Click here for part 1
Click here for part 2
The incompatibility of current higher education system with the realities of the 21st century is obvious. If you represent the 19th century with the shape of a square, the 20th century with oval, and the 21st century with circle, and then try to fit the circle inside an oval inside a square, you would understand the problem statement better.
We need to ask: is knowledge transference as educational goal, lectures as instruction strategy, textbooks as instruction resource, rote learning to pass examinations, and grading as motivation for learning irreplaceable truths of education?
Or are these components of a higher education system necessary evils?
The problem is that instead of rethinking knowledge transference as the be-all and end-all of all educational activities, we are simply denying and rejecting it as our current educational goal to begin with. This is nothing but self-deceit. Otherwise, what outcome does one expect from a lecture and textbook based instruction and where students are implicitly encouraged to rote-learn and study for sake of grades?
The problem is that instead of rethinking Lectures as instructional strategy, we are simply supplementing it with beautiful PowerPoint slides, animations, and other gimmicks. After all, what is the difference between an 18th century classroom lecture and a 21st century e-learning lecture? Nothing. It is nothing but an old wine in a new bottle.
The problem is that instead of rethinking Textbooks as instructional strategy, its form, usage, and purpose, we are simply digitizing the format and making it accessible via tablets and mobile phones. What is the difference between an 18th century textbook and a 21st century e-book? In essence, nothing much.
The problem is that instead of rethinking our Examination System that encourages Rote Learning, we are simply reinforcing it by persisting with lecture and textbook duo. The Instructors use the textbook to extract the most important points from it and use that in their lectures which the students make note of and then memorize. Students are perfectly aware that they will be tested on those points and therefore memorize the correct answers, and pass. It’s a vicious cycle. What has changed for a 21st century student compared to an 18th century student except the use of computer in all of this?
The problem is that instead of rethinking Grading as motivation for learning, we are simply supplementing it with other extrinsic incentives and rewards and fear of failures and punishments. So, in effect, what we have is a reward to motivate us to aim for another reward! The abuse continues.
***
The 21st century is exclusively characterized and defined by five innovations or technological advancements: i) Knowledge & Ideas as Capital; ii) Synergy of Education, Psychology, & Cognitive Neuroscience; iii) High Speed Internet; iv) Online Educational Technologies; and v) Faster and Powerful Computers, which makes current Higher Education System obsolete:
1. Knowledge & Ideas as Capital:
And the best time for the government policymakers and university administrators to make bold decisions concerning the higher education system that is currently in place.
In the words of Dr. Farouk el-Baz, in a paper title “Reform in Arab Countries: The Role of Education”[3], “Arab countries missed the Industrial Age and continued to import most needed machinery and products from others. Similarly, they missed the Nuclear Age and did not contribute to unlocking the secrets of the atom or the peaceful uses of radiation. The Space Age also passed with little notice in the Arab region. It behaved as a spectator of a sport who does not know the rules of the games… Today, we live in the Information Age and Arab countries could be left behind once again if they do not modernize their education system… University Education requires much reform.”
The instructors and students can also play a constructive role in pushing the case for educational reforms.
The Instructors should shy away from PowerPoint lecturing and book teaching.
The students, on the other hand, should abandon their over-reliance on universities as the only source of learning.
Embrace the change and use it to your advantage.
Click here for part 2
The incompatibility of current higher education system with the realities of the 21st century is obvious. If you represent the 19th century with the shape of a square, the 20th century with oval, and the 21st century with circle, and then try to fit the circle inside an oval inside a square, you would understand the problem statement better.
We need to ask: is knowledge transference as educational goal, lectures as instruction strategy, textbooks as instruction resource, rote learning to pass examinations, and grading as motivation for learning irreplaceable truths of education?
Or are these components of a higher education system necessary evils?
The problem is that instead of rethinking knowledge transference as the be-all and end-all of all educational activities, we are simply denying and rejecting it as our current educational goal to begin with. This is nothing but self-deceit. Otherwise, what outcome does one expect from a lecture and textbook based instruction and where students are implicitly encouraged to rote-learn and study for sake of grades?
The problem is that instead of rethinking Lectures as instructional strategy, we are simply supplementing it with beautiful PowerPoint slides, animations, and other gimmicks. After all, what is the difference between an 18th century classroom lecture and a 21st century e-learning lecture? Nothing. It is nothing but an old wine in a new bottle.
The problem is that instead of rethinking Textbooks as instructional strategy, its form, usage, and purpose, we are simply digitizing the format and making it accessible via tablets and mobile phones. What is the difference between an 18th century textbook and a 21st century e-book? In essence, nothing much.
