Getting ready for innovation and exponential change or maintaining the humdrum? A look down the road of education (Part 2)

Will schools significantly change or are we in danger of another generation where we tinker with an outdated model? Technology has the potential to shift the way we do school making learning has become more accessible, more mobile and more personalized. What are some schools doing now and how might schools adapt in the future?

Technology is impacting schools. Students rely more on technology than teachers for information. In fact, students tend to use YouTube more than other search engines to learn. School and learning are now highly mobile, accessible and personalized. The web and cloud computing means “school” can be accessed anywhere, anytime. Yet, schools look and feel industrial and impersonal and consequently students tend to feel disconnected and disengaged. The future will see schools leveraging mobile technology to support a more personalized approach (vs. standardized as in the old factory model)  of the learning environment.

A more personalized approach is needed so that the individual and community needs are considered. In a world that can increasingly cater for individual and diverse needs, education needs to accept that one size does not fit all. A school culture that emphasizes this will enable relevance and rigor in the classroom, and higher levels of student engagement.

For example, some schools around the country have ‘dashboards’ for each student where their personal progress is monitored in real time. Feedback is readily available and data can be extrapolated with ease. MAP testing is an example of how technology can be leveraged to build or advanced individual student’s skill sets. This allows the student, teacher, and parents to customize the learning for the child whether it be the need for reinforcement, redirection or moving on to the next topic or level. Students can create and navigate their own learning journey, tap into multiple online resources (like Kahn Academy) and use the teacher as a coach or facilitator.

Schools will continue to question the emphasis on standardized testing as the need for curiosity, ingenuity, passion, and curiosity grows. Education will move from information acquisition (the known) to knowledge creation (beyond the known). The trend is already towards the inventive use of knowledge and how people can add value to what is already know. Thus, schools will need to create intellectual entrepreneurs. Schools will need to explicitly teach the skills of collaboration, problem-solving, and communication. These are not new skills but there are greater demands now placed on the need to graduate students with these skills. Technology will be used to support these shifts to enable students to tackle real-world problems that may be occurring in their classroom, their school, their town or even globally (see an upcoming blog for what this looks like). 

Therefore, schools will need to develop an intensive and ongoing professional development program to better support teachers to deepen their understanding and expand their skill set on how to teach for the 21^st century, or in other words, nurture “future-ready students”. This is unknown territory for teachers, administrators, and parents where student learning outcomes are more about habits of mind (creativity, ingenuity, innovation, collaboration) than knowledge. That means the curricula, assessment, classes and the school day will look different. There will be greater emphasis on project- and place-based work, integration of classes, connections with the outside world and blended learning (see my next blog for insights into this topic). A school will also be more intentional about students creating connections, developing creative solutions to real problems and encouraging collaboration; skills prerequisite for employment. This will also be key to the survival and advancement of our society.

Schools may maintain the humdrum over the next few years, tinker with an outdated system, and continue to prepare students for a world gone by. Let’s hope though that schools do adapt to the changing needs of the students and the world and that courageous and thoughtful leaders see the role technology plays in this shift. Educators are passionate about developing future-ready students with the capacity to make a positive contribution to their world. Training, support, and high-quality professional development will help our teachers navigate the significant change our schools need.

Picture source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/zqkjp39