tag:theconversation.com,2011:/global/topics/education-for-the-future-20630/articlesEducation for the future – The Conversation2015-09-30T19:42:27Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/479382015-09-30T19:42:27Z2015-09-30T19:42:27ZA 21st-century higher education: training for jobs of the future<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/96548/original/image-20150929-30993-183aii3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">What should higher education look like given we don't know what the jobs of the future will be?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com.au</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Australia’s new prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, has announced what he calls a “21st-century government”. This article is part of The Conversation’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/21st-century-government">series</a> focusing on what such a government should look like.</em></p>
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<p>Only the brave or foolhardy would claim knowledge about the shape of jobs for the next decade, let alone the rest of the 21st century. We know that the end of local car manufacturing alone will involve the loss of up to <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-04-14/study-warns-carmakers-exit-could-see-200000-jobs-lost/5389682">200,000 jobs</a> directly or indirectly, and there will be no large-scale manufacturing to replace them. </p>
<p>We also cannot assume that employment in health and human services will continue to expand in their place. Globally, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-02-24/japans-robot-bears-elderly-carers-of-the-future/6255734">millions of dollars are being invested</a> in robotic monitors, nurses and companions for the elderly. The driverless car is <a href="http://www.driverless-future.com/?page_id=384">almost with us</a>, meaning that even Uber’s moment in the sun may be brief.</p>
<p>So if we’re not sure what the jobs of the future will look like, what kind of tertiary education can prepare students for the world of work? Various forces will be at play including economic (such as continued globalisation and intensification of competition), social (such as the ageing of Australia’s population), and technological (automation, digitalisation). There are also powerful environmental constraints.</p>
<h2>What kind of education can prepare us for the future?</h2>
<p>If we accept that tertiary education (from diplomas to doctorates) will be the key to career opportunities, ensuring everyone has equal access will be a priority. Higher levels of education must also be available in more flexible and innovative forms to enable lifelong learning. This will be essential both for deepening skills and re-skilling as old occupations disappear and new ones evolve.</p>
<p>Future education should not just prepare students for jobs that might be on offer, but stimulate them to see the possibilities for innovation and even – for some – the creation of their own jobs.</p>
<p>There will be plenty of teachers and chefs, hairdressers and scientists, but even familiar occupations will require new capabilities. Whether working in Shepparton or Shanghai, graduates will need cultural competencies to be effective practitioners of their trade in a multicultural world. Most will also need to have skills in analysing and interpreting a world flooded with data, and dominated by digital forms of communication.</p>
<p>There are key generic skills that need to be developed. Communication skills – including writing skills – are essential to support both effective teamwork and creative linkages across disciplines and specialisations. Higher levels of numeracy are also needed across many more occupations.</p>
<p>Generic skills need to be developed in specific disciplinary and professional contexts. The uncertainty of the future should not be used to reduce the importance of disciplinary depth in either vocational or higher tertiary education. We need graduates who have disciplinary depth as well as a broad range of generic capabilities. A focus on narrow occupational competencies won’t serve students well. Critical thinking is essential. </p>
<h2>Learning of the future will be about solving problems</h2>
<p>Arizona State University is attracting attention worldwide for its focus on solving big social, economic and environmental problems. To do this the university has to break down disciplinary silos, and stop focusing on questions that academics know how to answer. There is no reason, they argue, to assume that what we can know is what we most need to know.</p>
<p>Closer to home, the University of Technology Sydney has introduced a Bachelor in Creative Intelligence and Innovation (BCII) that can be taken as part of a double degree with everything from midwifery to accounting. The BCII allows students to develop a capacity for approaching messy, complex problems and issues of contemporary society with unique capabilities.</p>
<p>Students don’t learn by sitting passively in lectures, but by engaging in activities that help them understand which technologies, methods and creative practices can provoke innovation. They have to be able to critique proposals by developing skills in team collaboration, visualisation, modelling, and communication of complex ideas.</p>
<p>The challenges for tertiary education are significant. To meet them universities will need to give teaching and curriculum design a greater priority. This will require greater incentives for collaboration between teachers, and across disciplinary boundaries. Students will need opportunities to experience work environments as part of their learning. </p>
