Armine Babayan

EDUC 5810 Unit 2 Portfolio Assignment.

Question, ” A Changing World Demands Changing Skills.” What does this mean to you
and your work as an educator?

My work in the education field helps me grow every day in one way or the other. I have
been in the classroom environment for almost a decade in this career. I have come
across many students with different challenges as well as many gifted ones. With the
observation skills I have, I end up comparing things with my personal life and the things
going around me, which enables me to make connections and develops an
understanding of the world as well as human nature.
I understand that people born between 1997 to 2012, are the generation that witnessed
a revolution in information technology such as computers, the internet, telephones,
mobile phones and now artificial intelligence. With time, job scenarios will change too,
the demand for a different skill set has increased, and the conventional education
system does not fulfil what the future requires.
After transiting from the National curriculum to the international baccalaureate, I have
witnessed the major differences between these two curricula and the type of students
they produce in the end. During my certification for the diploma program, I asked my
trainer that if students have scientific calculators, data booklets and questions that are
not focused on content then what are we preparing them for? And the trainer beautifully
answered that now with the internet anyone can access the information online, but we
need to teach students to identify the authenticity of the content and its real-life
application. Observation, critical and creative thinking and communication are key life
skills for anyone to succeed in any situation or a timeline. The content knowledge might
change but learning how to make use of the acquired knowledge should be the focus of
the future of education.
This conversation with the trainer enlightened my perspective on being a teacher and
training students for the real-life challenges, which enabled me to become a better
teacher who is not only focused on the result of the content knowledge, rather I started
looking at the progress of the student in terms of these important skills.
In essence, I believe, observation, critical and creative thinking as well as
communication skills will help any individual to sail through any work environment or
phase of their lives.
References:

Globalization in Education: Process and Discourse, Jürgen Schriewer. Policy Futures in

Education, Vol 1, Issue 2, pp. 271 - 283 First Published June 1, 2003. Retrieved from
https://doi.org/10.2304/pfie.2003.1.2.6
Mansilla, V., & Jackson, A. (2011). Educating for global competence. New York, NY:
Asia Society. Retrieved from
https://asiasociety.org/files/book-globalcompetence.pdf