New demands in education in a new scenario. Connecting the different stages of the educational process through entrepreneurial tactics.
On 7 March 2018, the Rafael del Pino Foundation organised the Master Conference "New demands, new proposals in the education sector. Connecting the different stages of the educational process through entrepreneurial tactics" given by Karen Sibley.
Karen Sibley is Vice President for Strategic Initiatives and Dean of the School of Professional Studies at Brown University.
A commitment to innovation in the field of education is one of the keys to contributing to shaping a citizenry capable of meeting the new challenges that are opening up before us. Undoubtedly, it is educational institutions that must lead this process of innovation. To analyse these issues, the Rafael del Pino Foundation has invited Professor Karen Sibley to give a keynote lecture at the Foundation.
Karen Sibley is a forward-thinking academic leader who is driving an ambitious process of educational innovation in the United States through the introduction of innovative technologies and the implementation of new training formats and methodologies with continuous adaptation to change and disruption as a benchmark. Its objective is to articulate a solid offer of high quality learning opportunities in times that demand the continuous absorption of knowledge and the improvement of skills, opportunities aimed at young people as well as senior leaders and senior executives.
D. in Higher Education Management from the University of Pennsylvania, a Master of Arts in Teaching from Brown University, and a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Massachusetts, Professor Sibley received additional training at Wellesley College and the Center for Creative Leadership. In addition to her responsibilities as Vice President for Strategic Initiatives and Dean of the School of Professional Studies, Karen Sibley is Vice Chair of the Department of Education at Brown University.
Summary:
The future of the labour market will not be like the past. Many of the lifelong professions are destined to disappear, while new ones are emerging which, at present, can barely be glimpsed. This change has always existed, but never as fast as today, when it has reached dizzying speeds due to exponential technological change and when what technology can do for mankind has reached heights that were unimaginable not so long ago. This new world demands new professional skills and educators will have to train people to be able to enter the labour market, taking this reality into account. In order to meet this major challenge, teachers will have to abandon the traditional classroom system and develop an entrepreneurial spirit to convey to young people the need to invent themselves and the means to do so. This is the main message of Karen Sibley, Vice President for Strategic Initiatives and Dean of the School of Professional Studies at Brown University. Professor Sibley was at the Rafael del Pino Foundation on 7 March 2018 to deliver a lecture entitled "New demands in education in a new scenario. Connecting the different stages of the educational process through entrepreneurial tactics". In his speech, he was clearly in favour of the use of technology for pedagogical purposes. From his point of view, the education system needs to create connectivity so that technology can act and allow more and more people to learn from the world's great educators, which means that the classroom, understood as a physical space, must change. The educational ethos must also adapt to the new times because the reality of the labour market demands that people continue to learn throughout their lives, reinvent themselves and make contributions to their work, to society and to the world. Already today, people are turning to the education system because they feel the need to disrupt themselves, i.e. to abruptly and radically change their professional qualifications and replace the ones they have had or have been using up to now. Disrupting oneself is exciting and makes people who embark on it happy, feel good. It is as much about changing yourself as it is about changing the way you do things. This is what students must do throughout their lives. This perspective is particularly important in the educational world because the knowledge that we now believe is needed for the job may not be needed in the future, so that the individual may be forced to reinvent him/herself in professional terms. In order for the education system to adapt to these demands, it is important for people to be able to experiment with different types of studies and, through them, to find out where to go and what to do. In this respect, it should be borne in mind that people generally cannot choose the moments of disruption, but that they come to them when they come to them. Changing the education system is not easy. Professor Sibley explained that trying to implement this new approach to teaching at Brown University was a challenge, because it was about creating something that did not exist in an institution that has two and a half centuries of history. To do this, he designed a product that would be marketable and then be able to convince others that the proposal had value. To do this, the question was how to get more students, bearing in mind that many people cannot afford it. To this end, new programmes were designed to allow students to feel comfortable, at ease, but also to make their experience a real-world experience. They also explored the teaching possibilities offered by technology for those students who lack the means or the time. Through technology, they sought to enable students to work in groups and create a community of learners with a passion for learning and collaboration. The aim was to empower students to undertake their own life projects. All this was done with the understanding that companies are looking for new types of talent, such as lifelong learning skills, commitment and teamwork skills, the ability to create and communicate, inventiveness, curiosity, ... In five years' time, today's students will have to relearn, to face challenges such as artificial intelligence and to cope in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous environment. Teachers must be prepared for this new world. They need to have an entrepreneurial mindset to find solutions to problems. They need to challenge students to seek solutions to complex problems. They need to invent and reinvent themselves. They need to develop methods and systems so that students can learn at their own pace, provide training when and where they need it, inspire them to take on challenges and offer them the opportunity to work in groups. This also includes a concept of open learning, meaning that the learner is free to choose the courses they want to take, trying different things, discarding what does not interest them, so that they can become the architect of themselves.
The Rafael del Pino Foundation is not responsible for the comments, opinions or statements made by the people who participate in its activities and which are expressed as a result of their inalienable right to freedom of expression and under their sole responsibility. The contents included in the summary of this conference, written for the Rafael del Pino Foundation by Professor Emilio González, are the result of the debates held at the meeting held for this purpose at the Foundation and are the responsibility of the authors.
The Rafael del Pino Foundation is not responsible for any comments, opinions or statements made by third parties. In this respect, the FRP is not obliged to monitor the views expressed by such third parties who participate in its activities and which are expressed as a result of their inalienable right to freedom of expression and under their own responsibility. The contents included in the summary of this conference, written for the Rafael del Pino Foundation by Professor Emilio J. González, are the result of the discussions that took place during the conference organised for this purpose at the Foundation and are the sole responsibility of its authors.
