Yes, Lifelong Learning is the Future!
Moving onto Different Paradigm to Education
Manpower planning is going into a different phase now given that new technology are being developed in a shorter span of time, around 3-4 years now. As such a lot of nations have called for their citizen to move into Lifelong Learning, that whatever you’ve learned in your Masters, Degree, Diploma and Certificates may be irrelevant within a few years. Such development is brought about because of the data implosion we are experiencing leading to a faster research/innovation cycle. The cycle will continue to shrink similar to Moore’ Law.
Lifelong learning paradigm is different from education during the Agrarian and Industrial Age. Education in the Agragrian and Industrial Age is preparing children and teens for the workforce, while lifelong learning involves adult learning as well. Such notion will have prompted the thought that the learning paradigm is totally different altogether. How so?
This is how I see it, Education should now be all about building the foundation for effective and efficiency in learning. This means that basic foundational skills such as arithmetic, reading, writing, followed by research, logical thinking and especially critical thinking needs to be the core skills to be built. These skills will provide the competencies needed for the adult to pick up news skills and knowledge going forward.
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How shall we structure Lifelong Learning courses? As someone who is constantly learning, I felt that I retain and learn best when I can immediately apply my learning. Thus, I felt that courses and work should be conducted concurrently instead. What I learned yesterday, I apply it today. The immediate application allows the lifelong learning to start building experience leading to best-practices, together with institutional knowledge.
In summary, I feel in order to have effective Lifelong Learning, we need to move out of the education paradigm of studying and assessment, and focus more on learning and application rather.
Your thoughts? Please share them in the “Comments” below. :)
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