Learning must become more dynamic to prepare Middle East students for an uncertain world

The Problem Solvers, a new paper by leading authority on innovation and creativity Charlie Leadbeater launched in the Middle East today by Pearson, finds that the most successful schools across the globe are leveraging “dynamic learning” - a combination of four key ingredients - in order to prepare students to enter the jobs economy of the future.

Leadbeater finds that education in successful schools worldwide is a dynamic activity, providing a combination of four elements, which will be useful in shaping education in the Middle East going forward. These include:

• knowledge, starting with the basic skills of literacy and numeracy, moving onto knowledge of core content and then to higher order concepts and thinking skills;
• personal growth, including helping students to find a sense of purpose and ambition, and to build their resilience and persistence;
• social skills, to teach students how to deepen relationships with others, create dialogue and collaboration, and take action together to make and do things for and with other people; and
• agency, where students learn how to turn knowledge and ideas into action, to see that they can make a difference to the world.

The dynamic educators and pedagogy featured in the paper are successfully preparing students for a volatile world driven increasingly by innovation and entrepreneurship. In addition to an exploration of these four ingredients and examples of them in-action in schools around the world, the paper includes guiding discussion questions and resources for educators interested in implementing these ingredients in their classrooms.

Karim Daoud, Managing Director of Pearson in the Middle East, says of the Report:

“As governments across the Arab world seek to have education systems better meet the needs of increasingly diversified, globally orientated economies, this report provides answers on how we can best equip our current generation of learners with the type of education they need to thrive in the future world of work – an education that embraces innovation and that is highly dynamic. 

Many countries in the Middle East have made great gains in providing high quality basic education. For example, literacy rates in Gulf states have soared in recent years. Looking to how education can now be furthered through the provision of 21st Century skills, and by harnessing the power of technology, is the next priority for educators in many parts of the region. This report sheds light on how this can be best achieved and provides practical guidance on how we can create learners who are highly creative and innovative, and who will become positive contributors and global citizens of the future”.

Discussing the findings of his paper, Charlie Leadbeater said: “Learning becomes more powerful when it becomes more dynamic. This happens when the elements overlap, when learning becomes a social, dialogic and collaborative activity; when knowledge is tested and put to use in the cause of making something; when learning becomes a personal journey requiring resilience and determination. Great places to learn are places where these four aspects of learning overlap, interact and gain momentum from one another.”

As educators around the world work to adapt education systems and classrooms many are shifting from teaching that is focused on following instructions and rote memorization, for example, to teaching that provides students with critical thinking and problem solving opportunities.

Michael Barber, Chief Education Adviser, Pearson, said: “This paper is reflective of what we hear everyday from our customers - schools, universities, governments and employers across the world - that education must do more to equip young people with the skills they need to succeed in the modern world. Literacy, numeracy and core knowledge are essential but not enough. Education today must prepare young people to flourish in a society awash with intelligent technology and to enter a job market shaped by rapid technological change; yet there are urgent challenges in the world that require human solutions from future leaders. The combination of learning elements identified by Leadbeater provides a recipe that, if adopted more widely, would produce a future workforce that is highly adaptable to leading change.”