<p>Boundaries between educational institutions and the outside world need to be far more porous, not to “train” students for existing jobs, but so they can understand the new forces at work. They will have to adapt to these forces, but they can also be helped to respond with creativity and intelligence.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/47938/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Belinda Probert receives funding from The Office for Learning and Teaching.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shirley Alexander does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Only the brave or foolhardy would claim knowledge about the shape of jobs for the next decade, let alone the rest of the 21st century. So what kind of tertiary education can prepare students?Belinda Probert, Adjunct Professor, La Trobe UniversityShirley Alexander, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Education and Students), University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/467302015-08-27T04:25:35Z2015-08-27T04:25:35ZThe robots are coming for your job! Why digital literacy is so important for the jobs of the future<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/93110/original/image-20150827-15400-il5aw3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">With automation a real threat to future jobs, school curricula have to keep up with the times. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In a <a href="http://www.fya.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/fya-future-of-work-report-final-lr.pdf">report</a> released this week, the Foundation for Young Australians (FYA) claims that up to 70% of young people are preparing for jobs that will no longer exist in the future. The report also raises concerns about decreasing entry-level occupations for school leavers and the impacts of automation. </p>
<p>In another recent report, the Committee for Economic Development of Australia <a href="http://adminpanel.ceda.com.au/FOLDERS/Service/Files/Documents/26792%7EFutureworkforce_June2015.pdf">predicts</a> that:</p>
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<p>almost five million Australian jobs – around 40% of the workforce – face the high probability of being replaced by computers in the next 10 to 15 years.</p>
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<p>Some of the jobs <a href="http://pwc.docalytics.com/v/a-smart-move-pwc-stem-report-april-2015">most at risk</a> of being automated include office administration staff, sales assistants, checkout operators, accounting clerks, personal assistants and secretaries.</p>
<p>The collapse of Australia’s manufacturing industries, the end of the mining boom and the impact of disruptive technologies is having a significant impact on the employment prospects, not only for workers being laid off from car factories and mine sites, but also for the students who are in our schools, TAFE colleges and universities.</p>
<p>In response to the changing work demands, a <a href="http://pwc.docalytics.com/v/a-smart-move-pwc-stem-report-april-2015">report</a> by PriceWaterhouseCoopers argues for a focus on developing Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) as three-quarters of the fastest-growing jobs require these skills. The FYA report also makes the case for increased emphasis on developing digital literacy and the implementation of a digital technologies curriculum in primary school.</p>
<p>At the heart of addressing the demands of the new work order is literacy, which is becoming more high-stakes than ever before.</p>
<h2>Why literacy is high-stakes</h2>
<p>Literacy is often thought of as something that happens in school, yet low levels of <a href="http://www.unesco.org/education/GMR2006/full/chapt6_eng.pdf">functional literacy</a> of adults are also a major concern. </p>
<p>Low literacy levels have a significant <a href="https://www.ibsa.org.au/sites/default/files/media/No%20More%20Excuses%20ISC%20response%20to%20LLN%20challenge.pdf">impact</a> on the health, education and employment opportunities of workers and are connected to lower salaries, lower employment rates, poor health and housing, crime and poverty.</p>
<p>The question of how workers will be able to navigate the changing employment landscape with low literacy levels is an important one. We also need to strengthen our training opportunities through TAFE and the Vocational Education and Training (VET) system for workers seeking to transition from manufacturing and unskilled labour to the new working economy.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/93111/original/image-20150827-15397-1iqpah1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/93111/original/image-20150827-15397-1iqpah1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/93111/original/image-20150827-15397-1iqpah1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93111/original/image-20150827-15397-1iqpah1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93111/original/image-20150827-15397-1iqpah1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93111/original/image-20150827-15397-1iqpah1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93111/original/image-20150827-15397-1iqpah1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93111/original/image-20150827-15397-1iqpah1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">With the mining boom slowing, Australia needs to focus on knowledge and technology.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
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<p>At the same time, the question of how we are preparing students in our schools for the new work order also bears serious consideration.</p>
<h2>Is digital literacy the answer?</h2>
<p>The increasing importance of digital literacy can no longer be overlooked, with the FYA report claiming that over 50% of Australian workers will need to:</p>