The problem is that instead of rethinking our Examination System that encourages Rote Learning, we are simply reinforcing it by persisting with lecture and textbook duo. The Instructors use the textbook to extract the most important points from it and use that in their lectures which the students make note of and then memorize. Students are perfectly aware that they will be tested on those points and therefore memorize the correct answers, and pass. It’s a vicious cycle. What has changed for a 21st century student compared to an 18th century student except the use of computer in all of this?
The problem is that instead of rethinking Grading as motivation for learning, we are simply supplementing it with other extrinsic incentives and rewards and fear of failures and punishments. So, in effect, what we have is a reward to motivate us to aim for another reward! The abuse continues.
***
The 21st century is exclusively characterized and defined by five innovations or technological advancements: i) Knowledge & Ideas as Capital; ii) Synergy of Education, Psychology, & Cognitive Neuroscience; iii) High Speed Internet; iv) Online Educational Technologies; and v) Faster and Powerful Computers, which makes current Higher Education System obsolete:
1. Knowledge & Ideas as Capital:
There is a drastic paradigm shift in the way we think about and live in the world today. In the 21st century—referred to as the Information Age[1]—knowledge and ideas have now become the new Capital, not land, not capital, not labor. And in few decades, the very concept of illiteracy will be re-defined. In the words of Alvin Toffler, “The illiterate of the future will not be the person who cannot read. It will be the person who does not know how to learn.”
Thus, it is knowledge and ideas and the ability to learn that is going to be the main source of economic growth. The 21st century economy will be driven by “knowledge workers”, thinkers, problem-solvers, critics, and like.
Unfortunately, and as explained above, our Higher Education System is not at all equipped to cater to this demand. The system continues to churn out graduates incompatible with the specific type of knowledge and skills required in the 21st century.
It is claimed that in the Information Age, 2% of the working population will work on land, 10% will work in Industry, and the rest will be knowledge workers.
2. Synergy of Education, Psychology, & Cognitive Neuroscience:The field of medicine was transformed by science in the last century, the 20th century. Can, should, and will the educational practice be impacted by science in a similar way? After all, there is a common ground: education is about enhancing learning and cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience is about understanding human behavior and mental processes involved in learning.
This synergy of psychology and neuroscience for the benefit of education is, however, a new field, and any insights gained from it should be taken with a grain of salt. What it offers us though are possibilities that did not exist earlier.
One solid and counter-intuitive insight from the field of cognitive psychology—backed by almost 100 years of research—involves better long-term retention of course material through a technique called ‘retrieval practice’. Our 18th and 19th century view was that learning occurs during episodes of studying and retrieval of information through exams serves to assess what was learned. The 21st century research contradicts this traditional view and claims that retrieving the target information from your mind—not repeating it or rehearsing it—enhances learning more than studying it over and over again.
One solid and counter-intuitive insight from the field of cognitive neuroscience involves the development of the structure of brain. The 18th and 19th century view was that once the structure of the brain was developed during childhood, there was little room for change. Scientists now know that the brain possesses enormous capacity to change in what is known as “neuroplasticity.” That means that the brain is remarkably plastic and continues to adapt very actively to its environment, even in middle or old age! Researchers Lisa Blackwell of Columbia University, along with Kali Trzesniewski and Carol Dwek of Stanford University, published a study in the journal “Child Development”, in 2007, that found that more morale and grade points took a leap when students understood the idea that intelligence is malleable. Students became motivated to study when they knew that they were all fully physically capable of building knowledge and changing their brains!
3. High Speed Internet has Made Educational Material Ubiquitous and Free of Cost: Information, today, is available in the palms of the hands and with the blink of an eye—literally speaking—anywhere, everywhere, all the time.
There is absolutely no point whatsoever for the Instructor to transmit information through Lectures which is already available to students in a variety of formats: in text, in audio, in visuals. There is also no point for an Instructor to explain or simplify difficult concepts because information is also available in dumbed down versions, summarized, differently explained, intensely exemplified, illustrated, and applied to different contexts and meanings, multiple times over for easy understanding and learning by any learner having any level of background, skill, and experience. And in case such information is not available, Classroom Lectures still do not make sense because such information can be easily created, recorded, published, and made available whenever required.
Thus, it is knowledge and ideas and the ability to learn that is going to be the main source of economic growth. The 21st century economy will be driven by “knowledge workers”, thinkers, problem-solvers, critics, and like.
