“It is important to equip our students with the accurate skill sets required to succeed in this digital economy”
An important aspect of future-ready learning is the ability to adapt
“With the rise of the fourth industrial revolution, we have borne witness to accelerated changes in our workplaces and society, and all the while knowing we are preparing our students for a future where jobs do not exist yet,” says Sara Hollis, Principal, American School of Creative Science, Nad Al Sheba.
“It is an exciting future that holds great promises; it is a time where innovative thinking is nurtured and celebrated with a drive for all of us to challenge ourselves. And we stand at the forefront with the aim to prepare our students for the future. At the American School of Creative Science, we see science as the art of learning,” she says.
With a holistic, global learning aim, we measure the emotional, social, physical and mental growth of our students as successful learning.
“In the future most jobs will require technological skills, and as such, we acknowledge it is important to equip our students with the accurate skill sets required to succeed in this digital economy. We, as educators, aim to spark curiosity and innovative thinking through STEM and computer science, but we also seek to embed the use of technology within all subjects through SAMR model of technology integration striving to move beyond using it as a replacement of traditional learning tools, rather to use it to modify leading and create new tasks. It is this approach that lends a sense of purpose to learning,” explains Hollis.
“With a holistic, global learning aim, we measure the emotional, social, physical and mental growth of our students as successful learning. At the heart of this also comes the need to develop our students’ learning dispositions such as responsibility and resilience, so they possess the growth mindset and the enthusiasm to learn. We build upon these strong foundations with a focus of imparting 21st century skills such as collaboration, communication and critical thinking, in order for students to be well-equipped with lifelong learning skills that will enable them to drive their own learning in the present and in the future beyond. It is with an open mind, willingness to accept differences, and always ask questions, coupled with the ability to research and think critically, that we have created a future-ready learner who will be able to apply these skills to examine, analyse, and make informed decisions, in whichever career field they progress into, in the near future.
“Another important aspect of future-ready learning is the ability to adapt, especially without compromising our ethos and principles. We live in an interconnected, diverse and ever-changing world and these aspects require us as educators, to develop our students’ sense of responsibility, inclusiveness, fair-mindedness and compassion, so that they enter the wider society, ready to build and sustain relationships that will serve to benefit societal needs,” adds Hollis.