Just Imagination Blog

There are many changes impacting the education landscape. Mainly, the learning ecosystem is expanding and diversifying.

Trends in Education

The changes to education largely reflect the traits of the youngest generations. For example, Generation Z were born into a digitally advanced world with information available at a keystroke. Thus, they process information quickly and their attention spans might require interactive classroom environments. They also expect digital learning tools to be a regular part of their education.

Meanwhile, collaboration has become critical in K-12 education. Teachers will not only be providers of knowledge, but simultaneously learn with students. They are adapting their roles to become co-learners in order to effectively communicate with students.

Here are more trends that will continue to impact the future of education:

• Personalized learning—lessons are adapted to the capabilities of each student. Learning environments will need to adhere to student needs.
• E-learning platforms and the option of homeschooling means physical classroom presence is not required.
• Project-based learning that allows for more creativity and practical skills development.

The New Roles of Educators

Educator roles are adapting to education and technology transformation. An education workforce report from KnowledgeWorks describes potential educator roles of the future:

• Learning pathway designer—creates the learning goals needed to move students along a path of educational achievement.
• Competency tracker—helps organize the value of learning experiences by tagging them according to the competencies they address.
• Pop-up reality producer—develops multimedia to integrate play and learning into an experience to help students.
• Social innovation portfolio director—connects student problem-solving groups with local community challenges.
• Learning naturalist—designs and delivers assessment protocols that capture evidence of learning in students’ diverse learning environments.
• Micro-credential analyst—provides research-based evaluations and audits of micro-credentials (badges, certificates, and other mechanisms that demonstrate mastery of skills) in order to provide learners and institutions with comparative metrics.
• Data steward—acts as a third-party information trustee to ensure responsible and ethical use of personal data.

These roles reflect a growing need for more data-based and technology-driven education. Teachers and administrators might incorporate aspects of the roles into their work in order to stay relevant in a changing education environment.

Your Future Begins at John Carroll University

Educators who will make an impact on the future need to make data-based decisions to assess educational effectiveness.  They can learn the skills to do this with a graduate education degree from John Carroll University. Our master’s degrees (M.Ed. and M.A.) offer coursework relevant for today’s and tomorrow’s educators. Programs are available in flexible hybrid and online formats that allow students with full-time work commitments to complete their degree in two years. 

JCU is a private Jesuit university located in University Heights, Ohio, near Cleveland.