Recently we have seen the greatest cause for disruption in the education industry!
Half of the world’s student population got affected by partial and complete school closures. And around 100 million students were expected to fall behind the minimum proficiency levels (Source-UNESCO).
To date, in its recovery phase, schools and institutions are busy creating action plans. And with the support of our national and international guidelines, we all are expecting to see things back in shape once again!
It is evident, that the world will have a different future of school education.
So, Let’s Dive in Right Away and Figure Out What Will Future Schools Look Like:
A Mission To Recover the Learning Loss
As a result, all schools will have to gauge the learning loss. And plan for prompt remedial action. For this, assessment tools will be utterly important across different levels of education. And not just the schools, but even the stakeholders will have to take up a joint responsibility to work upon the identified pain areas.
In other words, remedial education will be the first step in the future of school education. Because there will be an urgent need to map the student’s learning to understand the gap as per the desirable level.
A leading news media publishing company highlight ted the aspects of the learning loss aptly. It segregated it as ‘the loss’ of the productive time that could have been used for covering the curriculum. And the extent to which the student forgot what was already taught to him/her. For schools, both these aspects are equally challenging. And the recovery phase of this learning loss is expected to range between the first few weeks of schooling after the final school opening
Shift to Online and Blended Mediums
We already know that ‘DIGITAL’ is the way forward. Because the pandemic has revealed the power of virtual education to the entire world like never before. Starting from the assessment of the learning gaps to the remedial action, equity in education is possible only through virtual means. Besides, it is also a credible solution for numerous other challenges in our teaching and learning processes.
The online learning revolution is already shaping up in India. And we now have some great 100% virtual schooling platforms right here in India. Online schooling will be a futuristic trend even after the school reopening. Because it is a perfect medium to raise the bar of quality. And helps to meet the international standards of education. Parents will have options to choose between traditional schools and 100% online schools. So for the ones who wish to continue with online schooling, the system will have a convenient choice.
Another change expected within our mainstream traditional schools is the dominance of blended instructions. Our offline classrooms will make better use of digital aids. And there will be more emphasis on training teachers to make them more hands-on with technology. This period will also mark the beginning of a new educational design. And more and more institutions will offer remote learning along with their regular education programs. The future will be more about the preparation to tackle the unforeseen.
Long Term Planning
It is now impossible for students to thrive in this complex world with their existing learning gaps. And it is equally difficult for them in terms of exploring the opportunities of the workforce. Today, there is an urgent need for skill-based learning to prepare our students for the global workforce. And this is the only way in which they can achieve the milestones of success in the years to come. With the growing complexities of the future of the world, our education system will also prepare itself for long-term goals.
In other words, we need to overcome the challenges of unfinished learning within our system. And embrace approaches like mastery learning for better academic success.
Striving Hard To Get Students Back Into the Schools
In the capital of India, there was a huge impact on student attendance (online classes) during the shutdown. Around 15% of students were reportedly were missing from alternative classes arranged by the schools.
The future schooling will also be full of challenges to get the potential drop-outs back into the classrooms. And we will need stringent guidelines, and appropriate measures to get back all our previously enrolled students into the classrooms. Other than our regular students, the differently-abled and the academically backward will also be equally at-risk. And it will require a collaborative effort of the stakeholders to get the system back to the point where it was.
Building a More Resilient System
If we look at the past, it is easy to comprehend the importance of planning resilient systems with equitable opportunities for all. And our new models of learning will now focus on building mechanisms to take the learning beyond the physical classrooms. After the pandemic, we are now more hands-on with internet tools, learning platforms, and educational applications. And with the additional option of 100% digital schooling, we are now on the right track towards a more credible and resilient system.
In the years to come, these alternatives will also support our broad educational goals. And it will also help in resolving challenges such as student disengagement and relocation due to the pandemic. Online learning is a credible option to manage the student’s learning pace after the pandemic learning losses. And it will also support students who have lost their family members with a more secure and peaceful learning environment.
Parting Thoughts:
The future of the world is certainly more challenging and complex. But it is always better to look at the bright side and be more prepared for the times to come.
It is certainly a challenge for schools to shape up themselves as per the demands of the post-pandemic world. But a new and revived education system will also deliver better education to our students!
Thanks for Reading!
