, 32(1-2), 83-106. https://doi.org/10.24270/tuuom.2023.32.5

Act on Compulsory Schools No. 91/2008. https://www.althingi.is/lagas/nuna/2008091.html

Nanna Kristin Christiansen. (2021-2022). Guided learning, why, how, what? Author. https://leidsagnarnam.is/

Olof Asa Benediktsdottir, Odinn Asgeirsson and Pall Palsson. (2022). Training students for future skills – an experiment at the junior high school level at Hrafnagilsskóli. Skólaþrðir – a magazine of an association of people interested in school development. https://skolathraedir.is/2022/01/23/framtidarhaefni/

Schaffar, B. (2021). Competent uses of competence: On the difference between a value-judgment and empirical assessability. Nordic journal of studies in educational policy, 7(2), 55-64. https://doi.org/10.1080/20020317.2021.1958993