Future 3 Curriculum

[Hilda Bagnoli]

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The curriculum of our future should be one that is dynamic, responsive, integrated and reflective of our world. Human evolution remains constant, and while we achieve incredible achievements in some fields, we often miss out on other critical factors that allow us to thrive as a species. Education for the past hundred years or so seems to be one of them. Most of our education systems today still primarily relies on what was deemed appropriate and necessary for the industrial age. The industrial age is slowly passing by while we enter a world of digitisation and automation. In our world, machines and computers do much technical work, and thus, we no longer require the same kind of human capital as we once did. Hence, with a lack of technical jobs to engage with, our graduates find the need to reskill themselves constantly. We are failing collectively to equip our young people with the necessary knowledge and skills required to solve the problems of our communities, nations and indeed the world. It is no longer sufficient to possess technical knowledge and skill, and it has never been more critical to imbibe creative problem-solving abilities, one that we as a planet require as we head rapidly into the future.

We need to start at the definition of curriculum. Is the curriculum meant to define the 'what's' or the 'how's'. I think that curriculum should be a guiding principle, a set of ideas, much like the constitution of a country. The fundamental values and principles, along with guidance on learning and teaching methods, must be included in a curriculum. The curriculum is like a business plan, charting out the future of the learning eco-system and landscape at the community, college or state level. The challenge is to keep curriculum open and flexible. It needs to be reactive to the needs of the community and in-line with the technological and social advancements of the day. Students must have a real picture of the outside world. Students need to value the learning they receive, and it is but natural for modern learners to be dissuaded with the traditional forms of learning and teaching. We must move away from fact-based teaching in today's world as we are surrounded by smart devices that in a matter of seconds, can give us facts. What technology cannot solve, however, is the creative problem-solving ability that humans have, and this inherent quality needs to be valued and nurtured. Technology has transformed the way we live. Our world is more connected than ever before, and all our experiences are entering a new dimension. A dimension where interactivity and the social aspect of learning plays a huge role in growth and progress. In a collectivist mindset, the success of an individual can be attributed to the success of a group. Hence, students must learn to work with others and in groups or teams. Thus, our education systems must embrace a progressive notion of curriculum and its development.

The curriculum should be devised, keeping one eye on the industry. Education departments should have strong links with captains of industry in order to stay aware of what skills are increasingly necessary for the workplace. Keeping up with technological advancements requires our curriculum to be continuously monitored and reviewed if necessary. It must go through a thorough process of evaluation, and experts must make recommendations for change based on evidence received from academia and industry.

Any curriculum that is designed to educate the young should necessarily contain elements that target all attributes in a student and not just some. There must not be any preconceived notions or existing biases while developing curriculum and the importance and emphasis must be equitable among the maths, sciences, language, humanities and the arts. Educational institutions must cater to students of all backgrounds and abilities. Teachers must focus on the holistic development of these individuals in their chosen field of study. They can do this by identifying the essential attributes required for their success and creating unique learning pathways for each student. Schools need to stress on the appreciation for the arts amongst its students so that the students learn to think in different ways and perceive the world from multiple points of view. Students with this experience will be the creative problem solvers of tomorrow.

There is sufficient research-based evidence to prove that an integrated curriculum works for both students as well as teachers in the classroom. The use of integrated curriculum allows for better utilisation of class time while addressing much larger cognitive areas in students. The relationship between different topics is a reflection of real-life and students can relate their education to the outside world. Students seamlessly transfer knowledge and experience attained to additional areas of study or as a part of the workforce.

In my opinion, learning and teaching methods are the most critical areas in education. In order to make sure that the curriculum is delivered in an intended manner and has the right impact, there should be a focus on teacher training. This training should contain strategies to engage modern learners of all types. Teachers should be allowed to express themselves and share their best practices with their peer network. The job of teachers is to be able to engage with students and having meaningful discussions on various topics to stimulate their curiosity. Problem-based learning, inquiry-based learning, active learning, social learning are some ways students find the material more engaging and lead to increased performance scores. The use of these methods more often than not, leave lasting impacts on students.

Students must be encouraged to learn while actively taking part in projects and other activities. These activities should require students to engage in a wholesome manner and take charge by either doing, thinking or communicating and sharing ideas with their peers so that the learning is experiential and not just theoretical. This way the lessons learnt and concepts internalised stay with the recipient for a long time after they leave school.

The students of the future are going to learn in different ways. The tools for communication and collaborative work with the help of technology has paved the way for a whole new way of learning, teaching, working and collaborating. The best minds from across the globe can now connect mind instantly, share best practices and local insights that provide solutions for millions of people both at the grass-root level and also on a global scale. Student learning must be supported with audio-visual representations of learning materials in addition to real-world simulations and problem-based approaches to learning. Students will find solutions working together in groups in their schools and communities and also with peers around the world to help ensure a more fulfilling, aware and globalised learning experience.

The process of knowledge and skills transfer from the classroom to the real world is very critical. Students must have enough experience dealing with specific situations that are common and can be reproduced for a learning environment. During the final years of any study, students must be introduced to the practical world in a systemised manner through study-work placements, internships, learn-on-the-job projects, amongst other ways so that students have the time to fine-tune their application to practice and can get used to a professional work environment.

One of the essential aspects that make curriculum impactful is the methods used to assess student performance. Performance indicators are still a factor that plays a massive role in the future of a human being. From admission into a college to getting a dream job, there seems to be a meritocracy at play, although, not always working as it should. That is primarily because school and universities are sometimes not equipped to measure a person's performance holistically. Standardised test scores are simply not enough to measure student ability in today's dynamic nature of work and business. While some attributes like memory and retention can be easily measured, social skills and ability to think creatively much less so.

The use of formative assessment is much more effective and factual in terms of results. Formative assessment allows teachers to measure their students' performances all along the way throughout the learning journey and not just at specific points or summatively at the end of a course of study. Formative assessment can give us insights into the way students think and react to different pieces of a puzzle. It also allows us to stay away from testing memory and retention that in today's world of Google is much less a required skill. Instead, it allows us to test inter-personal skills, thinking/conceptual skills, active participatory skills as well as communication skills. All of these are vital to any individual in the 21st century.

Outcome-based teaching is another way to have performance indicators of a student to reflect the actual capability of a student more accurately. A teacher measures students' ability to perform tasks or give satisfactory answers to questions and solutions to problems. This way of testing gives teachers insights into the skills, abilities, thought process and behaviour of students. Quiz, solving puzzles, giving an online presentation, modelling something, taking up a multiple-choice assessment, are some of the ways of outcome-based testing.

Any curriculum must ultimately try and instil attributes within a human being that can leave a life-long impact. Students must be equipped with the tools to be life long learners, stay hungry and curious. Students must be taught to question what they see around them. Only through disruption to the norm can come great innovation. Students must be taught to be able to receive feedback and critique in the right spirits. They should steer their learning journeys once the guided phase of school and college are over. The future is multi-dimensional and multi-disciplinary. Students can no longer only rely on silo-based domain knowledge to be successful, and instead, they need to be entrepreneurial, task-oriented problem solvers. The message that a curriculum sends out must contain the central principles to which we collectively feel are the reasons for humans to have an education. Leadership is one such fundamental principle. Being a leader involves taking a stand and having the courage to justify and prove an opinion. Leadership involves having something to say and to make meaningful contributions that affect a large number of people. We need more thought and action leaders than ever before. The inconsistencies and injustices in the world are apparent and ample. Only through concerted thought, effort, resources and leadership are we truly going to achieve social and financial equality.

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