A widely circulated joke amongst educationists, readapted from the enticing fictional tale of Rip Van Winkle is worth reiterating again. As the story goes, Rip Van Winkel awakens after a deep slumber of almost 100 years. As he walks around the busy streets, he is bewildered by the extraordinary changes around him, unable to make sense of the world. Subsequently he reaches a school, enters the classroom and heaves a sign of relief. Our old man finally feels at home. Indeed the world around us has changed and is changing in such a twisted speed, transforming the way we work, live, socialize and even how we think. At the other end of the spectrum the disastrous consequences of our opportunism is visibly manifest in life threatening natural disasters, diseases, widening income disparities, war and conflict.
Between the reality of the world around us and what is actually taught in our schools there seems to be a wide chasm. Undoubtedly our schools have changed, but it has not changed fast enough. For the first time in the history of school education there is therefore a universal consensus of recognizing and admitting that something is amiss: of the glaring disjunction between what our students learn and the realities of what is required today. In many ways our traditional system of learning still persists, leaving the new generation of learners unprepared with the necessary skills and competencies required for the world of work and life.
Governments across the globe have been rethinking and redesigning educational policies to suit the new normal of today. In India, the outcome has been the National Education Policy 2020 (henceforth NEP-2020), a revolutionary document which seeks to radically overhaul the educational structure, ‘aligned with the aspirational goals of 21st century education, including SDG4 (Sustainable Development Goal) while building upon India’s traditions and value systems.’’ (NEP p.5)
Policy Vs Implementation
It has been four years since the introduction of the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP-20). Since then we have made incremental strides: we have also seen two national documents- The National Curriculum Framework for Foundational Stage (NCF-FS) released in 2022 and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) released in 2023. The NCF-SE is one of the ‘key components of NEP-2020,’ a valuable framework to energize the transformation recommended. (NCF p.5)
In Curriculum and pedagogy, the NEP-2020 has clearly recommended a shift from the culture of rote learning ‘towards real understanding and learning how to learn’.
‘’The key overall thrust of curriculum and pedagogy reform across all stages will be to move the education system towards real understanding and towards learning how to learn - and away from the culture of rote learning……The aim of education will not only be cognitive development, but also building character and creating holistic and well-rounded individuals equipped with the key 21st century skills……The mandated content will focus on key concepts, ideas, applications, and problem solving. Teaching and learning will be conducted in a more interactive manner; questions will be encouraged, and classroom sessions will regularly contain more fun, creative, collaborative, and exploratory activities for students for deeper and more experiential learning.’’ (NEP-2020, p.12)
This has ‘profound implications for the competencies which teachers themselves need to acquire to effectively teach 21st -century skills to their students.’ (OECD, p.35) But how prepared are the teachers? Do they possess the skills and knowledge to actualize this much needed transition? Interestingly this query resonates across the globe, even in highly developed economies. For instance, in the United States, the renowned educationist, Tony Wagnar reflects-
‘For my research I spent more than a year observing classes and adult meetings in three very different high schools- one private and two public. All three were involved in some kind of change process. I was surprised to learn that the teachers….were being told to try new things, such as interdisciplinary studies, team teaching, and cooperative learning without having any understanding as to why--except that this was what they’d been asked to do by their well-meaning superintendent. As a result many of their efforts were half-hearted at best.’ (Tony Wagnar. p.xi)
In India we have been having discussions on this issue and the solutions offered, as evident in the numerous workshops, articles, blogs etc is in providing professional development for teachers, through training in different teaching strategies and workshops. These are of course necessary but it is not the only solution. It is obvious that teachers have to go through a process of periodic trainings and workshops to gain insights on new teaching strategies and approaches. But for teachers to assume that these learning spaces of limited duration is enough to make them phenomenal mentors of the 21st century, is a sheer fallacy. We also need to take initiatives on our own by acknowledging that the teaching profession of today is a life-long learning process. Having high standards and a strong passion to learn should be one of the core values of a teachers identity, without which even the best innovative course will be fruitless. So instead of waiting for quick fix solutions, we need to reinvent ourselves and begin by internalizing the recommendations of the NEP 2020, by identifying our own role, responsibilities and competencies specific to our subject specialization.
How do we initiate change? A few suggestions have been listed, designed for the history teacher but it also provides a broad framework for teachers in general.
- Entering an unknown intellectual landscape of countless terminologies which teachers are expected to master can be frightening to many. The first point to remember is that the issue of ‘21st-century skills is by no means ‘orthogonal to traditional school subjects but in fact equally relevant to the latter’. ( OECD, p.34) In other words we are merely looking at the traditional school subjects from an inverted lens and widening its scope further. For example, let us take mathematics. Traditionally it is taught in an abstract way, removed from authentic contents where students are taught the techniques of arithmetic and then given lots of arithmetic computations to complete. (OECD,p.34) In contrast, students are now expected to not only have the fundamental concepts of mathematics, they should be able to translate a new situation or problem they face into a form that exposes the relevance of mathematics, make the problem amenable to mathematic treatment, identify and use the relevant mathematical knowledge to solve the problem, and then evaluate the solution in the original problem context. (OECD, p.34) Likewise in history the focus in the traditional sense was primarily on the substantive knowledge (content based) where uninterested students were expected to memorize a heap of facts, dates, name without knowing its wider significance and relevance. What has changed today is that students also need to have an understanding of procedural knowledge (besides substantive) , popularly known as the “historical thinking skills, where they need to be able to analyse and interpret sources, to differentiate between facts and opinion, to problem solve and to see the larger interconnections and implications of history in human lives. (Saigal 2023,p.24). For students, this is where history begins to make sense, as they imbibe skills and competencies which change the way they look at the world and fellow human beings. Teachers therefore need to have a deep understanding of the fundamental concepts of the subject.