Unfortunately, and as explained above, our Higher Education System is not at all equipped to cater to this demand. The system continues to churn out graduates incompatible with the specific type of knowledge and skills required in the 21st century.
It is claimed that in the Information Age, 2% of the working population will work on land, 10% will work in Industry, and the rest will be knowledge workers.
2. Synergy of Education, Psychology, & Cognitive Neuroscience:The field of medicine was transformed by science in the last century, the 20th century. Can, should, and will the educational practice be impacted by science in a similar way? After all, there is a common ground: education is about enhancing learning and cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience is about understanding human behavior and mental processes involved in learning.
This synergy of psychology and neuroscience for the benefit of education is, however, a new field, and any insights gained from it should be taken with a grain of salt. What it offers us though are possibilities that did not exist earlier.
One solid and counter-intuitive insight from the field of cognitive psychology—backed by almost 100 years of research—involves better long-term retention of course material through a technique called ‘retrieval practice’. Our 18th and 19th century view was that learning occurs during episodes of studying and retrieval of information through exams serves to assess what was learned. The 21st century research contradicts this traditional view and claims that retrieving the target information from your mind—not repeating it or rehearsing it—enhances learning more than studying it over and over again.
One solid and counter-intuitive insight from the field of cognitive neuroscience involves the development of the structure of brain. The 18th and 19th century view was that once the structure of the brain was developed during childhood, there was little room for change. Scientists now know that the brain possesses enormous capacity to change in what is known as “neuroplasticity.” That means that the brain is remarkably plastic and continues to adapt very actively to its environment, even in middle or old age! Researchers Lisa Blackwell of Columbia University, along with Kali Trzesniewski and Carol Dwek of Stanford University, published a study in the journal “Child Development”, in 2007, that found that more morale and grade points took a leap when students understood the idea that intelligence is malleable. Students became motivated to study when they knew that they were all fully physically capable of building knowledge and changing their brains!
3. High Speed Internet has Made Educational Material Ubiquitous and Free of Cost: Information, today, is available in the palms of the hands and with the blink of an eye—literally speaking—anywhere, everywhere, all the time.
There is absolutely no point whatsoever for the Instructor to transmit information through Lectures which is already available to students in a variety of formats: in text, in audio, in visuals. There is also no point for an Instructor to explain or simplify difficult concepts because information is also available in dumbed down versions, summarized, differently explained, intensely exemplified, illustrated, and applied to different contexts and meanings, multiple times over for easy understanding and learning by any learner having any level of background, skill, and experience. And in case such information is not available, Classroom Lectures still do not make sense because such information can be easily created, recorded, published, and made available whenever required.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of Instructors worldwide have produced recorded video lectures on hundreds, if not thousands, of subjects and courses, and published those on the internet—for free and at cost. Anyone can access those videos and learn from and in process become students to some of the world’s most brilliant minds as well. Those same courses can also be delivered live over the Internet if case need be.
The OpenCourseWare (OCW) Project—led by MIT and Harvard Universities—have made publicly available high quality educational materials on hundreds, if not thousands, of different courses in several different languages.
And all this has been made possible courtesy high speed internet broadband or wireless connections.
This begs the question: what useful purpose does classroom lectures actually achieve in the face of this 21st century reality? Why should a student enroll at any university to learn? Unless, of course, the university has an entirely different learning value proposition on offer.
4. Educational Technologies Have Made Traditional Instructors & Students Roles Obsolete:An Instructor’s traditional role has been to be physically present in front of a class full of students, deliver lectures, create learning materials, answer any student’s questions, and administer and mark attendance and exams. Delivering lectures i.e. transmitting information and simplifying it for student’s understanding, however, has been the Instructor’s defining and distinctive role thus far.
Online educational technologies of the 21st century have made all of the above tasks redundant or obsolete. There is not a single task that cannot either be automated or is not already available in a better form or shape or size.
For instance, an Economics student can study Economics and Finance subjects from several leading Universities such as Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Princeton, etc. taught by world’s leading minds at the same time. In addition, free, open-sourced, peer-reviewed textbooks are also available and accessible for supplementary reading for the students.
In summary, the entire curriculum, teaching material, quizzes, exam questions w/ answers, etc. for hundreds, if not thousands, of subjects are already developed and accessible publicly. This had never happened before in the history of mankind.
In fact, the whole of classroom experience can now be replicated and delivered through Learning Management Systems (LMS)—live or prerecorded—where, and theoretically speaking, one Instructor can potentially teach the whole of mankind. We also have personalized learning engines to help students track what they have learned and recommend what they can or should do next.
