The Evolution of Learning: India’s Educational Journey

No matter how much education may promise a utopian future, it should not be based on any ideology: it shouldn't be based on any system, however carefully designed; nor should it be used to condition an individual in a particular way. Education, in its true sense, is about assisting the individual to become mature and free, to flower greatly in love and goodness. Rather than forming the child based on ideals, we should focus on that. Educating a person to deal with life's problems is the highest function of education. Education in the future will include:

Increasing popularity of home-schooling 

To provide education in a more individualistic manner, homeschooling will be given priority. As a result, students can study and learn whenever and wherever they want. Furthermore, it will allow people to spend more time with family and have more freedom in terms of their physical, emotional, and religious preferences. 

  

• Significantly less money is spent on homeschooling than on an average public school 

• A school environment is more favourable at home. Peer pressure, competition, boredom, and bullies are no longer part of the education process. 

Personalized learning: 

Students will cover the material with study tools adapted to the capabilities of a student. As a result, students will be challenged with harder tasks and questions when a certain level is achieved. Those who experience difficulties with a subject will get the chance to practice more until they reach the required level. 

• Individual, self-paced curriculum enabling comfortable and effective learning 

• Learning environment that adheres to student's needs 

• Technologies that enrich learning potential and boost creativity 

• Frequent skills checks that help to be in a constant study progress 

More e-learning platforms: 

With the help of technology, the way knowledge is passed on will undergo a significant shift towards online platforms. Learning will incorporate virtual reality and multiple perspectives. New platforms will allow students to learn how to negotiate issues and exchange ideas online. It is the right way to do online education. 

• E-learning is much more affordable for people with a limited budget 

• Distant learning enables one to mix study, work and family duties, and maintain a balance between them 

• Physical presence is not required, so learning becomes affordable in any corner of the world. 

No physical campus: 

There will probably be no campuses as we know them today. Learning won't be limited to a physical school. Travelling classrooms and the real-world environment will be a new campus. However, city libraries and city laboratories will remain to help students complete their projects. 

• Students are no longer dependent upon a certain place and can study wherever they are. 

• Students become closer to nature as they have a chance to spend more time out of the classroom 

• Unlimited study space makes students more open to the world around facing its real challenges 

Project-based learning & Rise of Education Technology in the classroom: 

Games that help kids code, toys which teach robotics, and various apps for teachers to efficiently deliver information to students will become common. Technologies will facilitate the teaching and learning process. Learning will come to be more creative and practical. Students will be assessed on critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Taking tests will be replaced by students' performance through creative projects. 

• Project-based learning combines creativity and collaboration to problem-solve difficult questions and tasks 

• PBL provides real-world connection, structured collaboration, core to learning and multifaceted assessment 

• Education technology in schools improves digital literacy enabling students to master technical skills such as coding 

• Learning through reading or lecture videos and doing projects or discussing what was learned in the classroom is possible only through Edtech 

• Education Technology makes grading much easier. Tons of EdTech tools enable automated grade calculation and measuring of student progress. 

Teacher as a guide: 

The role of a teacher will be not only to pass the knowledge but also to identify student’s strengths, interests and values. Their primary job will be to guide students in the areas where they need guidance as innovators. 

• Teachers perform as facilitators to support students in developing their way of thinking and learning 

• Teachers develop learning plans for students to obtain all necessary sets of skills to be adaptable to whatever career paradigm that will emerge. 

Social and Emotional skills as a priority: 

To thrive in the workplace of the future, skills such as creativity, collaboration, communication and problem-solving will become must-have competencies for future specialists as the market will see a huge increase in jobs requiring a mentioned set of skills. 

• In the classroom, students are taught SEL skills through discussions, cooperative group work, problem-solving and group reflection. 

• Parents also encourage children to develop SEL skills by remaining involved in their child's education and providing a safe environment that will foster their further development. 

