I believe in thirty years from now education in Pakistan like many other parts of the world will have the following main features:
1. Information delivery model will not exist anymore which will automatically change the role of teachers. Although in many parts of the world it has also changed to a large extent but in Pakistan this is the major role that teachers are playing. Thus in thirty years from now they will have to accept the change because information will be delivered to every individual through electronic resources in one way or the other.
2. Memorization in the current mode will not be needed as the information storage devices and access to the information will be at hand to every child. We shall not need to invest any more efforts and resources for memorization any more.
3. Higher order thinking skills, such as analysis, evaluation and creativity will get more focus. Right now our students at K-12 do not go beyond knowledge understanding, comprehension and application, but in the coming years when our focus will shift as mentioned above; it will result into more attention on higher order thinking skills.
4. Teachers' authority is already fading and the current models of blended learning -especially "flipped classrooms" will take the authority away and change the classrooms completely. The lectures, or information will be available for learners to watch and listen to outside the schools while schools and classrooms will be more of workplaces where learners will be learning by doing in real meanings.
5. We are giving knowledge in one form or another, our general education only prepare them to be theorists but not practitioners and professionals. Education becoming more and closely knitted to work needs and job requirements will have to be more practice oriented
6. K-12 education will be less influential and more beneficial. We have had the notion of teachers being role models and also that teachers make learners believe what they themselves believe. Now in the era of independent learning and critical thinking, the learners can challenge and question which was never a reality a few decades ago. In three decades from now this will be a reality for all. Learners will not accept the authority and will not be influenced by blind-followership.
7. Home schooling, open schooling and online education are three solutions to the current issues of out of school children and illiteracy. Instead of investing more and more buildings, and putting in efforts to bring children to schools, we will have to change the mode of education and move towards open schooling so that we bring education to their homes. Open schooling is a way towards educating the uneducated who missed the chance of schooling due to any reason, it even gives the illiterate parents to learn with their kids
The above seven points are my vision of coming thirty years....I would like to learn what everyone thinks of these. Do not forget to comment please or email me your comments.
I will be 90 years old when your 30 year "look ahead" can be reviewed, so hopefully I will still be able to comment! ;-) But one thing I would not throw out is memorization as it is a requirement--more of it than ever--as it provides a baseline of vocabulary and content knowledge that is growing every day. For instance in medicine you don;t want your doctor to be looking up "...now where is the liver located?" I know that is a humorous example, but I think what will be required is learning a faster and deeper ability to memorization that is supplemented by technology. I know what you mean though--the emphasis must change from drill-and-rote pedagogy to iterative problem solving,with the help of expert systems. One element I would add as well is greater focus on emotional intelligence--what might we be able to do to build greater resilience, tolerance, persistence, etc.--these will determine so much of the kind of future we will have. Thank you Afshan for a thought provoking topic and for sharing your themes of focus. Brilliant job!
ReplyDeleteIn my views the role of the teacher will not be as effective as it is these days, but it must not vanish or fade away completely. Experience is always better than qualification, so the teachers no doubt need to be more informative, indulged in knowledge based activities and must be more open minded. Their role will remain important or should remain important.
ReplyDeleteI guess we've not presumed the present teachers teaching in the future environment and circumstances. If so the position of teacher relative to learners is supposed to be equally strong as the present teacher has. It is not the knowledge the teacher would be delivering to them but some skills and exposure through classroom specific experiences for which they might need the strong support of teachers. It's also important to determine the geographic considerations on which the vision is to be implemented. The education systems of different places are not only difference in their form or modes but also in the direction they are moving.
ReplyDeleteI guess we've not presumed the present teachers teaching in the future environment and circumstances. If so the position of teacher relative to learners is supposed to be equally strong as the present teacher has. It is not the knowledge the teacher would be delivering to them but some skills and exposure through classroom specific experiences for which they might need the strong support of teachers. It's also important to determine the geographic considerations on which the vision is to be implemented. The education systems of different places are not only difference in their form or modes but also in the direction they are moving. But I have to say that many of the points mentioned in your vision I 8 are on their way to replace the current practices.
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