The future education system

According to an economic report, in the near future the job market will be “polarized” where there are only “High-skilled” jobs or “Low-skilled” jobs. Most “Middle-skilled” job will be automated by information technology. That means college students must learn technological skills to work in “High-skilled” jobs else they will not be able to find jobs. Most low-skilled jobs will be outsourced to other countries and done by people who do not have a good education or technology skills.

Today companies need high skilled workers, especially ones with technical skills rather people with general knowledge. Industry people believe that general knowledge is already available on the Internet, what you know is not important than what you can do with what you know. That is why they believe the type of education that focus on general knowledge and memorization is obsolete. An executive explains: “Why bother to memorize formulas and equations when you can “Google” it using your smart phone?”

Not long ago, people go to college, get degree, find a job, and work the same job until they retire. Today students go to college to develop skills that are needed by the industry so they can find jobs. Even they have job but given the pace of technological change, they will have to continue to learn new skills, new things, to keep their job or else somebody will take it if they have better skills. That is the reality of the “Information Age”.

Today a college degree is no longer a guarantee for job as graduates must demonstrate ability to apply knowledge to solve problems AND have the skills that industry need. They also need to have soft-skills such as critical thinking, communication, and teamwork to function well in the industry. They must adopt a “Lifelong learning attitude” as things continue to change, as they must monitor technological trends and market trends and continue to learn. Of course, every student needs some basic knowledge as well as motivation to do that. Students who are motivated, curious, and persistent will continue to learn and develop new skills. They will be able to find better opportunities, better jobs and move up successfully.

Traditional education requires students to learn so many things some maybe unnecessarily. Students must memorize so many facts that most of them have no interest in so they often forget them as soon as the class is over. Because of this, students often become less motivated about learning and go to college have become just an extension of high school rather than an environment where they learn something new and exciting for their careers. Therefore, improving education should NOT be just a substitute of one curriculum to another BUT to focus on new teaching methods to motivate students to learn so they can develop their own passion of learning and develop a sense of purpose in their lives.

To do that, the role of teachers will change. Instead of being the source of knowledge, teachers will become people who mentor and coach students to learn so they are motivated to explore, discover and innovate and contribute to the society. The role of Principals and Provost will also change. Instead of being the administrators of instructional programs, they will become leaders who manage the collaborations between schools and industry so education will become a key part of economic drivers for the society. Instead of having many tests, students will have “education portfolios” to show evidence of mastery of skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, and communication etc. Teachers and administrators will be judged on evidence of improvement in students’ work through the year instead of how many students pass tests in the end of the school year. Only then education will be truly effective in develop talents who can make a difference in this world.

Sources

  • Blogs of Prof. John Vu, Carnegie Mellon University

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