Transforming Eduscape: Introduction

"We have 21st century learners taught by 20th century teachers in 19th century classrooms". We are already past 20 years in this new century but, unfortunately, there have not yet been any changes in how children are taught in school. Excluding some premium educational institutions who are experimenting with new-age teaching methods to empower children for life, most schools still rely on the ancient system of teacher-centric lesson transactions. This poses a grave danger for the children as when they grow up these lessons will prove futile for them because challenges will be new.

The education system needs continuous innovation to prepare students to face novel challenges that they are going to encounter when they become adults. Scientific data shows that within a few years many of the jobs are going to be obsolete. In the manufacturing industry, 30% of the jobs are taken over by machines. Therefore, it can be assumed that tasks that are of repetitive nature will no more require a human for its completion. Therefore, what now?

The new age comes with new challenges that require some unique skills like collaboration and communication. These, amongst some other skills, are 21st century skills which are paramount for surviving in the present century. Teachers should be trained in such a way that these skills become a regular feature in every classroom. Even the present-day office settings call for collaborative skills among the office members.

Now, the question arises: what is collaboration, skills needed to collaborate, how to develop collaboration skills in a classroom setting? This will be discussed in the next content. Stay tuned!