Alpana Baveja is an experienced and passionate educator with almost two decades of experience in various schools across the country including GEMS International School, Euro International School, Army Schools and City Montessori School. Her rich exposure to CBSE, Cambridge as well as ICSE curricula has shaped her distinct and innovative approach as an academic leader. A passionate mentor, she firmly believes that there is no greater responsibility and privilege than grooming the next generation.
India’s education system is evolving at a rapid pace. Societal changes, policy interventions, technological enablers, Covid-19 disruptions, emergence of virtual platforms, increased use of smart phones and the National Education Policy 2020 are truly transforming education. The world is changing and according to the predictions of World Economic Forum’s ‘Future of Jobs’ report, 85 million jobs may get displaced due to division of work between men and machines over next few years. But more important to note is the emergence of 97 million new roles adapted to new division of work among humans, machines and algorithms. The ability to adapt to these rapid and transformative changes emerges as a strong success-enabler.
Developing and augmenting human skills and capabilities through education; and more importantly instilling a love for learning would be key drivers for students’ ability to adapt and succeed in the rapidly evolving economy. At the macro-level, the trend of emergence of student-centric learning models marks a huge shift away from conventional teacher-centric teaching models.
Digital technologies popularized by online classes during the pandemic are here to stay and grow stronger. While physical classes have multiple advantages over virtual ones, we are witnessing an emergence of hybrid learning as a long-term trend. With enhanced efficiency of ed-tech and digital platforms and more importantly educators as well as students growing comfortable with use of new technologies; frequent disruptions in classes, whether induced by weather, pollution or political reasons no longer have an adverse impact on teaching-learning cycles.
Enhanced emphasis on soft-skills training is yet another remarkable trend. With recognition and demand for critical thinking skills, problem-solving abilities, people management, and creativity in the workspaces growing by the day, schools are evolving their curriculum, pedagogies as well as assessment patterns to train and nurture students in improving their soft skills.
While the pandemic had a negative impact on the social health of children, there is also an increased sensitization in society about the importance of social health. Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) pedagogies have thus emerged as a focus area for educational institutions. Soft skills development and SEL together contribute to the overall personality development of the children, truly enabling them to be future ready. Applied Learning & Gamification of Learning is ideal for kinetic learners. This is also an effective pedagogy for students with short attention spans, which is being observed in a larger percentage of students.
These progressive trends promise to truly transform education and help us achieve the ultimate aim of empowering our students to take on future challenges and excel in their chosen fields of endeavour.
World Economic Forum predicted displacement of 85 million jobs over the next few years and emergence of 97 million new roles adapted to new division of work among humans, machines and algorithms. The ability to adapt to these rapid and transformative changes is the need of the hour.
