Reimagining Education in Light of the Pandemic

On May 6, 2020, The Washington Post reported on an effort by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Bill Gates, along with Eric Schmidt, formerly of Google, to “reimagine education” by focusing on technology as a vehicle of learning instead of traditional in-person classrooms (Strauss, 2020).  Teachers in America responded critically on social media platforms, knowing technology cannot replace the personal and human connection teachers have with students.  My question is, what if technology were harnessed not to replace the human connection, but instead used to amplify it? 

My Proposal

The pandemic is forcing us to rely more heavily on remote learning.  Whether schooling returns to fully in-person classes, or relies on a hybrid model for the next school year, I anticipate an increased use of the flipped classroom learning model.  In a flipped classroom, students are exposed to initial content online and then meet with the teacher in person to ask questions and explore ideas in more depth (Tucker, 2012).  This then begs the question of where will this high-quality content come from? If teachers are engaged in person with students all day, each day, it is potentially unreasonable to expect them to also create high-quality online content and be able to monitor student learning throughout the week as well.

I suggest Governor Cuomo, Bill Gates, and Eric Schmidt’s initiative focus on engaging teachers who are content experts to create the online curriculum for the flipped classrooms.  Whether teachers engage students remotely or in-person, the online initial introductory material should be high-quality, meet grade level academic standards, and be accessible for all students.  

A Competency-Based Approach

Traditional brick-and-mortar schooling in the United States has divided students into grade levels by age, keeping students in lock-step for all subject areas regardless of their area of interest.  As we move into a new era in education that more heavily employs technology, why don’t we consider exploring the idea of disrupting the promotion or advancement of students by grade level?  Instead of end-of-year tests, what if we employed a competency-based learning model where students advanced by earning certificates or badges (Burke, Hansen, Houston, & Johnson, 1975).   This would allow motivated students to more rapidly advance in their area of interest. 

I created the following graphic to illustrate the potential trajectory of coursework for a motivated 8th grade student interested in Visual and Performing Arts and Journalism.

Future Considerations

The pandemic has caused disruptions to traditional education and created a prime opportunity to reimagine education in a remote learning environment.  Questions to consider include, “How can we engage the expertise of teachers to harness technology for the purpose of advancing student learning?  How can we utilize technology to augment, not hinder, the human connection between a teacher and student to enhance student engagement and motivation? How can “traditional” methods of grade level promotion be reimagined to aid students in exploring their area of interest more deeply?”

 

Citations

Burke, J. B., Hansen, J. H., Houston, W. R., & Johnson, C. (1975). Criteria for describing and assessing competency programs. Syracuse: National Consortium of Competency-Based Education and Training: Canberra.

Tucker, B. (2012). The flipped classroom. Education Next, 12(1), 82-83.

Strauss, V. (2020, May). Cuomo questions why school buildings still exist — and says New York will work with Bill Gates to ‘reimagine education’. The Washington Post, Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2020/05/06/cuomo-questions-why-school-buildings-still-exist-says-new-york-will-work-with-bill-gates-reimagine-education/