Educational methods are continuously evolved and will continue to do so at a rapid pace. The advent of information technology in schools has accelerated the changes in our education system even further. Schools will face amazing changes in the years to come.
So what are the changes that can be expected in schools in another 7 years?
1. Classes will no longer exist:
‘The multi-age concept is based on the assumption that children learn best in active ways through the interaction with the environment and with different people and allows for each child to progress at their own pace. There will be no longer classes with students grouped on the basis of their age. Educators are realizing the pressure this puts on students. They have concluded that every child is different and needs to progress according to his own abilities.
There will be groups of children of different ages interacting and learning the same lesson or application together with each child advancing according to his own pace.
2. Student-oriented classes:
Teacher-oriented classes where students receive lectures from teachers will be out and student-centered learning will be in. Students will read, scrutinize text, work on applications and problems till they find the solution and come up with solutions and even definitions based on their activities. As they will have been actively involved in arriving at the solution, students will retain the lessons learned more effectively.
3. Hands-on assignments and projects will replace exams:
Exams, as we know them today, will become obsolete and the focus will be on accomplishing projects, making presentations and other methods to demonstrate the student’s ability to apply the concepts learned in a practical manner.
4. Skills of teachers will be updated:
An important part of the teacher’s job will be developing skills, particularly technical since education will be primarily imparted through various technological devices. Teachers will be trained regularly to keep up with subject-related apps and their updated versions. Thus effective teaching practices with regard to the critical development of conceptual understanding and “learning how to learn”, will replace all other objectives of learning.
5. Curriculum:
An important portion of the curriculum would include preservation of drinking water, reasons of climatic changes, shift from study of industrial growth to a study of agricultural growth, impetus to value education, importance to safety, disaster management etc.
Thus there can be a dynamic change in the teaching-learning process in schools of the future.
