‘Old methods must make way for the new’

‘The greatest challenges of teaching and learning are already upon us. As we go deeper into a technologically advanced society, humans must outperform robots by completing tasks they cannot do,” said Saki Milton (pictured), Dubai-based US Schools Portfolio manager for Pearson Education Middle East.

In the ‘2017 Future of Skills’ report from Pearson Education, the 2030 employability landscape in the US and UK was examined. The report concluded that the top ten skills, abilities and knowledge areas associated with future occupations emphasise the importance of social and emotional learning, critical thinking and “learning to learn” — many of which are not addressed by the traditional style of teaching, said Milton. Traditional teaching methods: Pros and cons

In the traditional mode of lectures and direct instructions from the teacher to students, the emphasis is on learning through the teacher’s guidance.

“While this style has been around for years, it comes with its own set of pros and cons,” Milton said.

ADVANTAGES: The old style of teaching may work well for certain higher-education disciplines and with big groups of students in an auditorium setting. In fact, it may even be the most suitable for subjects like history, which call for the memorisation of dates, events, names of people and more,” Milton said.

DISADVANTAGES: “Teachers are focused on imparting knowledge but not on teaching students to learn. As a result, students look to their teachers for solutions for everything and not much effort is put into independent research and thinking,” says Milton. Old-style teaching also relies heavily on rote learning. “This suppresses the creative side of students. They become passive listeners rather than active learners. “Traditional teaching, by and large, excludes the use of technology, which undisputedly makes learning better, more fun and interactive.”