The role of content knowledge for students in 2025 will be to make direct connections with the information using global perspective. The current educational trends centered on data and test results will still be prevalent. Although I believe some standardized testing will still be utilized to evaluate student mastery of content knowledge, I postulate that a much stronger emphasis will be placed on utilizing the content knowledge to foster students’ higher level thinking skills. Student mastery of content knowledge will serve as foundation for students to develop a deeper understanding of their role as global citizens. Students utilize this baseline content knowledge to make connections between historical events and problems that they face in the modern day. With the rise of technology and information-sharing, the world has become a much smaller place where people around the globe can be connected constantly and instantaneously. With the students of 2025 having significant interaction to a variety of perspectives in their ever-evolving world it is critically important that they have solid understanding of the content knowledge to participate responsibly in this discourse.
Due to increased accessibility to technology, students will utilize a variety of new mediums to acquire information, master content knowledge, and develop analytical skills. The current trends to be eco-friendly and fiscally responsible will extend to the classroom, as students will operate in paperless schools. The use of a hard copy textbook will become virtually non-existent, as students will accomplish the majority of their assignments digitally, via an iPad or other web-based device. With every student having access to the web, teachers will utilize a variety of online resources such as blogs, websites, and social networks to disseminate information to their students. With the goal of our educational system to develop productive citizens who think innovatively, students will access exponentially more information than any students in history.
It will be critically important that students master a variety of technology skills in order to be productive students in 2025. Students’ ability to navigate the web and to be able to operate using social networks will be paramount in order for them to be effective in this “paperless” environment. Students will need to develop strong analytical skills so that they can evaluate the validity and relevance of the plethora of information at their finger tips. Lastly it will be necessary that students be self-motivated and work collaboratively. Trends are moving towards distance learning and telecommuting, and students will need to be able to work diligently and efficiently without being under the watchful eye of the instructor, as they would be in a brick and mortar school.
As an educator, it will be crucial that I stay well-versed in new technologies as well as content knowledge to prevent from being swept away by this wave of innovation. An addition to mastering content and pedagogy, I will need master technology and have frequent exposure and training in new technology mediums be effective. Within this framework I will need to be able to develop web-based content and navigate social networks with ease.
