J3

💡 Do We Need A Revolution In The Educational Paradigm?

The suggestion that the paradigm of education is changing could mean different things. First, it can mean that someone must change the paradigm if one agrees with Robinson’s ideas that the old educational system does not work for the modern generations. Second, it can mean that is already changing in some way because of technological breakthroughs or globalization. I will focus on the latter. For instance, in the video, Sir Ken Robinson makes the point that “[students] are besieged with information and caused their attention from every platform computers from iPhones from advertising holdings from hundreds of television channels” (RSA Animate, 2010). The suggestion is that the increased spread of information has changed the students’ interests as well as the way in which they must learn. This claim can be supported by personal experiences. As a language teacher, I’ve noticed that explicit instruction is the least effective when it comes to getting students to engage with the content. This is also more evident in “lower” level classes. In response to this, I have adapted my lesson plans with “fun activities”. My hope has always been that, if they do not achieve academic goals, at the least, these activities will get them more interested in doing the “boring stuff”. Usually, these activities have some type of digital component. The idea is that adding technological resources can compete with the massive spread of information and technological resources that students already use outside the classroom.

One implication of a change in the educational paradigm is that the educational system must go in the opposite direction of standardization. For Robinson changing standardization means avoiding multiple forms or processes in the current educational system. This includes student placement by age, medication, curriculum standards, and more. Similarly, if the schools get rid of the current standards, it seems like education would be more individualized. Since “standardization” is not an option, Robinson’s system would be a more differentiated instruction, or that is at least my immediate response. This is because if, according to Robinson, it doesn’t work in a more structured setting (i.e., a standardized educational system), it would not work in a less standardized educational system either. This leads to the question: how would one determine what type of differentiation is to be made where there are no standards? 

Because of my concern about the doability of Robinson’s argument and my personal experiences, I think that I disagree with the suggestion that there must be a radical change in the educational paradigm. By this, I mean that I recognize that there is a change in the way students receive and interact with information in the postmodern era, but I don’t know if getting rid of all standards would be beneficial. In my experience, students need a lot of structure in the early stages of their education. Telling students that there is an infinite world of possibilities for every problem does not seem to help them to develop the analytical skills that they need to navigate the “real world”.