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<p>be able to use, configure or build digital systems in the next 2 – 3 years.</p>
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<p>Digital literacy includes skills such as coding, data synthesis and manipulation, as well as the design, use and management of computerised, digital and automated systems. Success in the new work order requires these skills alongside lateral thinking, innovation, problem-solving, collaboration and entrepreneurship. Add these to the traditional literacy skills of reading and writing and you have a very complex picture of what literacy is.</p>
<p>As such, our understanding of what literacy is and how it should be measured needs to be expanded from a simple view of reading and writing to one that encompasses a range of skills.</p>
<p>We are in a transition phase from old manufacturing industries, mining and the service sector economy to one that is about digital disruption, renewables and socially driven enterprise. As such, we need an education system that is responsive to the major shifts in Australia’s social, cultural and economic fabric.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/93112/original/image-20150827-27545-1oakwlj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/93112/original/image-20150827-27545-1oakwlj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/93112/original/image-20150827-27545-1oakwlj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93112/original/image-20150827-27545-1oakwlj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93112/original/image-20150827-27545-1oakwlj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93112/original/image-20150827-27545-1oakwlj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93112/original/image-20150827-27545-1oakwlj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93112/original/image-20150827-27545-1oakwlj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Teaching coding is a start.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>Teaching computer <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/national/education/coding-education-in-schools-crucial-as-english-and-maths--or-is-it-20150529-ghct42.html">coding</a> in schools is a <a href="https://theconversation.com/an-education-for-the-21st-century-means-teaching-coding-in-schools-42046">good start</a>, but is it enough to address the significant challenges of preparing young Australians for an uncertain world of work?</p>
<p>Perhaps a more thoughtful review of the curriculum is needed than the one recently conducted by Kevin Donnelly, who <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/computer-age-limiting-childrens-learning-ability/story-e6frg6zo-1227484035658">argues</a> that:</p>
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<p>computers should not be used in the early years of primary school where more traditional teaching methods need to prevail.</p>
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<p>The current review of the curriculum has a <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/it-pro/expertise/technology-experts-criticise-school-curriculum-review-20141013-115dy5.html">backward-looking</a> approach, with its recommendations to delay computing until Year 9 and to focus on basic literacy and numeracy in primary school. We need a school curriculum that has a clear focus on the future, not a “back-to-the-basics” 1950s approach to literacy learning.</p>
<p>A recent <a href="http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201415/ldselect/lddigital/111/111.pdf">report</a> from the UK House of Lords provides some useful clues for what they call “future-proofing” young people:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Digital literacy fosters creativity and innovation, underpinning job creation</p></li>
<li><p>Digital literacy complements traditional literacy and more effort is needed to lift outcomes across all domains</p></li>
<li><p>Digital literacy is important not only in schools but also in further education</p></li>
<li><p>Stronger links need to be made between industry and education providers</p></li>
<li><p>There needs to be universal access to digital technologies and for all people to have access to digital literacy learning opportunities.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>We need to do all of these things, and the sooner the better, before the <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2015/08/25/before-a-robot-takes-your-job-youll-be-working-side-by-side/">robots come</a> for all our jobs.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/46730/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stewart Riddle does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In a report released this week, the Foundation for Young Australians claims that up to 70% of young people are currently preparing for jobs that will no longer exist in the future.Stewart Riddle, Senior Lecturer, University of Southern QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/466032015-08-26T19:44:22Z2015-08-26T19:44:22ZUniversities need to change so students learn to keep up with the world<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/93009/original/image-20150826-1592-19x9zpr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Students need to be taught to be entrepreneurial and creative, not just the content in the syllabus.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com.au</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A recent report from the <a href="http://www.fya.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/fya-future-of-work-report-final-lr.pdf">Foundation of Young Australians</a> said that between 60-70% of our students are being educated in jobs that won’t exist by the time they graduate.</p>
