The Future of Education during the next 20 years
Diverse time and place.
Students will have more opportunities to learn at different
times in different places. eLearning tools facilitate opportunities for remote,
self-paced learning. Classrooms will be flipped, which means the theoretical
part is learned outside the classroom, whereas the practical part shall be
taught face to face, interactively.
Personalized learning.
Students will learn with study tools that adapt to the
capabilities of a student. This means above average students shall be
challenged with harder tasks and questions when a certain level is achieved.
Students who experience difficulties with a subject will get the opportunity to
practice more until they reach the required level. Students will be positively
reinforced during their individual learning processes. This can result in to
positive learning experiences and will diminish the amount of students losing
confidence about their academic abilities. Furthermore, teachers will be able
to see clearly which students need help in which areas.
Free choice.
Though every subject that is taught aims for the same
destination, the road leading towards that destination can vary per student.
Similarly to the personalized learning experience, students will be able to
modify their learning process with tools they feel are necessary for them.
Students will learn with different devices, different programs and techniques
based on their own preference. Blended learning, flipped classrooms and BYOD
(Bring Your Own Device) form important terminology within this change.
Project based.
As careers are adapting to the future freelance economy,
students of today will adapt to project based learning and working. This means
they have to learn how to apply their skills in shorter terms to a variety of
situations. Students should already get acquainted with project based learning
in high school. This is when organizational, collaborative, and time management
skills can be taught as basics that every student can use in their further
academic careers.
Field experience.
Because technology can facilitate more efficiency in certain
domains, curricula will make room for skills that solely require human
knowledge and face-to-face interaction. Thus, experience in ‘the field’ will be
emphasized within courses. Schools will provide more opportunities for students
to obtain real-world skills that are representative to their jobs. This means
curricula will create more room for students to fulfill internships, mentoring
projects and collaboration projects (e.g.).
Data interpretation.
Though mathematics is considered one of three literacies, it
is without a doubt that the manual part of this literacy will become irrelevant
in the near future. Computers will soon take care of every statistical
analysis, and describe and analyse data and predict future trends. Therefore,
the human interpretation of these data will become a much more important part
of the future curricula. Applying the theoretical knowledge to numbers, and
using human reasoning to infer logic and trends from these data will become a
fundamental new aspect of this literacy.
Exams will change completely.
As courseware platforms will assess students capabilities at
each step, measuring their competencies through Q&A might become
irrelevant, or might not suffice. Many argue that exams are now designed in
such a way, that students cram their materials, and forget the next day. Educators
worry that exams might not validly measure what students should be capable of
when they enter their first job. As the factual knowledge of a student can be
measured during their learning process, the application of their knowledge is
best tested when they work on projects in the field.
Student ownership.
Students will become more and more involved in forming their
curricula. Maintaining a curriculum that is contemporary, up-to-date and useful
is only realistic when professionals as well as ‘youngsters’ are involved.
Critical input from students on the content and durability of their courses is
a must for an all-embracing study program.
Mentoring will become more important.
In 20 years, students will incorporate so much independence
in to their learning process, that mentoring will become fundamental to student
success. Teachers will form a central point in the jungle of information that
our students will be paving their way through. Though the future of education
seems remote, the teacher and educational institution are vital to academic
performance.
