Paradigm shift in education
by Arun Barraza
The life of pervasive and prevalent pure rote learning and its reproduction in fixed class rooms with rigid courses are fading. What we need today is an education system that instigates and instils the young generation into a healthy and reflective learning. Having this conviction I would suggest to design the course with the following accentuation:
1. Learning
1.1. Reflective learning: Cultivation of the capability to reflect in action (finding meaning of your act while doing something) and on action (analysis and synthesis of the outcome after you have done it) is becoming an important feature of education in management disciplines. Inculcating reflective thinking in management students will be the key to overcome the prevalent greed-based economy. Reflective learning is about intellectual questioning of ethical and moral aspects of applying knowledge and skills in a particular situation for a particular purpose.
1.2. Co-creative learning: In a business environment that is becoming highly complex and dynamic day by day one cannot successfully perform a task or solve a problem alone. One needs to network one's own brain power and competence with others’ in a team or in other departments of the company. The old system promotes individual success mostly at the expense of others. In a co-creative learning process students learn about the issue together and to capitalize on their collective competence through collaboration in order to develop sustainable effective solutions all-inclusive of perceptions and aspirations of all the stakeholders.
1.3 Rote learning: Rote learning is widely used in the mastery of foundational knowledge. It is the easiest and most efficient way to instil knowledge by memorization so that it forms a solid foundation on which to build an intellectual superstructure. For example, there is no substitute for rote memorization in learning the arithmetic, historic, scientific or linguistic facts.
An important outcome of using co-creative methods is that every student has an opportunity
to become more competent and more informed around the issue. Later in their professional life this enhanced collective understanding allows students to discern a course of action prudently. It helps them consolidate and concatenate diverse needs and varying perspectives, different positions and individual interests that separate them. When colleagues connect around their shared ambitions, aspirations and values their differentiating and separating perspectives are gradually transformed from an adversarial ‘I’ to an inclusive ‘we’.
1.4. Wellness Learning: It is about physical and emotional well being, which includes our wills and emotions. It is about having the capacity to live a full and creative life and also the flexibility to deal with its problems and challenges in our profession. In today’s automated mobility and at-the-door delivery system we lack the opportunity to engage ourselves in physical activities and mental preparedness. Students develop pride in both physical and mental growth. Mental, emotional and physical wellbeing are essential for successful learning. The mental, emotional and physical wellbeing of everyone within a learning community should be inculcated in the minds of students by fostering a safe, caring, supportive, purposeful environment that enables the development of relationships and collaboration based on mutual respect.
1.5. Self-directed learning: we need to teach students self-directed learning, teach them how to learn on their own terms, and how to create an individual time schedule. We need to combine presence time with learning in teams and online. Technology will enable it. As technical tools become more immersive, students will feel empowered and motivated to learn on their own — more so than when they were detained behind a desk.
2. Thinking
1.1. Rational thinking: thinking that is consistent with known facts. This is the traditional systematic approach to resolve a problem or completing a task.
1.2. Emotional thinking: All management concepts we have developed so far were and are focused on managing "hands" rather than human being. A fundamental paradigm shift has taken place in our business. Today the business relies more on "brain workers"/knowledge workers than "hand workers". Therefore there is a compelling need to develop management systems that are capable of dealing with the complete "man" than just his/her hands. Education in management should impart knowledge and develop skills in students to handle interpersonal and intrapersonal relationship positively and effectively.
1.3. Spiritual thinking: Unfettered rationality in management has created a business community with unrestrained greed that made management myopic and unethical. The managers became profligate spender and voracious. The detrimental effects of it can be seen all over the places, in exploitation of environment, people and society. Spirituality teaches to see things in a broader perspective and holistically. It inspires and teaches how to be. It helps recognise one's inner drive that impels one to act in a certain manner. Spiritual thinking breeds all-inclusiveness, compassion, integrity, authenticity, ethical behaviour and moral actions. Particularly management students must be trained in spiritual thinking for their profound impact on our future, on our society and on our daily life.
Three fundamental questions to be asked: 1. Who am I? 2. Why do I see the world the way I see it? and 3. How do I cope with the complex and dynamic world around me?
1.4. Disruptive thinking: thinking that is inconsistent with or unsupported by known facts. It compels to leave the beaten and successful path and impels to explore apparently illogical ways of doing things.
3. Behaving (Applying): It is about applying the knowledge and skills students have acquired through learning and training, in their daily life. In an educational set up in which behaving is learned under the guidance of mentors would help students build self-worth, self-confidence and self-discipline. Simultaneously, it will imbue students’ behaviour with a sense of personal and social responsibility.