Automation and Education
When hearing the word “Automation”, most people immediately think of robots taking over people jobs, self-driving cars running in the street, or software that can think faster than a human etc. But whether you like it or not, automation is happening NOW and at a very fast speed because it is creating better efficiency, higher productivity, and more profit for companies.
When students asked me: “What will happen when automation is taking people's jobs? I told them: “When typists saw personal computer's word processing software could replace them, they immediately learned computer skills to use word processing. If we look at any technological development, we will find that most people will adjust to the change accordingly. When robots take over the jobs, some people will learn how to build robots and others will learn how to program robots instead of feeling powerless about technology. The problem that I am concerned today is not about automation but whether the education system can change fast enough to allow people to learn the new technology skills so they can keep their jobs.”
Despite all the technology changes in society, many education systems still remain the same. Even some schools believe that they have made some improvement in the teaching materials but improvement is NOT enough because they have not changed anything. The teaching method is still the same with teachers lecture and students follow the teaching and memorizing materials to pass exams, just like hundreds of years ago. Because the education system has been established for a long time, many education leaders prefer to maintain the traditional position. Many of them do not like new teaching methods, new ideas or innovations in education because these could threaten their positions. Teachers who are comfortable with the traditional way of teaching such as lecturing, follow lesson plans, giving exams would also feel threaten by new teachers with new knowledge and teaching methods.
When teaching in Asia last year, an educator leader told me: “We know that the education system must change but we rather leave it for the next generation to make the change.” I feel sad that people who can make a decision today but do not want to do it and leave it for someone else. As I look at students who are studying in universities, many are still learning from textbooks written many years ago and wonder what will happen after they graduate? If education is important to develop a new generation of skilled people who can contribute to the country today, we cannot wait until tomorrow to make it happen.
Last year, a young professor came to see me and proposed to develop a new course called “Computation Method in Neuroscience”. Traditionally, neuroscience is a branch of biology but it is also an interdisciplinary science that can integrate with other fields such as computer science, engineering, mathematics and medicine. He believed that this course is important for the students. As the Director, I asked him: “When do you think you can have it done?” He said: “It will take about two years.” I asked him: “If it is important today, why to wait for two years?” He thought for a moment then said: “I can do it by the end of next year.” I told him: “I will let you have the entire summer to work on this course and I want you to teach it at the beginning of the next school year.” The result is we are the first university in the U.S. to teach this unique course.
For many years of teaching in Asia, I have discussed with educators about changing the education systems. The most common question is: “it is easy to talk about change but how do we change the education system? I explained my view: “Change is a revolution, not evolution. It requires a change in our thinking regarding the mission of education. We should not focus on the “degree” as an accomplishment but focus on the knowledge and skills that students will have at each level. First we need to establish a strong foundation in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) in all grades because they are the basic necessities for students in this 21st century. Next we must create a new thinking of collaboration over competition where students learn about teamwork and working toward common goals. By letting them collaborate, discover, and working by themselves, they will learn more, enjoy learning and begin to innovate. When they do not have to worry about exams and scores, they will focus more on knowledge rather than memorization to pass exams. As teachers, we must make learning relevant to their career plan. Students must plan their career earlier so they know what they need and focus on develop these skills because they are important to them. As teachers, we should assess them on their work on projects when they can apply their knowledge to solve problems, NOT in tests that encourage memorization, not skills mastery.
I believe by changing our education thinking from learning instead of memorizing, we will make progress. Instead of a focus on the scores, we should focus more on the efforts. Instead of teachers are solely responsible for educating students, we must hold students and their parents accountable too. Parents, teachers and students must work together for the future of the society, and if we can do that, changes will happen.
Sources
- Blogs of Prof. John Vu, Carnegie Mellon University