<p>With a future that is not yet imaginable, how do universities prepare graduates for the world of work?</p>
<h2>Universities need to teach enterprising skills</h2>
<p>One recommendation in the report is to build a 21st-century workforce by </p>
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<p>placing enterprising skills at the heart of learning. </p>
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<p>The upcoming shifts listed in the report challenge our universities to develop greater numbers of entrepreneurial graduates. Entrepreneurial education should by no means be limited to business faculties. A robust discipline-based education can also foster entrepreneurial capacity in students.</p>
<p>Given our universities are educating for jobs that will no longer exist, how can we future-proof our education in this rapidly changing age? The managing director of a private education provider focused on entrepreneurship, Jack Delosa, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K28kF-cPhvA">said in a YouTube segment</a> that there is a skills gap between what the market needs and what universities are educating for. He said universities aren’t developing students who are adaptable to change or innovative.</p>
<p>An entrepreneurial education cultivates less tangible skills associated with an entrepreneurial mindset. These include the capacity to tolerate failure, self-awareness and the ability to act courageously and take risks.</p>
<p>Universities wishing to design curricula that build entrepreneurial capabilities face two main challenges. First, measurable learning outcomes are required to ensure accreditation with the <a href="http://www.teqsa.gov.au/regulatory-approach/higher-education-standards-framework">Higher Education Standards Framework</a>. Second, there is the increasing focus on scalability as student numbers continue to climb. </p>
<p>The existence of these two challenges falls in direct conflict with educational elements that will foster the core skills of innovation and creativity, which are at the heart of an entrepreneurial education.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92985/original/image-20150826-32499-a2qhny.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92985/original/image-20150826-32499-a2qhny.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92985/original/image-20150826-32499-a2qhny.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92985/original/image-20150826-32499-a2qhny.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92985/original/image-20150826-32499-a2qhny.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92985/original/image-20150826-32499-a2qhny.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92985/original/image-20150826-32499-a2qhny.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92985/original/image-20150826-32499-a2qhny.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Universities aren’t teaching students to be innovative and creative.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>To unleash our students’ entrepreneurial skills, universities must move away from measuring academic success according to rigid marking criteria. They should focus on learning through experience and the cycle of failure inherent in creative endeavours. Rather than defining measurable learning outcomes, curricula should support aspirational outcomes that ignite lifelong learning and encourage inquiry beyond the classroom.</p>
<p>Universities must also get comfortable with the idea of providing an education focused on the whole person rather than only acquiring discipline-specific knowledge and skills. This has been accomplished at Stanford University where students undertake “<a href="http://www.stanford2025.com/purpose-learning/">missions not majors</a>”.</p>
<p>Under this model students are assisted in developing the “why” – their purpose for undertaking their studies. There is also an explicit recognition of the value of broad skills. A whole person education is critically important because the pathways between school, university and employment are no longer defined and adaptability is key for an uncertain job market. </p>
<p>When students can articulate their reason for study this helps them to gain a sense of meaning through their acquired experience. Understanding their purpose helps to build the confidence necessary to sustain them through uncertainty. </p>
<h2>Students need to change their outlook</h2>
<p>While financial and digital literacy are no doubt important in the future of work, the art of entrepreneurial education is cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset. This can only be accomplished through self-empowered students. Today’s students need to be prepared to actively create their own futures by thinking and acting more entrepreneurial throughout their university education. </p>
<p>One of my undergraduate students founded a <a href="http://bioquisitive.org.au/">community “biohacking” space</a> promoting greater public engagement with biology. The process of founding his own social enterprise showed the importance of engaging with a community beyond university to successfully start his enterprise.</p>
<p>Some university students are relying too heavily on acquiring academic skills rather than actively taking their future into their own hands. </p>
<p>The Centre for Creative Leadership <a href="http://insights.ccl.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/BlendedLearningLeadership.pdf">70:20:10 Model for learning and development</a> shows that students need to engage broadly for effective learning. This model suggests that 70% of development occurs through the actions of the individual, 20% through relationships and only 10% through classroom learning and reading. </p>
