Four new trends in education and comparison with the past

As per (Seifert, 2009) four new trends have been observed in education lately.

Increased Diversity

There is a sheer diversity of language, learning spectrum, and purpose of education itself. This has always been there but now, due to the sheer size of migration of humanity and evolution in educational awareness, it has increased. When I was in school, we were in a melting pot culturally for we studied in a government school, but it was an Indian cultural pot. When I taught at the IB, it was an international cultural pot! In our school, there were (a) slow, (b) average, or (c) advanced learners. Today there is a huge spectrum of learners with a clear identity for each. We do not just have smart or non-smart people (RSA: 21st Century Enlightenment, 2010, 3.14).

Increased Educational Technology

Our kids are living in the most stimulating age ever due to the presence of the gadgets such as computers, tablets, etc (RSA: 21st Century Enlightenment, 2010, 4.40). Hence they are distracted from stuff they find boring. (Seifert, 2009) With the Internet, it is now relatively easy to get the subject to become interesting, often with pictures, video clips, and audio to accompany them. Earlier, teaching tools consisted of a board, textbook, and chalk. Where tools are concerned, we have come a long way but where the usage of the tools is concerned we have a long way to go. While technology has revolutionized learning by making it possible to have personalized learning, classrooms are yet to be globally revolutionized. 

Greater Accountability in Education

Public education was created in the industrial revolution (RSA: 21st Century Enlightenment, 2010, 2.22). Our stories were different (RSA: 21st Century Enlightenment, 2010, 1.18). We equated a degree with a job whereas today it is not a guarantee. Today a teaching degree does not guarantee that you will be accepted as a teacher. There is public accountability (Seifert, 2009) from parents, media, and also students. Technology has opened the spaces so much that a student can take a smart video of a teacher misbehaving and put it up on social media. This has made teachers more aware of how they operate but also removed something close to innate trust in the relationship between the student and teacher.

Increased Professionalism of Teachers

The above three trends have naturally led to teachers having to be professional in their approach. We need to be open to new ideas, we need to step off the grid as important people and earn the respect of students and we need to keep ourselves educated constantly. We also, as some of us did, need to be open to the idea of moving out of teaching and using our curricular skills in other zones such as publishing or educational technology.

Integration of Technology

In a staff meeting in IB school, the head was wondering which smart class seller to choose. I suggested to them that we just buy projectors. As we all have access to Wi-Fi and have laptops, we can curate our own material. Eyes lit up in the room! And then the sky was the limit as to the amount of material we could curate from open sources from the web and bring variety in our class to our heart’s content. The school saved money.

The focus for us was not to introduce technology randomly but to be clear about how it is used and enhances our teaching strategies (Mishra & Koehler, 2006). And understanding the difference is a huge challenge for school owners. A lot of times technology is introduced more as a status symbol than being of any use.

This was an up-market school. (Seifert, 2009) One of the biggest issues in the integration of technology is the cost involved. In a country like India, the cost of subsidizing limits companies to invest heavily in the lower strata and that constitutes the majority.

(Seifert, 2009) Other challenges are less tangible. In using the Internet, for example, students need help in sorting out trustworthy information from websites that are unreliable or even damaging. Providing this help can sometimes be challenging even for experienced teachers.

Some educational activities simply do not lend themselves to computerized learning—sports, or choral practice. As a new teacher, one needs not only to assess what technologies are possible but also what will actually be assisted by new technologies.

Reluctance in teachers, such as me, to develop in oneself what is called as (Mishra & Koehler, 2006) TCK or Technological Content Knowledge is another hurdle hard to cross. There is a need to experientially understand what technology can do that is better than a live teacher in the classroom. Simply handing technological tools is not enough. Recently for a project I saw live how having a GeoGebra can change a math class! This made me get interested in it and explore more. TCK would grow when technology is introduced as a tool for the teachers with experience in how it improves learning in the class.

My Pedagogical Philosophy

(Foley, 2014, 3.45) There is always a problem when pedagogical philosophy, teaching theory, and practices do not connect with school structure for curriculum. My pedagogical philosophy is Progressivism. A shift from “full-frontal teaching” to “guide on the side” (Seifert, 2009). The schools I taught in enhanced this approach and helped me to come to my own vision of teaching by never stressing a particular strategy of teaching but staying learner-centered.

(Seifert, 2009) Textbooks are similar and hard to personalize. They are also expensive and if subsidized, not very attractive to motivate students to read. Using web-based material helped me to personalize the learning and focus more on designing the flow of learning instead of focusing on the content itself. I always wanted to know if I can hold all 30 students in my class to my attention. For years I tried and found that it was never enough and I always missed some of the students. (Seifert, 2009) We may wish to reach all students but may have trouble reaching all of them. When most of the students became self-directed learners using web-based material, I was able to focus on the few that needed personal attention.

The objective of classroom work is to lay the foundation for lifelong learning. I used collaboration as a strategy (RSA: 21st Century Enlightenment, 2010, 11:00) as that fits in with the learning model for humans at any level and age. (Foley, 2014, 2:20) Vygotsky’s social education theory was very visible as my students worked in small groups almost daily, interspersed with individualized learning to enhance the depth of learning.

(Foley, 2014, 2.38) Communication between parents and teachers is something greatly enhanced by technology and I found that very rewarding. Having outlook express. Google meets and smartphones made us come closer as we could communicate over small or large issues and connect often.

(HEART RESOURCES. 2014) Feedback, a safe environment, collaborating learning, use of questioning, and adding a variety of learning experiences have been the heart of the teaching-learning process. Technology has added to this and has been a tool that helped me to be progressive and always searching for the best. Classrooms are complex and never go the way we think that they would (Seifert, 2009). Stumble till you stumble right, including stumbling with technology.

About the author

Monica Kochar started her career as a Maths teacher in 1993. She has years of experience as a Maths Curriculum Designer with leading education platforms. This write-up has been reproduced from ' Humane Maths ' with the Author's consent. Any views expressed are personal.