In this scenario, why should a 21st century student enroll at a local university and limit his learning to a local Instructor? Especially, if tomorrow top global universities started to issue certificates, diplomas, and degrees to students completing their respective online courses! Clearly, it doesn’t make any sense for a student not to pursue online education unless of course the local University and local Instructor has an entirely different role to play instead of providing lectures and administering basic tasks and which cannot be duplicated or automated.
And that is what the 21st century opportunity is, disguised as a challenge.
In that regard, a student’s role also comes under scrutiny. Traditionally, a student has always been expected to attend classes regularly, to take lecture notes faithfully, to memorize, to sit for exams, to achieve top Grades, and eventually, to earn the degree.
In all of this, crucially missing is the learning aspect. The current higher education system makes students responsible for their own learning. If students fail, it is their own fault. Lack of interest and curiosity in subject-matter, distraction, disengagement, demotivation, and indifference are all student’s own fault and as such the student is to be blamed. That is the 20th century mindset.
The 21st century, however, offers students plenty of educational technologies[2] to inspire their passion for learning; they can use technology to develop models and simulations and forecast possibilities showcasing their creativity and innovation; use digital media and environments—supportive of multiple languages—to collaborate, communicate, and interact with other students, instructors, and world at large; and apply digital tools to plan, organize, and gather information, etc.
Gamification, is yet another educational technology which seeks to educate students through a video game design and game elements. The goal is to maximize enjoyment and engagement through capturing the interest of learners and inspiring them to continue learning. The Khan Academy—with 10 million student users per month—is a prime example of the successful use of Gamification technology in online education.
5. Computers Have Become Powerful Extensions of Human Beings:Computers are no longer restricted to just one form, the desktop form. All that computers could do now can be done, more or less, on Tablets and Smartphones. In fact, computers are fast becoming wearable: on wrist as a watch and before eyes as Google Glass. And it is present in everyday objects such as tables, refrigerators, cars, etc.
The big idea? Information is not only accessible but can now be processed at whim courtesy the computers. We can manipulate information anywhere, anytime, and use it for decision-making purposes in real time. The speed of computing and the pervasiveness of computers have allowed us to do that.
After all, information search and exploration, its retrieval, its organization, its manipulation, its conversion, etc. is entirely dependent on how fast and powerful the computers are.
We must not forget that computers are the interface to Internet and Educational Technologies. So there is a direct connection and a strong relationship between ubiquitous computing and ubiquity of information as well.
***
How do you know if your university is stuck in 18th century Industrial Age education? And that it is completely divorced from 21st century realities and may even suffer in future as a result in terms of dropouts, costs, and reputation? Five Words: Knowledge Transfer. Lectures. Textbooks. Rote Learning. Grades.
Having said that, this is truly an exciting time to be in Education.
The OpenCourseWare (OCW) Project—led by MIT and Harvard Universities—have made publicly available high quality educational materials on hundreds, if not thousands, of different courses in several different languages.
And all this has been made possible courtesy high speed internet broadband or wireless connections.
This begs the question: what useful purpose does classroom lectures actually achieve in the face of this 21st century reality? Why should a student enroll at any university to learn? Unless, of course, the university has an entirely different learning value proposition on offer.
4. Educational Technologies Have Made Traditional Instructors & Students Roles Obsolete:An Instructor’s traditional role has been to be physically present in front of a class full of students, deliver lectures, create learning materials, answer any student’s questions, and administer and mark attendance and exams. Delivering lectures i.e. transmitting information and simplifying it for student’s understanding, however, has been the Instructor’s defining and distinctive role thus far.
Online educational technologies of the 21st century have made all of the above tasks redundant or obsolete. There is not a single task that cannot either be automated or is not already available in a better form or shape or size.
For instance, an Economics student can study Economics and Finance subjects from several leading Universities such as Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Princeton, etc. taught by world’s leading minds at the same time. In addition, free, open-sourced, peer-reviewed textbooks are also available and accessible for supplementary reading for the students.
In summary, the entire curriculum, teaching material, quizzes, exam questions w/ answers, etc. for hundreds, if not thousands, of subjects are already developed and accessible publicly. This had never happened before in the history of mankind.
In fact, the whole of classroom experience can now be replicated and delivered through Learning Management Systems (LMS)—live or prerecorded—where, and theoretically speaking, one Instructor can potentially teach the whole of mankind. We also have personalized learning engines to help students track what they have learned and recommend what they can or should do next.
