Page 3 - ebook1.pdf

1.0 Introduction

Are the learning ecosystems based on the education system which most schools still have up
to now tandem classroom of the fourth industrial revolution? The learning ecosystems
which most schools are still clinging on to emanate from the enlightenment period of the
th
19 century which is based on intellectual capacity. The first and second revolution was
conceived as a response to the need for mechanization and thus the education system since
then has tended to replicate the factory processes whereby all products go through an en-
masse kind of production of standardization tests. Our education has henceforth followed
a pattern whereby achievement tests are considered as the watermark of learners’ efficacy in
their learning process. A lot of challenges have mushroomed where educational systems are
rather regarded as failing the pivotal role they should be playing. Most learners tend to drop
out or fail or get poor test scores if ever they happen to sail through to the final academic
year. l wish to propose a re-shaped re-imagined learning ecosystem that can be a game-
changer for our education system and is engineered through adopting the proliferation of
artifacts brought by the 4th industrial revolution and which l am going to argumentatively
endeavor to elucidate.

2.0 Re-imagined learning ecosystem.
The re-imagined learning ecosystem is one that seeks to revamp the traditional orientation
which emphasizes the teacher playing the know it all role of a lecturer hence being
considered as the only focal point from which learners can tap and memorize knowledge.
According to Hannon et al (2011:02)

“One driver, digital technology, both exerts pressure for change(because new technologies
demand a new set of skills) and provides opportunities for transforming pedagogy( because
it provides access to information , networks for communication and new means of
presenting learning)”

3.0 Constructivist theory versus traditional ideas about teaching and learning
The constructivist classroom gives priority to the students at the expense of teachers. Here
the classroom is no longer being viewed only within the confines of the synchronous walls
where the teacher plays the know it role relative to the learners who are deemed tabula rasa
and have to endure the straight jacket rote learning through adhering to the teacher’s
commands and drills. In the constructivist model, the learners are given individualized
attention and actively partake in self- discovery activities which speaks to their choice and
the alternative ability for learning. The teacher functions more as a facilitator who coaches,
mediates, prompts, and helps students develop and assess their understanding, and thereby
their learning. One of the teacher's biggest jobs becomes asking. Thus, in the constructivist
classroom, both teacher and students think of knowledge not as inert factoids to be
memorized, but as a dynamic, ever-changing view of the world we live in and the ability to
successfully stretch and explore that view.

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