5 DEVEVELOPMENTS IN EDUCATION YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT
1.
AI for education
As a massive fan of technology and its promise to make the
lives of all those involved in education easier, it may come as no surprise
that I am absolutely giddy for AI. Don’t get me wrong, AI has caused some
headaches for me this year (yes, student who wrote their finals with ChatGPT,
I’m looking at you), but the benefits far outweigh the risks involved. I have
an article coming up about how you can use AI in your classroom to the benefit
of you and your students. For now, feel free to email me your top questions
about AI in education. I predict that by 2026, AI for education will be
included in almost every initial teaching degree and will be a requirement for
all teachers’ professional development.
2.
Ungrading
Imagine a world where you as the educator will never have to
mark again. And yet, your students are still assessed. But then how does one do
the assessing if the assessor does not assess? Recently, my brother, Dr Marchant
van der Schyff collaborated with Doulette Braak in which they sought a
better way of marking and feedback at higher education level. Both academics
work for at the IIE’s Varsity College. Dr Marchant in the School of Humanities
and Social Sciences, and Doulette at the School of Business Management.
Basically, ungrading is where no specific grade is assigned by the assessor and
students are taught to put their own value to their work. It aims to focus not
on credentials-based pedagogy, but rather a skills-based teaching and learning
approach – which is where much of training and development is moving to. This
is a concept I am absolutely in love with. I am an educator who welcomes
students questioning their grades, or as we call them: marks – I feel it is
essential as a young person to learn the skills of questioning the world around
you and to learn to advocate for yourself. So, when a student emails me to
argue that they deserve more in an assessment, I listen. Usually, I would ask
them for a one-on-one over Zoom (online teacher, remember?) or a detailed
description of exactly what grade they feel they deserve and why. If the
reasoning is sound and the request reasonable, I award them the mark they
advocated for. I see ungrading becoming more and more popular in courses where
critical thinking and intrapersonal skills are essential.
3.
Personalised Learning
This point can also warrant its own blog post. I am also
aware that many teachers might feel this point is unattainable, much like
ungrading. Yet, here we are. I have been a follower of personalised learning my
entire teaching career. We are not taught to teach this way in South Africa,
and still I holdhope the teaching pedagogy changes this soon enough. In a world
where individuality is key and it is becoming obvious that rote learning
belongs in the stone ages, personalised learning can be a freeing tool for
educators. Now, I am not saying that you need to stretch yourself to the high
heavens to cater to your students needs, what I’m saying is that educators need
a deep understanding of what makes a student learn. My prediction is that
teachers will receive a better education in terms of how to assist
neurodivergent students, students with ASD, and students who require more
emotional support. We do receive that knowledge to some extent, but in South
African educational degrees, I do not see enough emphasis on this. Let’s hope
this changes soon.
4.
Unschooling
This one has been around for a while. Also referred to as
‘homeschooling’ in some instances, many parents look down on this option as it
often does not have any strict guidelines or educational principles like
conventional brick-and-mortar schools. But the reality is that conventional
schooling is not the best option for all students. There are many students that
require flexibility and independence in their school career. Thus, attending a
conventional education is not the route for all. This might be the one place
where I disagree with German educational principles (where homeschooling is
illegal), some students thrive outside of the boundaries of a classroom and
should be given the chance to do so. Thinking back on my own school career, I
would most likely have thrived in a more flexible space, and I am no exception.
Although many of you realise I am biased, as I work for an online school that
offers this solution to many students, and a large part of my career has been
dedicated to finding alternative solutions for students who wouldn’t otherwise
find them. In the last three years, the world has seen that traditional
schooling is not the only option. What unschooling advocates for is children
learning at their own pace, at their own curiosity. Typically, there are no
curricula, tests, worksheets, or prescribed books. It focuses instead on
real-world skills and knowledge. As time progresses, I predict that unschooling
will become a more viable option, especially for those students who are
neurodivergent.
5.
Acceptance of neurodivergence
A hot topic today, it still shocks me how many teachers are
not familiar with the term. Neurodivergence is a broad term that refers to many
different aspects of the human mind deviating from what is considered the norm
or ‘neurotypical’. This neurodivergence could stem from different ways of
learning, thinking, or communicating. ADHD, Dyslexia, and autism spectrum
disorder all fall into this category. Much like personalised learning, the
world is becoming more open to neurodivergence. The two are inseparable. As
someone who is certainly neurodivergent (late diagnosis ADHD) and doesn’t
function like everyone else, I can tell you that it was the exception for
teachers to understand what I was going through and how to help me. However, I
do remember one teacher (Hi, Juffrou Charne), telling me that ADHD is a secret
superpower. I couldn’t have been older than 10 or 11 when she said this, but it
has always stuck with me. And the pedagogy is slowly changing to catch up. The
educational world is shifting to become more inclusive of all forms of
neurodiversity.
Sources and Additional Reading:
https://acerforeducation.acer.com/education-trends/edtech-trends-2024/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAuqKqBhDxARIsAFZELmLbyhVFTt_gN8-CjIVGdtPnz-1eZZutxZ52WZ7m9m2-o2cBNCEm5UgaAnJYEALw_wcB
https://www.time4learning.com/homeschooling-styles/unschooling.html
https://www.unesco.org/en/digital-education/artificial-intelligence
https://www.structural-learning.com/post/personalised-learning-a-teachers-guide
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/symptoms/23154-neurodivergent