Negotiating the challenges of education at a crossroad
This may sound like an exaggeration, but consider this: almost 49 per cent of respondents in the United States said that a university degree was not important for a good career, according to a PEW research. The typical attention span of an adult student in a college is proved to be 10 minutes, and more worryingly, the attention span of Generation Alpha, those between 10-15 years, on mobile devices has reduced from two and a half minutes to 47 seconds, according to research by Dr Gloria Mark of University of California, Irvine.
Of course, this is not the only time that such challenges have faced society. References to the invention of the printing press, television and the Internet are often made as historically important moments when traditional forms of learning hit a boulder and had to re-invent itself.
The uniqueness of today's challenge is that too many factors are coming together at an unprecedented speed. Schools and colleges are having to confront learner motivation and the challenges of AI together, along with a rapidly globalising and then, a de-globalising world.
All of this required taking a long and deep look at the role of education today, its purpose and methods. Of course, we can no longer depend on traditional methods of teaching that separate teachers and students. Learning is a cooperative and collaborative process that needs continuity of purpose and method across all levels and disciplines.
If there is one reality in education today, it is constant innovation. Teachers need to be constantly on the look out for new techniques, methodologies as well as strategies that will keep students engaged and motivated. Of course, that does not take away responsibility from all other stakeholders like parents, the administration or even students themselves.
Placing the onus of innovative teaching on teachers alone could be daunting but there is no minimising their role in the education process. Whether it is to inculcate values and habits to a young child, or motivate learning and encourage curiosity in an adult learner, teachers are front and centre in education.
But none of this is possible without a clear outlook on what the future of education could be. If the goal of education is shifting from knowledge seeking to critical and creative thinking, these changes need to be implemented from early stages. For example, integrating AI in education is a good idea but the implementation requires continuous professional development.
It is clear that the future of education is not in actually knowing facts and figures that are easily accessible in the palm of one's hand. It is more important for learners to know what to do with these facts. This requires a kind of classroom experience which is still at a nascent stage.
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Negotiating the challenges of education at a crossroad
There is no doubt that education at every level is seeing unprecedented levels of challenges. They are facing us in many forms: challenges in technology, changing employment opportunities, shifts in learning styles and resulting shifts in motivation levels among learners. How we cope with these challenges will determine how we think of education in the future. This may sound like an exaggeration, but consider this: almost 49 per cent of respondents in the United States said that a university degree was not important for a good career, according to a PEW research. The typical attention span of an adult student in a college is proved to be 10 minutes, and more worryingly, the attention span of Generation Alpha, those between 10-15 years, on mobile devices has reduced from two and a half minutes to 47 seconds, according to research by Dr Gloria Mark of University of California, Irvine. Of course, this is not the only time that such challenges have faced society. References to the invention of the printing press, television and the Internet are often made as historically important moments when traditional forms of learning hit a boulder and had to re-invent itself. The uniqueness of today's challenge is that too many factors are coming together at an unprecedented speed. Schools and colleges are having to confront learner motivation and the challenges of AI together, along with a rapidly globalising and then, a de-globalising world. All of this required taking a long and deep look at the role of education today, its purpose and methods. Of course, we can no longer depend on traditional methods of teaching that separate teachers and students. Learning is a cooperative and collaborative process that needs continuity of purpose and method across all levels and disciplines. If there is one reality in education today, it is constant innovation. Teachers need to be constantly on the look out for new techniques, methodologies as well as strategies that will keep students engaged and motivated. Of course, that does not take away responsibility from all other stakeholders like parents, the administration or even students themselves. Placing the onus of innovative teaching on teachers alone could be daunting but there is no minimising their role in the education process. Whether it is to inculcate values and habits to a young child, or motivate learning and encourage curiosity in an adult learner, teachers are front and centre in education. But none of this is possible without a clear outlook on what the future of education could be. If the goal of education is shifting from knowledge seeking to critical and creative thinking, these changes need to be implemented from early stages. For example, integrating AI in education is a good idea but the implementation requires continuous professional development. It is clear that the future of education is not in actually knowing facts and figures that are easily accessible in the palm of one's hand. It is more important for learners to know what to do with these facts. This requires a kind of classroom experience which is still at a nascent stage.