• Extracurricular activities such as sports and music perform as accelerators for quicker SEL skills attainment 

Connectedness, collaboration and co-creation 

The concept of a teacher standing in front of a room full of students who listen and respond to directions is increasingly a thing of the past. 

While not an entirely new approach, student learning spaces will supersede the typical classroom that we know today. This will see students become partners or co-creators of their own learning. 

"Experiences that allow collaboration, communication and teamwork for all students often happen beyond classroom walls. We need to facilitate these experiences in context, and our classrooms need to be a reflection of this,” McLaughlin says. 

They will be set up to allow collaboration to occur on learning projects between individuals, small groups or larger groups. 

Classrooms will coexist as physical spaces and online, flipping the current learning model upside down so that students can learn at home and spend class time collaborating and applying their knowledge to real-life issues. 

Anywhere, anytime learning 

As we ride the wave of the digital era, it is becoming easier to get connected with a global reach. A world of information is at your fingertips with the click of a button or a simple voice command, and, as technology continues to advance, students need to grow their learning with it. 

Technology is no longer a motivating factor when it comes to learning – it is a must. It's something that needs to be incorporated in the future of education to ensure students are equipped with the skills to cope in a world dependent on technology. 

While some argue that technology in our classrooms creates lazy, disconnected students, McLaughlin believes this is a myth. She says technology has created endless boundaries of where learning can occur, with whom and why. 

“The reality is, that classrooms can be anywhere anytime. Students can be working on projects in virtual contexts with other students from around the world at any given moment," she says. 

Technological advances have enabled the interconnectedness of information and people with the touch of a button. 

Education in the future will need to demonstrate how technology can be used to students’ advantage, as well as teach future generations how to handle problems that arise from it. 

“Technology can change learning forever and we need to embrace it and manipulate it to our advantage,” McLaughlin says. 

Customisation for a learner-first approach: 

Alongside our changing notions of what constitutes a classroom, our ideas about the way teaching is delivered must also be reshaped. 

“Most professions treat each individual’s case differently – each patient of a doctor has individualised treatment plans. Education should be no different,” McLaughlin says. 

She says the old ‘one model of teaching and learning fits all’ is outdated and has no place in the agenda for future education. Teachers will become facilitators of learning and students will have more control of their learning journey. 

“In the past, all children did the same work regardless of ability or skills. We now know that this contributes to disengagement, misbehaviour and poor outcomes,” she says. 

As a result, teachers will have individualised learning plans for students, which will enable each student to learn at a pace that best suits their abilities and to engage with content that is most beneficial to them. 

A combination of evidence-gathering and feedback from parents, students and other professionals will enable these plans to be successfully integrated into the education system. 

To maximise the potential for individual progress, some elements of teacher-led learning will remain, which will augment traditional learning practices when combined with online digital media. 

Five students work on their projects around a wooden table. Classrooms of tomorrow need to focus on a combination of student engagement in learning, enquiry-based approaches, curiosity, imagination and design thinking. 

Putting testing to the test 

Students today are heavily focused on the result – achieving that high ATAR score, receiving a distinction in class, and acing those tests. Education of the future will prove what you have been told many times before results do not define you. 

"We too easily jump onto the test results in isolation of what we need to achieve. This can lead us off in the wrong direction to what's important,” she says. 

Grading is a waste of time if its purpose is solely to point out who is at the top and who is at the bottom. Assessments in the future will be evidence-based, using measures that allow learning plans to be drawn up and personalised. 

Educators of the future 

Curriculum teaching and learning already extends well beyond the classroom and will continue to do so, and as education changes to suit the future’s needs, the role of a teacher must also adapt and grow. It is each teacher’s responsibility to empower students to take risks, be innovative and seize any opportunity thrown their way. 

In light of a shift towards a more personalised learner experience, teachers of the future must be prepared to be data collectors, as well as analysts, planners, collaborators, curriculum experts, synthesizers, problem-solvers and researchers.