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How to make education fit for the future - expert

Any education that deems itself "fit for the future" needs to meet the challenges of the changing nature of the workplace and develop the new skills associated with it, according to Lee Davis, deputy director of education at Cambridge International.

"Schools are complex, social organisations, with intricate webs of interdependent parts, and that this complexity is increasing over time, explains Davis.

In addition, education needs to have an increased understanding of the advances in brain and cognitive science, as well as the role of genetics in how young people learn. "Education provision today must not only be, but also seen to be, ‘fit for the future’ and accountable to schools, parents and learners for improvements in performance," says Davis.

Cambridge International defines highly effective schools as those that successfully progress the learning of all of their students, regardless of background or intake characteristics, beyond their expected developmental rate of growth.

Davis supplies some insights into how education can address these needs.  A curriculum should be broad and balanced, offering flexibility and choice. It should be designed to develop "powerful" understandings and knowledge.
"We promote the development of learner attributes – those of Cambridge International and those that the school identifies – as a way of recognising that students need to develop attitudes and life skills as well as academic competence," says Davis.

Cambridge International helps schools to establish a learning rather than a performance orientation in their teaching and learning.

"We place emphasis on assessment that makes learning and thinking visible to help guide future learning," says Davis.

"Furthermore, students can monitor the quality of their learning and performance against expectations and can compare this with the standard."

This leads to the student understanding how the quality of what they do can be improved and take the necessary actions to close the gap between their own performance and the required or desired standard.

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