As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to evolve, some people are concerned about its potential impact on jobs. One way to protect against automation is to ensure that students have the critical thinking, creativity, and problem–solving skills that will help them adapt to a changing workforce.
In a recent article, Forbes contributor Bernard Marr argued that we need to start teaching these skills to children now. “The jobs of the future will require very different skills than the jobs of the past,” Marr wrote. “As machines get better and better at performing routine tasks, jobs that require human skills such as creativity, empathy, and adaptability will become even more important.” Marr isn‘t the only one making this case.
In a recent TED talk, futurist David Levy predicted that AI will lead to a “second Renaissance“ in which humans team up with intelligent machines to create new works of art and science. “The key to success in the future will be human creativity,” Levy said. “Creativity is not something that can be taught by a machine.”
So how can we teach children to think critically, creatively, and solve problems?
Here are some ideas from experts in the field:
1. Encourage them to ask questions. One of the best ways to encourage critical thinking is to encourage children to ask questions. When they encounter something that doesn‘t make sense, they should feel free to ask why. And when they‘re presented with a problem, they should feel free to ask how it can be solved.
2. Help them see multiple sides to every issue. Critical thinking isn‘t just about finding the right answer; it‘s also about understanding different points of view. When children are exposed to multiple perspectives on an issue, they learn to see things from different angles and to understand that there is rarely a single “right“ answer.
3. Encourage them to experiment. Creativity is often about trying new things and seeing what works. When children are encouraged to experiment, they learn to think outside the box and to come up with new solutions to problems.
4. Help them to understand the importance of failure. Most people are afraid of failure, but it‘s important to understand that failure is a necessary part of the creative process. If children are never allowed to fail, they‘ll never learn to take risks or to think outside the box.
5. Encourage them to persevere. Problem–solving is often about persistence. When children encounter a difficult problem, it‘s important to encourage them to keep trying. They should know that it‘s OK to make mistakes and that they‘ll eventually find a solution if they don‘t give up.
I would love to hear your thoughts on these words so leave a comment or respond via social media.
And if you have read this far, then I also want you to know that I did not write a single word of this blog post. Instead, I typed in the prompt of this blog post into an AI system and AI wrote this for me. Now do you believe me that it is beyond urgent to rethink our teaching, learning, and grading practices that we hold so tight to in our schools?
Here is the link to the prompt and AI system I used
P.S. And yes, the artwork is also generated using AI using the first two paragraphs of the blog to be created.
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