Education is changing rapidly. It is transitioning away from the haloed institutions where the teacher shalt know everything and dictate it to a classroom full of eager learners who shalt not talk, but shall take in everything the learned teacher has to say. The new educational picture is that of a world brimming with easy access information, and the advent of global communication via the internet. We are all learners whether we are newborn or in our senior years - life long learning is important and essential, and it is a part of modern life.
How will these changes effect learning in the future?
Maybe we will no longer go to "the bricks" to learn but instead will learn through "clicks" and the interactions that we get with people and on-the-job experiences. The way we are recognised for that learning will also change. We may still want a qualification but we may go to the institution already knowing what we need for the qualification and instead ask for that to be recognised.
Who knows what might happen, but one thing is for sure, the educational process is already changing and will continue to do so!
Listen to Steve's talk here for more and consider how that impacts on you as a current and future learner.
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Feedback received via another forum:
ReplyDeleteDr M.
Thank you for sharing this ‘talk’.
He presents some interesting ideas. However, I think he is a bit vague about hisideas work in practice. Yes, I know he offered some examples.
However, I want to know that when I visit a Vet, he or shea ctually has some formal and standardized training. Same goes for engineers, physicians, plumbers etc.
The degree is the basis of learning in a profession and/or trade. In many cases, as with a physician they do their course work and are then required to do an internship (practical experience that is observed and assessed).
Practical experience is bot wonderful and necessary but it often does not include underlying theoretical concepts. In my academic studies I spent 4 years as an undergraduate just learning theories and concepts. Then in graduate school I learned some practical skills. Then in my internship I had chance to test all my knowledge in the ‘real’ world.
I believe that all those levels/components were essential. I think we need to be cautious of short cuts.
Also I know that I was required to pass exams, produce researched documents that were then evaluated.
My concern with some distance learning is that while there sources may be wonderful the means of assessing the students skills may leave something to be desired. For example in our AC studies we are not required to actually commit anything to memory. We simply complete a quiz on a particular topic and then we’re on to the next topic.
What the presenter talks about is exciting and allows, I suppose, a far greater number of people to participate in education. I am not totally convinced of the value of such learning. Universities are businesses so they will encourage such a model.
I was interested in the remarks about students failing. When I went to graduate school, we were screened before we entered – thus resources were put into us passing rather than ensuring that a certain percentage failed.
He talked about integrity. Perhaps educational institutions could put more emphasis on screening rather than failing.
Please let me know your thoughts.
J
My response: Hi James
ReplyDeleteThanks again for your feedback.
So in my professional opinion vets, doctors, dentists etc - they will always be trained via a fairly traditional education system, with a prescribed course HOWEVER it will change in the fact that the students will spend less time in traditional lectures and more time in the field learning what they need to learn via case based learning. This is actually happening already. And I still can't see a time when they will ditch closed book exams however they will be less about rote learning and more about applying knowledge.
In terms of "exams" - educationally exams are very outdated - exams are known as "just in time" learning (although I temper that with the fact that I still think they have their place if working on assessing ability to apply knowledge but not in level 2 animal care). Learn it for the exam and then it all disappears. Knowledge is better learnt over a period, applied and built on. With animal care we try to do that all the time, referring back to past learning, building on to it and adding to it. It should not be a case of learning one topic and then forgetting it and moving to the next. You will find throughout animal care and vet nursing if you go further we refer back to previosu learning and build on it. Rote learning for a closed book test will not have any better knowledge retention. In fact in many cases it may be less knowledge retention and a whole lot more stress. Learning in the stress zone is largely ineffective for long term knowledge retention. Surely it is better to know that you can find the info you need it. The only things where it must be in your head are things like anaesthesia and you will find we do a closed booka ssessment of sortd for this in year 2.
There is also the case of people that have worked in the workplace for many years but never had any formal training. Why are they any less valuable BUT if they want to move roles they are often asked to prove a qualification. Using a more flexible education model we can do this - in face we already do. Take the veterianry urse who had been in practice for 16 years but had not qual yet she was a top rate head VN. For the clinic to get best practice status she needed a recognised qual. So we assessed her prior learning. Practically she knew it all hands down, a couple of topics she had no knowledge - we enrolled in in the traditional paper and several otehrs we identified knowledge gaps. As part of the recognition of peior learning process we identified these gaps and as she presented her knowledge too us she filled these identified gaps. This whole process that would have taken her 2 years part time by distance took 18 months by the assessment of prior learning process, and it cost close to as much as being enrolled student but allowed her to feel valued and present what she knew and be challenged on it. A really robust process.
Continued in next comment
I personally have been involved in a process like this as a student assessing me for an adult teaching qualification - again another robust process, I enrolled in some papers, presented what I had done for others and was challenged to find out more before presenting for others.
ReplyDeleteEducation is not a one size fits all. For the most part school leavers who want to continue to study will continue to attend institutions, however may who ahve work place experience and life experience in areas they have never had formal training will gain knowledge via the internet, via colleagues, via learning on the job and via making mistakes for example, others will enter into specific on job training programmes and then want something that other employers recognise so they will come to have the onsite job training compared to an existing qualification, perhaps a qualification might not exisit but thy want recognition of what they have done.
I totally agree that shortcuts are not what we want and that is certainly not what is thrown about in that idea, it is that not all valuable learning occurs inside an institution, that many to many learning is a feature of learning today - the teacher is no longer the person who knows it all. Education is so much richer now and can be offered and gained in so many different ways now.
In terms of screening students - yes this already happens, but can't for certain courses eg level 2. We are partially funded on success so it is up to us o o make sure all students are couselled onto the courses to make sure they know what its about and feel its right, but we can't exclude. Once theya re on its our responsbility to make sure people succeeed (but not at the expense of quality!). But at the end of the day who is to say that my judgement or yours on who should enter a particular course is correct. Takes all people to fill roles within a subject area, and people can change and develop too. However saying that minimum grade averages are a must for some courses too and these will continue to exist. However for many of these more people than palces exist and the arguments come in here around screening - do you take the top academics, do those that meet academic criteria then be subject to a personaility test? What is the right test/answer - we need a range of different types of people? How do you make it fair.............
Big can of worms, no right or wrong answer, but you can be sure education is changing. Traditional models will continue but they will be come the smaller minority and a variety of other learning models will come into play.