- The 21st century skills such as the 4 C’s of creativity, critical thinking, communication and collaboration (as outlined by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills) are today central to the learning process, and requires its appropriate application to learning outcomes and content, specific to our subject matter. It is imperative to dive deep into the meaning of each term. What is the difference between critical thinking and problem solving? How does collaboration build networking skills, teamwork and an exposure to global cultures.? Why does creativity acquire special relevance today in the global knowledge economy? How does creativity lead to innovation and the desired hope for solving many of our societal crisis. How creatively do we design our lesson plans and instructional materials in history?
- Do we really know our learners? While recognizing and respecting diversity and individual learning needs, there are nevertheless some common strands specific to each level of students through which lesson plans and instructional strategies may be designed. We learn about the whole psychology of learning in the subject of education. But how do students learn or process specific subjects such as history, or science or mathematics and so on, as per each stage/level of education is what we need to discuss about. In history we have not had much discussions in this area and it would be worthwhile to identify these traits. In subsequent episodes this is one area I will need to look into.
- A constructivist and active learning approach goes a long way in keeping ‘the history class relevant in the lives of young students.’ At the same time ‘we need tools to wake up history’ writes Bill Schechter, author of Bringing History Home writes, having three decades of experience as a teacher. (Schechter 2018) Instructional materials are great aids for engaging, enhancing conceptual understanding and making the teaching learning process fun and a memorable experience for school students. Creating simple, cost-effective aids from locally available resources is the need of the hour. However all teaching-learning materials should be interactive in nature without which the basic objectives of learning is lost. That apart, simulations, music, poetry, newspaper clippings and so on are effective tools when used creatively.
- Reading for learning, driven by the curiosity to know, helps in applying knowledge to a ‘progressively widening scope of situations and experiences’, breeds confidence and adds to a pool of interesting stories/information the teacher brings to the classroom. (OECD, p.34) Reading books beyond our immediate course content and even beyond our subject, is an imperative for enhancing our 21st century skills. This blog therefore has a special section on book reviews to introduce readers to a carefully selected assortment of must-reads.
- Contextualizing our course content or using prior knowledge enhances the applicability and relevance of a subject matter. In prior knowledge, teachers relate content to what students are familiar with. In science and even in other subjects of social sciences it is easier to relate contents to ones immediate environment, but what happens in history (as many teachers and students have asked me) where we are dealing with a past that is so distant in time and space. This is however not so complicated as it seems and there are multiple ways in extending this connect. Take for instance the French Revolution (Class 1x) an unforgettable event in history which took place in France during the last quarter of the 18th century. How do we use prior knowledge here? In the history textbook – Class ix, the Preamble of our Constitution is laid out in the front page. Simply read out the three simple but extremely powerful words of the revolutionaries- Liberty, Equality and Fraternity which is enshrined in the Preamble of our Constitution. Where do we trace the origin of these words? In what context were these words raised? Where is France? (Ask students to locate France in the world map) In other words there are innumerable ways a teacher can contextualize contents in history.
- Digital literacy-The use of the internet and other digital technology has transformed what young people learn today and how they learn. It has also invaded our workspace and teachers are advised to devise effective instructional strategies. In history, the digital world offers us enormous scope to navigate and bring history alive. A teacher should at least have the basic skills of using Information and Communication technology for interactive sessions with school students, knowledge of educational websites and also the ability to teach students how to be discerning consumers of information (information literacy) which surprisingly many of the new generation learners are not aware of.
In the 21st Century world, it is not just updating students with the required skills, the teachers have to be first of all well equipped and prepared to learn and to continuously relearn. There are numerous areas a teacher has to work upon to continuously update ones skills. In subsequent issues of this blog we will delve into each of these concerns.
References
NEP (2020): Ministry of Human Resource Development, National Education Policy, Government of India.
NCF (2023): National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), National Curriculum Framework, New Delhi
OECD(2012): Preparing Teachers and Developing School Leaders for the 21st Century: Lessons from around the world, OECD, https: //doi.org/10.1787/9789264174559-en, accessed on 1st May 2024
Saigal, Sima (2023): ‘’Historical Thinking Skills: Why it matters in School Education’’, Economic & Political Weekly, Vol LV111 No. 44, 4th November, 2023.
Schechter, Bill (2018): Bringing History Home: A Classroom Teachers Quest to Make the Past Matter, London, Rowman & Little Field
Trilling, Bernie and Fadel, Charles (2009): 21st Century Skills: Learning for Life in our Times, San Francisco, Wiley
Harari, Yuval Noah (2018): 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, London, Vintage
AUTHOR: Sima Saigal