The video below was shown to me a couple of years ago (or see part 1 and part 2 of a similar video). I think it was originally made in 2008, so some of the data is already outdated. I’m not sure how accurate some of the data is, but it seems to me the theme of the video is likely correct. There is a lot going on in the world and it is changing at an increasing rate.
One of the ideas that really struck me is the idea that we are training our students for jobs that don’t exist yet. I disagree that most of what we teach is outdated, but I think that little of what we teach is at the edge of our fields. We are rarely teaching the skills that are being used in the workplace. Mostly we are teaching background and fundamentals, so that the students will understand the concepts they are using when the move on. I am not advocating moving away from this and having education becoming more specific and technical, but I think we should be keep in mind what our goals should be. A recent article in the New York Times titled “Education Needs a Digital Upgrade” advocates updating the classroom using our knowledge of what life is like (and what we predict it will be like) to design our classrooms.
It would be worth our time to decide what skills are important for our students to come away with and prioritize them some. Is balancing a chemical reaction more or less important than them learning how to work in teams on multipart problems? Is calculating an equilibrium constant more or less important than the students learning how to rationalize a problem they haven’t seen before? How much detail and how much thinking?
Update (1/31/2012) Check out What Should Students Be Studying Now To Prepare For 10 Years From Now? We have to be thinking long term about what our students will be asked to do in their careers and prepare them for it.
Update (5/31/2012) “The End of Publishing. Or is it?“ Is another cool video that talks about the end of published books. Its fun and might make you think a little bit about current culture.
Update (6/20/2012) “You are Not Special” is a commencement speech that first highlights what things don’t make you special, then leads to what you can strive to be great. Funny and might just be meaningful to you.
Update (8/30/2012) Check out this Did You Know? 4.0