In this video, I imagine the future of K-12 Education to be an integrated combination of AI-powered tutors, MOOC’s and Game Based Learning leveraging mobile devices both inside and outside of traditional classrooms. Schools become reorganized by common interests instead of age alone, resulting in diverse multi-grade communities building on the automated, technological foundations. As seasons and interests change, so do affinity groups allowing students to explore a variety of studies or focus on excelling in a few, all supported through a structured, integrated curriculum.
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Robinson, K. (2010, October). Changing Education Paradigms [Video]. TED Conferences. https://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_changing_education_paradigms
This is a bold prediction of great scope, thank you very much, Douglas! While listening to it, I couldn’t help thinking that kids are different, and not every child or its parent knows what they what to study now or in the future, or what they will be good at. I mean some age-based educational minimums, tests, and standards are necessary for everyone.
Cooperative learning is not for everyone either because some individualists learn much better on their own.
In general, your idea is beautiful and strong, but I am afraid it won’t be like that if put to practice: older students in the mixed groups will want to focus on their own learning and refuse to support younger students, parents will insist on teachers’ recommendations, accountability, better curriculum, more control, etc. And what about children switching groups here and there?
I might be under the influence of Engelmann’s opinion now, but to every argument of yours, I have a counter-argument because I know how complicated school education is, sorry. Engelmann himself was strongly against the “mad house of uncontrolled experimentation treating kids as guinea pigs” (p. 772) and criticized the idea that “kids will learn somehow without teaching” (p. 771). He considered teaching “a highly technical business” with the solutions “highly technical, not global” (p. 772) and voted for “child-centered learning” (p.769). He is very interesting to read, and his thoughts can serve as a counterbalance to all our brave forecasts. He was also for teachers as a driving force of this world’s development.
Personally, I believe a small child needs an adult as an educational guide and a role model, and technology should be added gradually. Anyway, as an educational dream, your podcast content is flawless, Douglas, and a pleasure to contemplate. Thank you very much for this artifact! Regards, Anna
Reference
Heward, W. L., Kimball, J. W., Heckaman, K. A., & Dunne, J. D. (2021). In his own words: Siegfried “Zig” Engelmann talks about what’s wrong with education and how to fix it. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 14(3), 766-774. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-021-00636-x
Anna,
I certainly agree with you that I present an idealized vision of the future, but also one that could be accomplished through incremental steps. For example, I think that one critical step toward this future is the idea that results from AI-powered Game Based Learning apps are as legitimate as standard assignments and testing. This would certainly require research and testing to provide assurance and assuage both parents and politicians. It would need to start small, perhaps implemented in selected units, before being implemented on a wider scale. The notion of creating games to teach even one unit in Math at every grade level would be monumental!
But I do have to push back on the multi-grade approach somewhat. As a band teacher, I often teach multi-grade classrooms and was also a participant in them as well. The role that older students need to provide in many classes is that of “Leadership,” not “support.” Classes that use older students exclusively as tutors will generate problems like what you describe, but those that mentor students to be leaders can be successful.
Lastly, I dislike the idea of experimenting on children for no purpose, but the reality is that we do this through “action research” or “trying a new program” all the time. Every curriculum rewrite can be considered a massive experiment. The risk is mitigated by approaching new ideas with a careful, considered plan supported by incremental research and allowing for adaptation as we move forward. These predictions are NOT especially compatible with the current state of post-secondary education, and would provide little preparation for academia. But then, by the time this could be implemented en masse, perhaps the post-secondary world will have evolved as well.
Unfortunately, you are absolutely right about constant experimentation in secondary schools, Douglas, it might be a global phenomenon. Regarding games, while your enthusiasm is definitely catching, what about kids who don’t like to play games, and who are not at all competitive? They will need Math too but taught differently, I believe. Thank you for sharing your interesting multi-grade classroom observations; I wish you wrote more about students as class leaders or mentors! Well, as I said before, your idea of the future is very attractive. Thank you!
Great questions about those who don’t like games, or who aren’t motivated by competition. I think that lecture/worksheet options are always available as a fallback. Right now, almost all e-learning courses that I have seen use a “watch this video, answer these questions” type of format. I would prefer to see something more like a narrative story such as this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXoNd22iVBU
This story could be reworked with AI to solve the questions as the story progresses.
It’s important to remember that there are many different types of games. Some are more competitive, and some are more story based. Board games over the last few years have seen more cooperative games as well.
