2020 was a year of great upheaval in all aspects of life. With the specter of the Covid-19 pandemic looming over every activity that involves physical contact, people have had to adapt in order to find ways to continue their everyday lives, in a manner that limits physical contact.
Besides just the pandemic, we live in an age where scientific and technological advancement is faster than ever before, with new breakthroughs and discoveries being made on almost daily basis.
In any sector, there are always those who can identify the new discoveries and technologies that can help their work stand out, and education is no different.
Educational Trends
An educational trend is a new, often innovative, method of education that is different from what came before. In this day and age new educational trends are popping up all the time, with some of the smartest people in the world conducting research into education.
These experts come up with some extremely innovative and creative methods of educating the young minds of today, but it’s hard to know which of these trends are actually worth adopting.
Research conducted in a controlled environment doesn’t always apply in a real-world setting, and this may keep some teachers from fully embracing some new ideas being raised.
However, some of these ideas are proven in classroom environments, and are a great way to improve student engagement, and of turning students into responsible citizens. We’ve picked out some of the hottest education trends of 2021, that you might want to keep an eye on.
Online Learning
Online learning is learning that is conducted over the internet, through a mobile device or computer. With the pandemic necessitated social distancing laws, and the closure of many physical school premises, online learning has been a shining beacon of hope for students and teachers all over the world.
While this trend did explode in popularity during this last year, its importance will only continue to grow in years to come. There is no guarantee that the pandemic will end in 2021, so many will probably continue learning over the internet.
Technology is always advancing and, especially with the popularity of online learning nowadays, we will undoubtedly see many breakthroughs in the online learning field.
Social-Emotional Learning
Social-emotional learning is the process through which we gain the necessary skills to properly understand, process, and manage emotions. The self-awareness, self-control, and interpersonal skills learned through this process are invaluable at all stages of life, preparing one to better cope with the challenges presented in academic, professional and personal situations.
In a world that grows more diverse every day, these skills are extremely important, especially for young people, to allow us to better understand people of diverse backgrounds. Empathy is an essential skill for building better relationships, and social-emotional learning improves our ability to effectively apply it.
Read more on social-emotional learning here.
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence is technology that allows computer to think and make decisions, in a way that approximates human intelligence. AI is not a new thing.
It has been a feature of many science fiction stories since before actual research on it even began, which was is 1950 when English mathematician Alan Turing published his paper, “Computing Machinery and Intelligence” which paved the way for much of modern AI research.
Artificial Intelligence in learning is also not a new thing, with many schools in countries such as the U.S. already using it in some form. The benefits artificial intelligence brings to learning and teaching are many, such as the ability to personalize education.
AI can take all the work done by a student, analyze it, find their weaknesses, and then create an individual lesson plan. It also has the ability to generate infinite learning content, keeping all learning materials up-to-date with the latest research.
Gamification
Gamification is the use of game design elements to make the learning process more fun. Research has proven time and again, that we learn better if we’re enjoying ourselves.
Gamification seeks to build on, and take advantage of, this research by making learning a more enjoyable activity for students. The engaging nature of video games should make it no surprise that incorporating some of the same elements into education can yield the best results for student engagement.
Gamification in learning involves using game-based elements such as points, competition, team work, and score tables to drive engagement, and to motivate students to assimilate new information, and test their knowledge.
It can apply to school-based subjects, but also sees wide use in self-teaching apps and courses, proving that the effects of gamification do not stop when we are adults.
Not only does this make learning more fun, the interactive elements inherent to game design also provide students with a sense of control over their own education. The competitive nature of games is also a great motivator, to push students to do even better.
These are just some of the trends we’ve observed in education in 2021, although the ever evolving technological landscape ensures that more and more will keep popping up. Let us know of any hot trends we may have missed in the comments below.