<p>Students have to build connections in a world where “it’s not <em>what</em> you know, it’s <em>who</em> you know”. Bennett Merriman, young entrepreneur and director of a workforce management company, told a recent <a href="http://herdsa2015.org/">higher education conference</a> that connectivity in our work place is important. He recommended that students should spend time developing their networks throughout their studies.</p>
<p>An entrepreneurial education provides a unique educational mix that builds the capacity of students to thrive in a complex world. Integrating the elements from entrepreneurship education into other educational domains offers students the gift of seeing an opportunity and understanding how to take it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/46603/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rowan Brookes is the Course Director of the Bachelor of Science Advanced - Global Challenges degree of which a student is mentioned in this article.</span></em></p>With a future that is not yet imaginable, how do universities prepare graduates for the world of work?Rowan Brookes, Lecturer and Course Director , Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/434612015-07-05T20:17:15Z2015-07-05T20:17:15ZTapping into kids’ passion for Minecraft in the classroom<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/85488/original/image-20150618-23239-1h0r3hg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Kids' passion for Minecraft means they don't even realise they're learning while they play.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kjarrett/14994228523/in/photolist-oQZkKr-pvoz81-pMS3qQ-pMMNiT-pvoztm-pvkTBj-pvmsxZ-pKGsD5-oQWfsE-pKGsxd-pKGssJ-oQZkxT-oQZkxn-pvoyGS-esXdXk-et1rVJ-esXca2-esVnMK-j7dajS-qtXAo2-kMzeWK-k3fk4e-et1oUq-esX98k-esX7BT-esX5ok-esX4Sr-et1gFG-esWXcM-esWTYH-esWXUa-esWW7M-et19B9-et17hb-et162u-esWQYt-et14Wy-et13fE-et11YY-esZYth-esZWkC-esWFF4-esZTZb-esWCFe-esZQQf-esZFjA-fJimmV-jU9ks8-jUZ9Y5-b9xttT">Kevin Jarrett/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you know children aged between about six and 14, then you have probably heard of Minecraft.</p>
<p>Minecraft is a digital game, a popular cultural phenomenon and a powerful platform for learning. It is one of the most successful digital games of all time and <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/games/minecraft-reaches-20-million-sales-on-pc-and-mac-20150702-gi451o.html">continues to grow in popularity</a>.</p>
<p>Educators <a href="http://boingboing.net/2015/06/06/why-minecraft-rewrites-the-pla.html">have a great interest in Minecraft</a> because children and young people seem to be driven to learn new knowledge and skills to play the game with a passion that they often lack for their everyday schooling.</p>
<p>The first <a href="http://research.microsoft.com/apps/video/default.aspx?id=241923&r=1">Minecraft in Education Summit</a> took place this year in Los Angeles. It illustrates the seriousness with which major international universities and the technology industry are treating the game.</p>
<p>Children learn while playing Minecraft because it rewards them for getting information, combining resources and solving design problems.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/85490/original/image-20150618-23235-m8n2k8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/85490/original/image-20150618-23235-m8n2k8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/85490/original/image-20150618-23235-m8n2k8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=315&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/85490/original/image-20150618-23235-m8n2k8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=315&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/85490/original/image-20150618-23235-m8n2k8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=315&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/85490/original/image-20150618-23235-m8n2k8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/85490/original/image-20150618-23235-m8n2k8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/85490/original/image-20150618-23235-m8n2k8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">A Minecraft Castle.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kenming_wang/5702068334/">Fenming Wang/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>On the surface Minecraft appears to be a rather “blocky”, “sandbox” game. The objective is to collect materials (mine) to create new items (craft). Players can choose to fight monsters, if they wish, but the primary task is to design, build and share ever-more elaborate structures.</p>
<p>You cannot really “win” Minecraft as the game isn’t structured that way. The main reward for many players is to display creations “in world”, but many also share their builds and gameplay on YouTube. Last year, Minecraft was the second-most popular YouTube search term, after “Frozen”.</p>
<p>In a <a href="http://ldm.sagepub.com/content/early/2015/02/27/2042753014568176.full.pdf+html">recent article</a>, my colleagues and I showed that year three and four students at an all-girls’ school rewarded each other in the schoolyard and in the classroom for having Minecraft knowledge.</p>
