Sharing Good Practice
PREPARING STUDENTS FOR A WORLD THAT
DOESN’T YET EXIST
BY GEORGE STOKES
B
y 2030, up to 800 million of
today’s jobs could be replaced
by automated technology,
according to a recent study by
McKinsey Global Institute. They predict
that a fifth of the world’s work force
will be affected. Whether this results
in a global job shortage or whether
a host of new jobs will be created is
unknown. However, one thing is for
sure, adaptability is going to be key, in
a world that is changing exponentially. some extensive research on this topic,
which we can draw upon. In his book
‘The Global Achievement Gap’ Tony
Wagner uncovered 7 survival skills
required for the 21st century:
Preparing students for the unknown
is not a new phenomenon unique
to educators of today, but the rapid
advances in technology, do place
extra emphasis on our education
system, to keep up with the world
around it. Could the educators of 20
years ago have known that so much
of our world today would be based
around technology? Could they have
predicted what skills would be needed
in the job market today? It seems
unlikely, yet they had to do their best
to prepare their students for this world
anyhow. Nowadays, educators still
face the same challenge, so where do
we begin? • Initiative and entrepreneurialism
A good place to start would be to
examine the qualities that humans
possess, that cannot be replicated by
computers. Luckily, there has been
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• Critical
solving
thinking
and
problem
• Collaboration across networks and
leading by influence
• Agility and adaptability
• Effective
oral
communication
and
written
• Accessing and analysing information
• Curiosity and imagination
The Partnership for 21st Century
Learning; summarised these skills
into a succinct framework called ‘The
4C’s ‘, standing for Critical Thinking,
Collaboration, Communication, and
Creativity. Since then, these 21st
Century Learning Skills have been the
topic of great debate amongst the
teaching community. Many futurists
predict that in a world that is changing
exponentially, the skills within the 4C’s
framework should be prioritised over
knowledge. Educators on this side of
the fence question why our students
should invest their energy in learning
various facts that they can search for
Class Time
in seconds? After all, we now live in the
information age.
On the other side of the argument,
there are the educators who argue
that these skills have always been a
requirement and are nothing new.
These teachers point to the fact
that without knowledge, these skills
become less powerful. They believe
that as educators, we have constantly
strived to prepare our students for the
‘real world’ that exists around them.
They argue that if we focus on the
key aspects such as learning how to
read, write, and calculate. Then, the
less tangible skills such as working in
a team, thinking critically, and being
curious will naturally follow as a by-
product.
As usually is the case, I think the answer
lies somewhere in between these
two points of view. I would suggest
that we focus on understanding and
wisdom, rather than knowledge.
This subtle change in phrasing is
important because, although you can
gain knowledge in seconds, it takes
experience and practice to gain true
understanding of a subject. As the old
saying goes, “Knowledge is knowing
that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not
putting it into a fruit salad”.
(Continued on page 32)