I think another concern would be the those with a general aversion to technology, or perhaps even the addictive nature of mobile devices.
Hi Douglas,
This is a smooth and clear video I enjoyed listening to.
1. The educational content on the web is massively available, it can be even better at delivering the learning material than what could be in curriculum books and worksheets provided by the teachers. It could also be more motivational and easier to digest because it uses different forms such as AR, VR, videos, podcasts, presentations, and AI tools, allowing students to learn on their own and anywhere.
2. Another point is that students now collaborate using online tools better than in a classroom because this eliminates shyness and allows in some cases for anonymity (which could be more comfortable for some)
3. A great aspect of allowing students to study and learn outside of the classroom limitation is flexibility.
Random thought: when I read the word “industrial” I got the idea that technology (specifically AI) could help customize the learning subjects according to the market demand for jobs or occupations.
example: we need more Orthopedic surgeons, automatically curriculum is more focused on subjects like biology an chemistry for grades 7 – 12.
Awesome presentation, Douglas.
I have always taught multi-age group classes and, in Textiles, Art, Sculpture and Photography, they are usually affinity based. I appreciated the research you included and wholeheartedly see that this is the next evolutionary step for our education system. Beyond this, I also predict the decreased need to staff huge buildings, and that schools will become more fluid meeting places and less “institutional”. I quite like the idea of schools as affinity/arts centres! As teachers become mentors, how do you see the role of an administrator evolving?
Thank you for sharing!
Thanks very much! I’m honestly not sure how much the role of administration would change with these predictions! While the role that students and staff play in the school would change, the role of supervising students and staff would remain somewhat constant. Students will never fit perfectly into any system, no matter how adaptable it may be. Teachers will need support and supervision. Parents will always have concerns. Schedules need to be developed and budgets approved. I’m certain that new challenges will arise, but what they may be are less certain.
Hi Douglas, great video! I appreciate how you draw attention to the factory model that schools still employ, even as their populations become more mobile. It’s easy to forget that “we” still haven’t varied from the group students by age approach and while grouping students in another way isn’t revolutionary, this approach coupled with your idea of AI-powered tutors on mobile devices, through gamification and mobile learning could be! This is a little nit-picky, but you do have a glitch at 2:48 in your recording, I had to go back and make sure I wasn’t missing something. The idea of creating affinity groups and utilizing constructivist strategies would, in my opinion, increase engagement. Well done!
Thanks for pointing that glitch out! Unfortunately I can’t fix it before the end of the Mobile Forum, but I will update ASAP.
UPDATE: I have fixed the glitch and updated the YouTube link. Please feel free to have another look!
Douglas, well done with this presentation. I appreciated that your voice-over did not read what I could see on the screen, but was providing increased depth of information and details–this was a good design choice. I’m intrigued by your concept to organize cohorts of student by interests and/or abilities, but I’m assuming there would still be some limitations placed on the age or developmental gaps between students in a cohort. Schools and education perform an important socialization function in society as well, do they not? As I was processing your presentation, I was thinking that perhaps this is, in a way, a return to the “one-room schoolhouse” where a teacher would be guiding the learning of a very diverse age range of students; adding the grouping of students by common interests is an advancement, and the technology of AI and others would ease the process of tailoring the instruction for the wider range of abilities. You propose a dramatic shift in the social organization of the classroom, so I would expect there will be significant social inertia to overcome. Currently, replacing a marks-based assessment system (letter grades or percentages) with a proficiency-based assessment system, is meeting significant resistance from parents in K-12 school systems. I think we do see some of this grouping by interest becoming more common in our society in the form of prep schools or academies for sports, or the arts.
Allan,
Yes, I do think that there would be limitations on the groupings. Currently we have no real metrics for determining social or emotional maturity so we use age as a substitute. There are also political considerations regarding certain topics and the age at which they are taught. Lastly, there is the personal consideration of students with significant age gaps working on the same material. Personally, as a musician in audition-placed groups, I had to get used to people several years younger than me being far better technical players on the cello. That was balanced with my experience in performing groups. It is an interesting experience being expected to lead people that are more advanced players! But this is a dynamic that I think is missing from many classrooms today.
A lot of my thoughts on this have been influenced by teaching at K-12 schools for the majority of my career, and seeing the dynamic that arises during special events involving the whole school.