Prepared for the Future?

Are We Ready?

The forth industrial revolution is here.  Are we preparing our learners for the future?   Will the jobs that our learners think they want, e.g. doctors, lawyers and drivers, be around in the future?  Many of these positions will be automated in the future.  What new jobs will be available?  Research suggests that change is happening 10x faster than it did with the industrial revolution.

The linear career path has long gone and today's learners can expect to have multiple career changes over their lifetime.  The following broadcast illustrates the changes that will come about due to automation and AI in the future and why we will need to provide the learners of today to be adaptable and have a certain skill set to navigate through the changes that they will experience in their lifetime.

Listen to the Radio New Zealand broadcast

Takeaways

There were many "aha" moments while listening to the broadcast, but the points that stick in my head were:

• A need for skills that are transferrable around a labour market
• We have a shortage of people with computational skills with current gaps being filled through immigration
• Soft skills (people-people) are needed
• Transferable skills to help people make the changes in their working career
• Current white collar professions, e.g., doctor, accountant, lawyer are not certainties in the future
• More value and importance need to be applied to the inclusion of STEM at primary level and encouraged through secondary

Limiting our Potential

Francis Valentine (MindLab) felt that children of today are becoming passive users of technology.  If so, then they will be limiting their opportunities in the future employment market.   If we (educators) are to support the learners of today's environment, then we should be supporting and encouraging innovative learners.   Learners who are risk takers, problem solvers, critical thinkers and willing to learn through failing.

In our current primary school learning environment, the emphasis on 'achievement' is reflected by year end results based on standardised testing and assessment in two subject areas.   Where is the recognition for Health and P.E., Science, Social Studies and The Arts?  The Digital Technologies curriculum is being added in 2018.  Will educators acknowledge the value of this new curriculum if they continue to use traditional methods to meet targets in literacy and numeracy?

I've seen many learners, (and parents), that do not wish to be risk takers - they feel that it is more important that they can provide the right answer.  Failure is not an option so risks are not taken.  So, are we providing the best environment so that the learners identify that the skills used and developed through the inquiry are as important as the end result?   How are we celebrating a successful inquiry journey - not just the end product?