Why Conceptual Learning Matters More Than Ever for our Future Economy

The recent boom in generative AI has led to increasing conversations and concerns about the technology’s role in our futures. According to Goldman Sachs, Artificial intelligence (AI) could replace the equivalent of 300 million full-time jobs. The report notes AI's impact will vary across different sectors, with 46% of administrative tasks and 44% of legal professions’ tasks potentially being automated.

The rise of AI is now playing a role in the classroom too, with educators recognising its opportunities and threats. South Australia has green-lit the AI chatbot ChatGPT in public schools across the state, however, New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia and Queensland have banned it. UniSA Professor George Siemens, an expert in AI and education, recently said that the emergence and ubiquity of this disruptive technology is unavoidable and should be embraced. "Rather than avoiding or banning them, it’s far more beneficial for teachers to explore and experiment with them to get a better sense of what is possible," Professor Siemens said.

With the rise of AI and its ability to increasingly replace mundane, administrative tasks, there has arguably never been a more important time for teaching to adapt. Conceptual learning, for example, which is centred around developing deep understanding, critical thinking and the ability to problem-solve - will equip students with the skills that are becoming ever more important in the current and future workforce.

Benefits of Conceptual Learning
Educators have long recognised the benefits of moving from rote or surface learning to more conceptual practices. In 2006, American educator Sal Khan launched non-profit organisation Khan Academy in the U.S., which is backed by the likes of The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Google. The Academy, as highlighted by the Harvard Business Review and The Economist, emphasises critical thinking and idea creation, where real learning occurs, and downplays rote lecture learning.

However making this shift across 1000s of Australian classrooms is not easy. In an op-ed in 2017, Andreas Schleicher - the OECD director for education and skills – lamented a “tolerance of failure” in the nation’s schools, saying students aren’t equipped to deal with difficult test questions because they rely too heavily on rote learning and warned Australia’s education system of failing to provide students with higher order skills, such as creative and divergent thinking.

In the UK, prime minister Rishi Sunak recently said he wants every student in England to study Maths until they are 18. Australian YouTuber and maths teacher Eddie Woo, has said that mathematics is the easiest subject to teach badly’ and the bread and butter of teaching and learning is not just doing the same thing mindlessly and repetitively. Instead, Woo supports fostering deep learning where students are set three sophisticated problems in a single lesson as opposed to 30 or 50.

Curriculum and Quality Teaching Resources can Speed up the Shift
Perhaps worryingly, interest in maths and other STEM subjects, which are seen as critical to the future workforce, is decreasing in Australian schools. Australian Council for Educational Research’s Dr Michael Timms has said that changing the curriculum is key to reversing this decline.

This is consistent with independent Australian think tank Grattan Institute’s recent report which revealed the importance of implementing a whole-school curriculum approach: a highly-sequenced, knowledge-rich curriculum that presents new material incrementally, connects new content to what’s come before, and gives students ample opportunities to practise.

As the report says, it takes many years for students to build the sophisticated discipline-specific knowledge they need to tackle the complex topics and tasks expected of them in the final years of school and indeed beyond. It cites that, if teachers don’t start building this knowledge early, many students - especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds - won’t be ready in time. As Grattan’s report states, these students are most likely to be taught by a beginning or out-of-field teacher or be in a school with high teacher turnover.

This highlights the importance of quality, coherent and comprehensive resources that empower teachers with the knowledge and confidence they need going into lessons - which are centred around giving students deep, rich knowledge of the subjects they’re learning.

Unlocking Potential
Experts, including those working in classrooms, know the importance of hands-on, problem-solving, conceptual methods of teaching at all levels of education. Not just for engaging students, but giving them the skills they’ll need for success in the senior years of schools, further study and life. This unlocks opportunities for the economy - such as improved employability and people’s ability to be flexible and lateral in the problems they can solve.

At Edrolo, our mission is to develop flexible and quality resources that build students’ deep conceptual learning. They are highly interactive, engaging and visual, with a combination of concise theory, scaffolded questions and activities that develop skills and understanding, and videos to help students learn and make progress. Grattan Institute’s 2022 report reveals just how time-poor teachers are with many being left to fend for themselves, creating lessons from scratch and scouring the internet and social media for teaching materials. So, while teachers might want to adopt conceptual teaching practices for every lesson and every student, they need the resources to do it, and that’s where we’re trying to help.

Conceptual learning truly helps to engage students to not only participate in the future, but to help create it too. This will only become more pertinent as AI accelerates and the demand for STEM skills and critical thinking skyrockets.