<p>Even young children can quickly progress from building a simple survival hut to creating impressive structures. For instance, the year three girls in a research project called Serious Play rebuilt their school in Minecraft. To achieve this they had to use a range of design, maths, art and geography skills.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/85492/original/image-20150618-23263-1vrhoir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/85492/original/image-20150618-23263-1vrhoir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/85492/original/image-20150618-23263-1vrhoir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/85492/original/image-20150618-23263-1vrhoir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/85492/original/image-20150618-23263-1vrhoir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/85492/original/image-20150618-23263-1vrhoir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/85492/original/image-20150618-23263-1vrhoir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/85492/original/image-20150618-23263-1vrhoir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Minecraft requires creativity, but also a range of curriculum based skills such as maths, IT, and geography.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/colmmcsky/6948057091/">Mike Prosser/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>There is no doubt that it is possible to align learning within Minecraft to curriculum outcomes. A growing number of schools are designing curriculum in the key learning areas <a href="http://services.minecraftedu.com/wiki/Teaching_with_MinecraftEdu">using Minecraft</a>.</p>
<p>In one part of our project, students played the game in two teams to undertake a series of design challenges. The students worked in teams, effectively managed resources, communicated objectives, planned their designs and built together, employing important 21st-century skills.</p>
<p>A teacher has <a href="http://services.minecraftedu.com/worlds/node/92">designed a Viking World</a> in Minecraft that his year three students explore to learn about Viking exploration, trade and culture. Another has created <a href="http://services.minecraftedu.com/worlds/node/35">“Decimal Island”</a>, a maths adventure game that rewards students by providing them with food to survive. </p>
<p>But it is the enthusiasm students have for learning to play Minecraft that is so compelling. Minecraft players share this “impassioned learning” with fans of other forms of popular culture. </p>
<p>Like Harry Potter devotees who engage deeply with the world of the Hogwarts School or football fans who know intricate details about every team and player in the competition, the more players learn about Minecraft, the more pleasure they gain from it.</p>
<p>Apart from experiencing the game itself, players can tap into <a href="http://crafthub.net/">enormous online repositories</a> of user-produced resources that can be used to modify the game. This invites deeper learning as individuals conduct research online and share their learning with others.</p>
<p>Imagine a Lego fan who can use not just their own blocks to build structures, but who can alter Lego’s original designs and freely and legally access and use thousands of other players’ block designs as well. Minecraft allows its players to do that and much more.</p>
<p>Like Lego, Minecraft is an imagination system for applying design possibilities and then displaying the outcomes for others to see. Unlike Lego, though, Minecraft allows creative media production on a massive scale.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/85494/original/image-20150618-23263-1i0ywpi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/85494/original/image-20150618-23263-1i0ywpi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/85494/original/image-20150618-23263-1i0ywpi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/85494/original/image-20150618-23263-1i0ywpi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/85494/original/image-20150618-23263-1i0ywpi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/85494/original/image-20150618-23263-1i0ywpi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=608&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/85494/original/image-20150618-23263-1i0ywpi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=608&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/85494/original/image-20150618-23263-1i0ywpi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=608&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Kids all over the world are devoted to Minecraft.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jryde/12660991285/">Jay/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>The eagerness Minecraft players have for learning about the game is an eagerness to be involved in an immersive digital culture. They aim to communicate within, through and about the game. They are rewarded for knowing how to achieve things in the game and for sharing this knowledge with others.</p>
<p>In this sense, Minecraft is not so much a game, but a social network that values and circulates expertise.</p>
<p>There are many questions to be asked about the use of Minecraft in schools. It is important to ask how teachers can become skilled enough to implement the game in authentic ways and to avoid taking the fun and complex learning out of gameplay.</p>
<p>In addition, there have been no studies to date about whether playing Minecraft increases student performance in specific subject areas.</p>
<p>Despite these challenges, there is no doubt something is going on with Minecraft and learning. Young Minecraft players have a passion for acquiring knowledge and skills in new and complex ways that teachers should not ignore.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/43461/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Dezuanni receives funding from the Australian Research Council. He is affiliated with the Children and Youth Research Centre and the Digital Media Research Centre at QUT.</span></em></p>Minecraft is not just the world’s most successful PC game – teachers are now using it in the classroom to get kids excited about learning.Michael Dezuanni, Associate professor, Creative Industries Faculty I Faculty of Education , Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.