Calculate a new course in the education system

The time of the education system as it is has passed. The only question is how long will we keep dissecting, plastering and abusing this body, before we bring it to a final burial and start a new life

drawforLife

4

Dr. Liat Ben David

The time of the education system as it is has passed. The only question is how long will we keep dissecting, plastering and abusing this body, before we bring it to a final burial and start a new life.

Does that sound extreme to you? Think of it this way: the "school" has long since not needed books in their traditional sense. These can be found on the Internet, along with pictures, movies, explanations, sources of information of various types, in various languages, at various levels, including various accessibility options for leading experts in their field in Israel and the world. All you need is a computer. Before jumping again into foolish projects of introducing one or another technology into the classrooms, calm down: surveys prove that over 95% of children (age 9 and older[1]) in all sectors, denominations and geographical and social territories, they have a cell phone, that is - a computer in the palm of their hand. The question has long been not whether our children use the computer but to what extent and by what means. The 2015 surveys prove that children and teenagers use YouTube, news sites, articles, various sources of information, music, various apps, social networks - and books for learning. If "school" is no longer a place of books, what is it?

Think about this too: there is no longer any justification for children to spend hours and sweat learning to draw letters with a pencil and pen. "But how will they write a note if they get stuck on a desert island?" A friend asked me, as if this is exactly what is likely to happen to our children. "But a handwritten blessing is much more beautiful and intimate," said another. "With the book you should not only read but also write. to write, and not to type," ignores the fact that typing is indeed writing, just with a different technique than writing with a pen. The essence that creates an experience between the text and the reader, including beauty and intimacy, is determined by the content. Learning to write should combine three components: the technical part of learning to type; Learning language arts - reading, writing fluently and without spelling and style errors that requires sentence construction, paragraphs, construction of an argument and creative writing; And arts such as painting, sculpture, music, dance - all of these develop, among other things, both fine motor skills and creativity and yes, also the ability to create beauty and intimacy through writing. Although Finland is a country that Israel's captains for generations like to talk about the exemplary innovation of its education system, they have not yet heard of the fact that Finland canceled the study of writing by hand. They are stuck in the previous lesson.

And there are other aspects worth thinking about in the context of education processes. Two years ago, I took a year-long academic course in history. The traditional interpretation of such a sentence is that I signed up for a certain course, and for a whole year, once a week, I would get into my car, drive to some lecture hall, listen to a certain lecturer - maybe while writing a lesson summary, maybe even while raising a finger to ask any questions - and between classes For class, I may have done some homework. At the same time, I taught three biology lessons for XNUMXth graders in five different schools, from Gesher Ziv in the north to Dimona in the south. Even in this case, the traditional interpretation is that I traveled fifteen times to five different places in Israel.

In both cases, the reality was completely different: I did the history course when are that I wanted - sometimes I listened to the class in the middle of the night, sometimes in the middle of the day, sometimes for several days in a row and sometimes with a break of two weeks between classes; where that I wanted - at home, in the car during a long drive, and yes, as in the advertisement, even in the bath; and also How to that I wanted - my learning process was different from usual: it was not linear, brick on top of brick as before, but networked. Sometimes I stopped and went to find out accompanying content, or make connections with a completely different field of thought, and returned only after I was satisfied.

I taught the biology lessons to all five classes at once from my home, while sitting in front of my computer screen where I saw each class in a separate "window". The students sat in their classrooms, saw me on a central screen at the front of the class and contacted me using the cell phones in their hands. In the process, "bubbles" began to appear on my screen: each bubble included a question from one of the students, which proved that they also learn in a networked way: every concept or idea I discussed was checked by them during the lesson, and the discussion challenges they posed to me as an educator were profound, Significant, active - and different from what I was used to in the past.

And one more thing: in recent decades, we are increasingly revealing the similarities and differences between us - different learning tendencies, intelligences, genetic, physiological and personality structures, characteristics of cognitive and emotional learning processes, different social characteristics. We learn to know ourselves, and especially the beautiful unique diversity of each and every one of us. As a result, we are able to create personalized learning processes that are more efficient and beneficial for both the student and society. At the same time, the human achievement is no longer of individual individuals, but of many different ones. The research, as well as its application, becomes dependent on work teams of experts, often from different fields and different continents, which require huge investments of budgets and resources and above all - transparent, open and courageous collaborations, of the kind that is the opposite of what is required in order to succeed in placement tests, matriculation or other standardization. The question is no longer how much you know, and it is not even enough what you do with the knowledge you are able to obtain - but with whom you will cooperate to move forward together.

