Archaeology of transforming the learning landscape

Source: Education Times

TNN | Posted on Wednesday, September 22,2021 14:47

Reimagining, reinventing and redesigning a forward-looking, flexible education system is a necessity, writes academic RP Tiwari

The accelerated pace of change in the 21^st century compels India to embrace an education system that ensures life-long learning, ability to skill, up-skill and reskill continuously and promotes out-of-box thinking, entrepreneurship, agility and enduring adaptability.

Reimagining, reinventing, and redesigning a forward-looking, flexible education system is a necessity for making youth ready to face the challenges of an uncertain future. We need to break the barriers that exist between the education system and real-life situations. For this to happen, the focus of teaching should be on how to learn independently, re-invent oneself, understand real problems of society and the environment, and develop expertise to solve those problems. It is a well-settled fact that learning from books and the materials available on the virtual platform has no relevance unless it is supplemented with hands-on experiments, discussion/debate, quiz, project/internship/dissertation, field study, case study, interview, prototypes, and other forms of experiential learning.

Imparting holistic learning
Apart from the provisions of a multidisciplinary coherent curriculum designed for imparting holistic education, multiple-entry-multiple-exit (MEME) options, academic bank of credits (ABC), institutions with research and teaching centricity, multidisciplinary education and research universities, NEP also provides for pedagogical and evaluative reforms. Face-to-Face (F2F) pedagogy currently in vogue has not yielded tangible results, as is evident from the results of the several surveys conducted for assessing employability. Though F2F teaching has several inherent advantages, the striking deficiency is its inability to satisfy the diverse needs of learners. For this reason alone, hybrid learning (HL) is fast emerging as the alternate pedagogical pathway for the new age learners.

Hybrid Learning is not merely a blending of offline and online mediums of instruction but a mixing of structural, disciplinary and pedagogical experiences as well at appropriate proportions. It helps personalize learning modules in terms of time, techniques and learning preferences. It facilitates a wide range of learning styles either in an offline or in an online session facilitated by a teacher. The flipped classroom is one such session where students learn the lessons prior to attending F2F session. The teachers usually play the role of mentor to answer questions and facilitate discussion. Learners can watch activity-based videos, read digital material at their convenient time and pace and become better prepared for group work/discussion, debates, quizzes, hands-on practices, role- playing, projects, and case studies in the classroom environment. Flex learning, gamification, virtual labs and other self-directed learning styles help motivate learners go deeper into a subject and also provide opportunity to them to proactively engage with the teacher and immerse in learning.

Since online learning material is designed as an alternative to in-person material and is meant to bring in flexibility, the curriculum for the hybrid learning environment must be different from that of the physical classroom. HL model facilitates personalized learning as it ensures a variety of synchronous and asynchronous learning activities aligned to learning styles.

Pitfalls of HL

However, there are certain pitfalls of HL, like it can work best with the support of smart devices and high bandwidth stable internet connectivity. Selection of appropriate LMS and customization of existing courses for HL through mapping of learning goals, needs, styles, and pace are the other issues. AI helps in the mapping of such attributes and eventually in customization. We have an opportunity to convert ‘digital divide’ to a ‘digital provide’. Since the ultimate purpose of embracing HL is to combine the strengths of traditional and online learning to ensure a higher degree of engaging learning experiences for the satisfaction of learners and mentors alike, HL should not be implemented just for the sake of it. Rather, it should be implemented in true spirit and intent to leverage maximum benefits. Gradual and not abrupt switching over to HL will help learners and mentors appreciate the operational nuances of HL and ultimately embrace it.Implementing the HL model demands an unprecedented change in the mindset of leaders, teachers, students, and parents alike. We need to train our young brains to enable them to become global ideologies/thought leaders and epicentres of wisdom.