Education Evolving

Online/Distance Education
Online education is expected to continue its rapid growth, making higher education more accessible to people around the world. Today, universities offer a cornucopia of courses for students to pursue online degrees or just the pleasure of learning. This shift has led to the creation of new and innovative educational models, such as micro-credentials and competency-based programs. Learners can stack these credentials to gain degrees or certificates and tailor their learning to specific career needs, professional goals or personal interests.

Soft Skills
As automation, robots and artificial intelligence continue to disrupt traditional jobs, the demand for people trained for collaboration and critical thinking is expected to grow. Collaborative learning refers to an instruction method in which students at various performance levels work together in small groups toward a common goal. Collaborative learning creates a relationship among learners that fosters positive interdependence, individual accountability, and interpersonal skills. Empathy is included in soft skills training, since research shows a measurable lack of empathy in children raised in the digital age.
Critical thinking programs teach reason and the recognition of fallacies. Beyond that, students can use programs like Plague Inc. that require critical thinking and strategy to solve problems presented in a gaming environment. Whoo’s Reading poses high-level questions that require depth of thinking while giving students a chance to show what they know. Mapping programs present a visual way to organize ideas for better clarity and recall.

Some Pitfalls
There is an elitist advantage for successful students. The negative effects of online course-taking are far stronger in students with lower prior GPA. According to Brookings, students in online courses perform substantially worse than students in traditional in-person courses. There is a higher likelihood of students dropping out of college as well. Even the globalists at TC Global, a one-world education platform, say, “It takes away the ability of students to come together, engage, discuss and create bonds with one-another—forming friendships online is simply not the same as forging face-to-face bonds and understanding different kinds of people, contexts, and cultures.
“Digital learning also takes away the opportunity to find new interests and learn new skills by joining clubs and societies. Students sitting at home cannot participate in events like performances, competitions, fairs and mixers that allow them to explore new fields, and develop other aspects of their personalities.�

What’s Coming?
To give students the best start possible, schools are looking to help them develop a toolkit of skills such as problem-solving, coding and a good understanding of STEM subjects. The idea is that these will prepare them for future technologies and challenges we can’t even definitively predict yet.
I’m pretty sure we will be in a hybrid classroom/virtual model for a while yet. But, as often noted in this column, the pace of change is accelerating every day, so I will share one of the best pieces of advice anyone gave me when I was a new mother. “The best thing you can do for your child is help them to learn to be flexible.�
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