Changing education in ibm
- 1. Building a new model of education Global education faces two challenges: make learning more effective for students, and prepare them to meet the unique demands of the 21st century. Countries, regions and cities that invest in education reform will have citizens who are better positioned to compete -- and lead -- in the workforce and in the world economy. But how do we apply this investment and actually reshape education? To start, we need better ways to use information, innovative thinking and new technologies. Here’s what IBM has learned from nearly a century of regularly engaging and innovating with leaders to shape and support education. Reinventing Education What is changing 1. Education drives economic vitality around the world, but cost and availability are not consistent. Globally, economic circumstances are widening the gap between the prepared and the unprepared. • 121 million children worldwide have no access to education, primary and lower secondary. Current models of education cannot meet the growing demand for quality education in growth markets. For example, in India the rising middle class will produce 45 million additional 10th graders by 2020. • The percentage of U.S. students from the poor- est families earning college degrees has barely moved in more than 40 years – increasing only from 6 percent to 9 percent. • The cost of higher education has surged more than 538 percent since 1985. • Seven full years after the defining events of the 2008 economic meltdown, the problem of youth unemployment (defined as those ages 16 – 29 who aren’t in school, jobs or training programs) has reached a peak of nearly 40 million youth across two dozen countries. 2. Employers cannot find enough qualified workers as new technolo- gies widen the skills gap. Far too many jobs remain unfilled despite high unemployment levels, and the problem will only compound as young people enter the job market without the specific knowledge and skills required. Jobs are becoming more highly specialized and reliant on technology, requiring higher order critical thinking, communication and problem-solving skills. • Three million jobs in the U.S. are unfilled due to the skills gap. • In the EU, 27 percent of employers have en- try-level positions empty because they cannot find the skills. • In India, 47 percent of graduates lack the skills to be employed in their field of study. • It is estimated that 40 percent of today’s 8th graders will enter jobs that do not yet exist. 3. Technology is disrupting and driving new requirements and opportunities for education. While adoption and standards remain inconsistent, new opportunities are emerging. • 73 percent of academic leaders surveyed be- lieve that technology is disrupting the traditional higher education model. • 56 percent of educational service providers surveyed believe that keeping workforce skills current with the rapid advancement of technolo- gy is their greatest challenge. • Digital learning content and one-to-one devices (such as tablets) are driving the expectation and feasibility of data-driven, improved outcomes (better performance, higher graduation and employment rates). Governments, parents and students demand these results be transparent, and institutions are investing in IT to enable it. • To exploit this disruption, there is a surge of new venture capital investment of $1.87 billion. • At California Community Colleges, technologies that provide greater access to classes, curricula and other educational content have enabled the CCC system to retain 10,000+ students annually who otherwise would have dropped out of less engaging, asynchronous online courses.
- 2. The unique opportunity to rebuild education How to act strategically The skill requirements of the 21st century are higher than ever before, but schools sadly have not kept pace. Artificial barriers among elementary, middle and high schools, and post-sec- ondary education still exist. The structure of education still follows an agrarian calendar decades out of date. Classroom instruction, while somewhat improved, lags the kind of change that has taken place in other enterprises. Here is what we need: A new model of education, must focus on teaching and learning for 21st century careers: • Global integration – education focused for a workforce that supports local employment • Knowledge and skills – new learning communities and provider channels that provides options for students and teachers. • Technology immersion – emerging technologies (e.g so- cial media, cloud, big data) that changes the education dynamic. Prepare the next generation of students to have skills to succeed • 21st century skills: The ability to think critically, recog- nize patterns, solve problems, communicate and adapt to new demands in the workforce and in society. • Workforce planning: Embed industry skills in the learning process and connect them to education- al requirements. Design new systems of education • Personalized learning – student-centered processes and adaptive learning support new student paths. • Prioritize and focus on practical and applied education- al experiences. • Embrace technology to improve education access, experience, variety and outcomes. • Build and expand relationships with industry and other ecosystem partners. Develop a continuum of lifelong learning • Begin with high quality, early childhood education to set the foundation for learning and prepare students to solve problems and adapt to new technology. • Integrate science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) with other core academic courses. • Develop skills that translate directly into meaningful career pathways, as well as increasing independence in education. • Continue learning as an ongoing journey that extends into and beyond a professional career – and to mentoring the next generation. Apply big data and analytics to improve education—for institutions and for students • Identify students at risk • Optimize recruiting in higher education • Support student retention • Improve the student experience through collaboration Apply personalized and cognitive solutions to support new outcome-based learning models • Improve visibility of student information, learning inter- ventions, accountability and transparency. • Enable inspiring and interactive learning content to increase student engagement and success. • Help educators to create better lesson plans and build personalized teaching strategies for students Why IBM? IBM has the technologies and expertise applying them to support leaders in the education industry who move quickly to adopt cloud, analytics, mobile, social and security. Plus, we have a long-standing commitment to improving education and a proud history of leadership in creating the public/private partnerships that can successfully address critical societal issues. EXAMPLES IBM has long-standing commercial partnerships in the education industry. London South Bank University (LSBU) partnered with IBM to implement the Exceptional Student Experience, which uses a mix of analytics, mobile, social and security solutions built on cloud infrastructure to monitor individual student’s academic progress. Hillsborough, Tennessee public schools achieved a 25 percent reduction in the annual dropout rate and an 8 percent increase in graduation rate, as well as increases in standardized test scores by using analytics to understand patterns of risk and identify students at risk to align support services around them. Gwinnett County, Georgia public schools used predictive and advanced analytics to track, monitor and forecast student academic achievement plus measure and compare learners’ progress in relation to that of their classmates. By spotting learning shortfalls proactively, teachers can inter- vene with personalized instruction to put students back on track. This technology helped Gwinnett County gain the ability to demonstrate improvements in student achieve- ment, which resulted in their high school students receiving $1 million in college scholarships. We also continue to support innovation through our citizenship efforts and successful public/ private partnerships: P-TECH, first opened in Brooklyn, New York in September 2011, is starting to see impressive results. In a school with no admission requirements, and largely serving poor and minority students, attendance and academic achievement are very strong, with students taking and passing college courses while still in high school at record levels and with grade point averages that are exemplary. Beyond Brooklyn, the P-TECH 9 -14 School Model has grown to 27 schools across three states with 70 employ- er partnerships. By fourth quarter of 2016, the number of P-TECH schools is expected to grow to 100. At full enrollment, that will serve tens of thousands of students. And the model is broadening to other areas of the world as visitors from six continents have visited P-TECH to witness the school in action. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced that Australia will launch P-TECH with two initial schools in January 2016. Teachers TryScience helps teachers at all levels improve their instruction of hands-on, project-based lessons focused on STEM with access to free lessons that are linked to online professional development resources, and more. Transition to Teaching helps address the critical shortage of math and science teachers by enabling IBM employees to become fully accredited teachers in their local commu- nities when they choose to leave the company. It provides tuition reimbursements, stipends during student teaching, online mentoring and other support services in conjunction with colleges, universities and school districts. MentorPlace allows IBM employees around the world to provide students with online academic assistance and career counseling with a focus on STEM through a Web- based software program. Watson Teacher Advisor is busy learning the concepts of teaching third grade math and in the fall of 2015 will be helping educators create lessons and build personalized teaching strategies for students. The pilot is starting in New York State and is expected to extend to other grade levels, curriculum and areas to help teachers improve their instruc- tion. Watson Teacher Advisor will be available for free for all teachers.