In this scenario, why should a 21st century student enroll at a local university and limit his learning to a local Instructor? Especially, if tomorrow top global universities started to issue certificates, diplomas, and degrees to students completing their respective online courses! Clearly, it doesn’t make any sense for a student not to pursue online education unless of course the local University and local Instructor has an entirely different role to play instead of providing lectures and administering basic tasks and which cannot be duplicated or automated.
And that is what the 21st century opportunity is, disguised as a challenge.
In that regard, a student’s role also comes under scrutiny. Traditionally, a student has always been expected to attend classes regularly, to take lecture notes faithfully, to memorize, to sit for exams, to achieve top Grades, and eventually, to earn the degree.
In all of this, crucially missing is the learning aspect. The current higher education system makes students responsible for their own learning. If students fail, it is their own fault. Lack of interest and curiosity in subject-matter, distraction, disengagement, demotivation, and indifference are all student’s own fault and as such the student is to be blamed. That is the 20th century mindset.
The 21st century, however, offers students plenty of educational technologies[2] to inspire their passion for learning; they can use technology to develop models and simulations and forecast possibilities showcasing their creativity and innovation; use digital media and environments—supportive of multiple languages—to collaborate, communicate, and interact with other students, instructors, and world at large; and apply digital tools to plan, organize, and gather information, etc.
Gamification, is yet another educational technology which seeks to educate students through a video game design and game elements. The goal is to maximize enjoyment and engagement through capturing the interest of learners and inspiring them to continue learning. The Khan Academy—with 10 million student users per month—is a prime example of the successful use of Gamification technology in online education.
5. Computers Have Become Powerful Extensions of Human Beings:Computers are no longer restricted to just one form, the desktop form. All that computers could do now can be done, more or less, on Tablets and Smartphones. In fact, computers are fast becoming wearable: on wrist as a watch and before eyes as Google Glass. And it is present in everyday objects such as tables, refrigerators, cars, etc.
The big idea? Information is not only accessible but can now be processed at whim courtesy the computers. We can manipulate information anywhere, anytime, and use it for decision-making purposes in real time. The speed of computing and the pervasiveness of computers have allowed us to do that.
After all, information search and exploration, its retrieval, its organization, its manipulation, its conversion, etc. is entirely dependent on how fast and powerful the computers are.
We must not forget that computers are the interface to Internet and Educational Technologies. So there is a direct connection and a strong relationship between ubiquitous computing and ubiquity of information as well.
***
How do you know if your university is stuck in 18th century Industrial Age education? And that it is completely divorced from 21st century realities and may even suffer in future as a result in terms of dropouts, costs, and reputation? Five Words: Knowledge Transfer. Lectures. Textbooks. Rote Learning. Grades.
Having said that, this is truly an exciting time to be in Education.
And the best time for the government policymakers and university administrators to make bold decisions concerning the higher education system that is currently in place.
In the words of Dr. Farouk el-Baz, in a paper title “Reform in Arab Countries: The Role of Education”[3], “Arab countries missed the Industrial Age and continued to import most needed machinery and products from others. Similarly, they missed the Nuclear Age and did not contribute to unlocking the secrets of the atom or the peaceful uses of radiation. The Space Age also passed with little notice in the Arab region. It behaved as a spectator of a sport who does not know the rules of the games… Today, we live in the Information Age and Arab countries could be left behind once again if they do not modernize their education system… University Education requires much reform.”
The instructors and students can also play a constructive role in pushing the case for educational reforms.
The Instructors should shy away from PowerPoint lecturing and book teaching.
The students, on the other hand, should abandon their over-reliance on universities as the only source of learning.
Embrace the change and use it to your advantage.
*** The End ***
[1] Daniel Pink, in his book “A Whole New Mind”, argues that, as a society, we have transcended the so-called Knowledge Age and are now in a Conceptual Age, where creativity, innovation, and design skills are required
[2] Based on the National Educational Technology Standards’ 6 Performance Indicators for Students
[3] URL: http://www.bu.edu/journalofeducation/files/2011/06/BUJOE-188.3El-Baz.pdf
[1] Daniel Pink, in his book “A Whole New Mind”, argues that, as a society, we have transcended the so-called Knowledge Age and are now in a Conceptual Age, where creativity, innovation, and design skills are required
[2] Based on the National Educational Technology Standards’ 6 Performance Indicators for Students
[3] URL: http://www.bu.edu/journalofeducation/files/2011/06/BUJOE-188.3El-Baz.pdf
No comments:
Post a Comment
Use of any abusive or inappropriate language will give us a reason to delete your comment.