In light of all of this and many other examples that have been summarized here by Maltarn, it is impossible not to laugh when you hear that the most advanced way that the Ministry of Education has found to overcome the shortage of English teachers is by giving scholarships to students to teach the subject; The way in which higher education fights the decline in the number of students is by demanding more budgets and more lecturers; The royal way in which educational systems evaluate achievements is still competitive-individual; And the way in which the system deals with the fact that more than half (!) of its students "do not fit" for it, is by adding the recognition of disabilities that require diagnoses and relief, that is - to adapt Alice's body to the size of the door, instead of simply changing the door or at least offering different types of doors. It can only be described as antiquated solutions suited to an old world at best, or blindness and obstinate refusal at worst.

The technological possibilities available to us in the 21st century allow us to break the morality of our commitment to the limitations of the elements of time, space and content. The information, as well as the ways of applying it, are at our disposal at any time, in any place - in any context. This situation creates a dramatic change in the perception of processes, identity, rights and responsibilities, a change so deep and significant that it can only be described as a revolution in the personal and social foundations of human infrastructure, interactions and beliefs. We live in an age where knowledge is multidisciplinary, growing at an exponential rate, accessible and available to all - and for free. As a result, the rate of development of understanding, capabilities and global changes is taking place on a scale never seen before, in all fields - except education. From Kindergarten to Academy Hill, education is still largely stuck in the 19th century. The same system that aims to prepare us for life in the present and in the future, is outdated and suitable for a world that no longer exists. It is not about the introduction of technological platforms, computer applications or applications of one kind or another, which are certainly found in many schools. It is about a radical conceptual change of the education paradigm itself - in other words, it is no longer about thinking outside the box, but about giving up the box. in the reality of our lives, The main role, goals and processes of the education system need to be restructured. If we want active, creative, brave learners who know how to work in innovative, flexible and sustainable collaborations - we need an education system that is active, creative, brave and knows how to work in innovative, flexible and sustainable collaborations. The time has come to redesign all the components of the system, by questioning the fundamental questions, while learning not only from successes but also from failures, or in other words - to ask basic, complex and brave questions, which have a close interrelationship between influencer and influenced:

what – What is really true and important to teach? In which areas of opinion should we focus, what should be taught in each area, what are the conceptual structures, concepts and methodologies that should be taught?

who will - Who are today's learners? What do we know about the differences and similarities between them, about the early knowledge, the learning tendencies, the perceptions and the culture with which they arrive at the learning process? How can this difference be addressed, in a real and deep way, in planning personalized learning processes on the one hand, while community-cultural development on the other hand? Furthermore - who are the teachers we ask to be engaged in the work of education - what professional expertise do we require them to have?

where - Are the existing learning spaces indeed the most optimal for learning, what additional spaces are available to us and how best to harness them for learning?

When - Construction of different time-frames, adapted to conditions and content, expressing a connection between time and learning.

Why - This is perhaps the most challenging question of all. A historical reason is not sufficient to continue teaching a certain subject or field. Economic, political and even cultural reasons are also insufficient. In the midst of the most multidisciplinary, enabling and global century that humanity has ever known, it is necessary to carefully examine the real reasons why we choose content that is worth teaching and learning.

In each of the answers we give to these questions, the development of four abilities must be integrated arts how[2]:

the arts of knowledge - Locating, filtering, selecting and applying multidisciplinary knowledge.

The arts of thinking - Problem solving, critical thinking, flexibility, creativity, innovation and risk taking.

the performing arts – Design, art, technical skills, training and practical experience.

The arts of interaction - with ourselves and those around us, from developing sensitivity, tolerance, curiosity, imagination, drive and optimism to communication, teamwork, activism and sustainability.

Currently, change processes in the education system occur at best through small bodies, some of them rebellious, that try a different kind of education; And in the worst case, out of the system completely. One way or another, the perception of education on all its components does not change. Building an education system that combines straight, honest and liberal answers to questions, but that allows flexibility and customization for learners and teachers alike, will lead to the development of a democratic-pluralist approach to the beauty that humanity as a whole has to offer itself. For this, an optimistic courage of the kind not yet found among policymakers is needed.

Towards the end of the second decade in the twenty-first century, there is an immediate need to create a different world view of education itself. We can no longer afford to be content with changing textbooks, technological means or even priorities. We don't need reform. We need a reinvention.

Dr. Liat Ben David is the CEO of the Wolf Foundation for the Advancement of Science and Art. The announcement of this year's Wolf Prize winners will take place on January 03.01.2017, XNUMX.

[1] According to surveys by the Internet Association and Bezeq.

[2] A similar definition was made by UNESCO, Learning: The Treasure Within (UNESCO; 1996) –

More of the topic in Hayadan:

The president of the Technion: We fell asleep in the ivory tower and did not perceive the rapid changes of the fourth industrial revolution