How to future-proof your child's learning

“What is robotics used for?” “How can I use technology to remind me to do my homework every night?” The answers to these questions are now radically different to those which were accepted five years ago. And, in the future, they will have changed even more.

Thriving in the future, then, requires not so much being handed the answers to today’s problems and being trained to memorise them but, rather, providing a framework for asking the right questions in a fast-changing world.

In a world of information, knowing the right answer is actually becoming far less important than knowing the right question to ask. Kids should know how to search, research and frame the question they are really asking.

Nobody likes failing, but learning to identify deficiencies and improve upon them is becoming a vital skill. In traditional education, success often seems like a binary game of “fail” or “pass”. We need to construct teaching as a narrative that encourages risk-taking, and helps pupils back up on their feet, to enable them to learn from trying things out in various different ways en route to enhanced understanding. That is what life is like.

Many kids have a fear of failure. But the kind of whirlwinds being swept up in the future global economy demand a recognition that continual improvements and changes of direction are necessary. That is why project-based work which can make time for invention, iteration and enhancement can often be a better learning tool than having the one correct answer to a very specific question.

The tales of Kodak and Nokia, almost forgotten giants of their industries, tell us that being expert in a single fixed discipline undergoing large-scale disruption is precarious. But nothing is fixed any longer; disruption is the norm. We need the next generation not to have a rigid mindset or a fixed palette of tools at its disposal but, rather, to keep up with changes and to use everything available.

To achieve this, we must expose our children to change – to teach that the range of things they are interested in or can take joy from is not a static or finite pool. One day, you may be playing in goal; the next, on the wing. Both of these things are different, and are a unique challenge, but both can be just as rewarding and enjoyable. The player that learns to embrace switching gear is the one who will reap the rewards!

If your goal is simply to get an “A” in your tests, feeling connected to the task at hand can be challenging. That is why the best way to learn can often be to feel a sense of investment.

When we have a goal with a purpose, it is made real enough for us to care about the problem, the solution and the process in between. Who wouldn't be interested in finding a solution to an everyday problem they're experiencing – and finding it themselves? But your child’s problem doesn’t have to be personal, it could be societal: saving the whales, boosting local recycling or contributing to whatever cause they are interested in. When you identify a problem that you care about, setting out to solve it becomes meaningful enough that you enjoy the journey, are driven toward an outcome and will do whatever it takes to find the solution.