Giving Compass' Take:

• Here are five concepts that can help frame the design for future classrooms and education that supports lifelong learning and supports edtech. 

• How will education philanthropy change as the education system changes, and students' needs change?

• Read more about designing a classroom for the future. 

In 2001, Marc Prensky coined the term ‘digital native’ and proclaimed that existing schools would prove to be obsolete for modern students.

Though this theory has been debunked, Prensky’s narrative has served as a catalyst for calls to innovate education. Ironically, in the forward to Allan Collins’ and David Halverson’s 2013 book, Rethinking Education in the Age of Technology: The Digital Revolution and Schooling in America, renowned scholar John Seely Brown describes the epitome of the future of education using an iconic image: the one-room schoolhouse.

Whether referring to the current era as the Fourth Industrial Revolution or The Age of Agility, one tenet holds constant: schools should not only prepare students for active participation in a networked, global economy, but also for lifelong learning. To do this, Eyler promotes five critical concepts to frame the design instruction for the future:

  • One: Curiosity: Throughout history, curiosity has been a critical component of learning. Without wonder or inquisitiveness, learning rarely happens.
  • Two: Sociality: Social psychologist Lev Vygotsky argued decades ago that learning manifests through language and communication.
  • Three: Emotion: Though sociality contributes to learning, Eyler explains that emotion “adds substance, nuance, and contours to our social interactions.”
  • Four: Authenticity: Throughout history, teachers have dreaded the question “Why do I have to learn this?” However, that question most likely correlated to a moment when the content or skill seemed disconnected from the student’s reality.
  • Five: Failure: Numerous debates over the value of failure exist. Some argue that failure is a natural result of trying something new. Others proclaim that stakes are too high to fail.

Read the full article about designing schools for humans to learn by Beth Holland at Getting Smart.