From the dawn of industry 250 years ago, formal education has remained essentially static, largely fossilised. In lecture halls around the globe, students still gaze not-so-fondly at the instructor delivering content that they’re expected to memorise—and cramming is tested and rewarded.
The future of work conversation is inherently a future of education conversation. If the hallmark of 20th-century learning was access to a college education, the third decade of the 21st century requires frameworks that digitally support lifelong learning—and then re-learning.
Many of the jobs in the future workforce have not quite been imagined yet. Almost all roles in the ‘Jobs On the Rise’ report on LinkedIn can already be done remotely—or automated. This incredible pace of change also signifies that the half-life of skills is shrinking rapidly, “jobs for life” gone forever, and the ‘gig’ economy is here.
Never before in history has learning and earning been more closely correlated!
Experts agree that networked Artificial Intelligence (AI) will immensely amplify human effectiveness. Education 4.0 is warmly embracing this no-longer-distant utopia. Given that computers will soon match or sometimes exceed human intelligence even on complex decision-making, reasoning, etc to some higher level is a foregone conclusion. Agility and efficiency are inherent in these digital solutions. Will robots replace teachers by 2030? While the jury is out on that one, technology certainly has the potential to massively replace human workers, and ‘workers in education’ are no exception.
Whether ‘robots’ take the form of artificially intelligent software programmes or humanoid machines, research does suggest that technology is poised to automate a huge proportion of jobs worldwide, disrupting the global economy and leaving millions unemployed.
Essentially, in this world of violent shifts, in-demand skills will be very different from what has been taught so far—and how it’s taught. Education 4.0 needs critical thinking, rapid absorption, relearning, and indeed unlearning—emphasis always on creativity and innovation. Ironically, in an increasingly ‘emotionally distant’ world, we will need even a more daunting mix of interpersonal and collaboration skills, while the learner ‘owns’ the process, the pace and remains self-directed. More bite-sized learning is needed since, allegedly, humans now have an attention span less than a goldfish! Learning morsels will have to be bite-sized, snackable and immersive—in virtual and augmented reality to bring learning vividly to life.
Teachers as experts will no longer be at the centre of learning; they must morph to being facilitators, coaches, mentors and dot joiners. Since content is no more king, very ubiquitous and very accessible, they must be strong pedagogical leaders, who lead learning.
With AI, students will learn in ‘mobile’ classrooms with study tools that adapt in real-time to deliver bespoke content. Above-average students shall be challenged with harder tasks and questions and those who experience difficulties will get the opportunity to immerse slower, until they reach the required level and be positively reinforced in their individual learning journey. Teachers will be able to see clearly which students need help, in which areas, and choose between instant countermeasures. Similarly, students will be able to modify their own personalised learning process with tools they feel suit them.
Project-based learning and working will be key. This means they have to learn how to apply their skills to a variety of real-life situations. This is when organisational, collaborative, and time management skills can be absorbed as basics and then constantly renewed through their careers through internships, mentored collaborative projects.
Though mathematics was considered one of the three literacies, it is without a doubt that to divine meaning, the ‘manual’ part of utilising this literacy will become irrelevant. Computers will take care of all statistical analyses, analyse data, predict trends and provide options. Digital literacy now means that human interpretation of data becomes a crucial part of future curricula. Applying 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.
Examinations were always stressful—an infrequent probe for relative ranking, not for facilitating comprehension, absorption and application. We will see courseware platforms that assess and measure constantly and intervene appropriately to nudge the individual up the curve. Imagine—as AI gets more sophisticated, it will be possible for the camera to accurately ‘read’ eyes and facial expressions to assess the current learning state.
Companies across the globe, too many to name, are currently developing intelligent instruction design and digital platforms that use AI to provide learning, testing and feedback to students, identify gaps in knowledge and redirect to topic adjacencies when appropriate.
We are staring at a complete makeover of what constitutes teaching and learning. Visible are the deep cracks in the edifice of traditional teaching. Once again, another rich example of our civilisation going up the slope of the Maslow Pyramid.
Rohtash Mal
rohtash.mal@gmail.com
Ex-corporate honcho and organisational yoda; now entrepreneur and stargazer