Top Class: The OECD Education Policy Podcast | Teachers, PISA, Students

As schools closed across the globe due to the COVID-19 pandemic, education systems were forced to come face to face with the limitations of traditional schooling. In all sectors, technology picked up the slack when physical work environments became unfeasible, and education was no exception – technologies that were previously relegated to the fringes of pedagogical practice suddenly became the only way teaching and learning could take place. Coronavirus has rapidly accelerated society’s increasing reliance on technology, and any sector entrenched too deeply in the old industrial work organisation risks getting left behind. Is education one of them? Has the crisis exposed ways in which education simply isn’t up to date with the modern world? To discuss this, we caught up via teleconference with Wendy Kopp, CEO and Co-Founder of Teach For All, Roberto Benes, Director of Generation Unlimited, and Andreas Schleicher, Director of the OECD Directorate for Education and Skills.

The transition from school to the world of work is one of the most pivotal moments in a young person’s life – it’s a time of high pressure and high uncertainty, and one that requires an equally high level of resilience to manage. Enter the coronavirus crisis, and suddenly this difficult transition gains a brand new set of complications. To discuss the current situation for school-leavers entering the job market, we caught up with Ingrid Schoon, Professor of Human Development and Social Policy at the Institute of Education, University College London, and Anthony Mann, Senior Analyst at the OECD.

With schools closed around the world, students and teachers are having to find new ways of learning outside of the classroom. Meanwhile, governments are working hard to assess the impact of school closures and make plans for education in a post-crisis world – a world that may well be fundamentally altered. What have the government responses been like so far? Have they worked? And does the crisis imply that we need to change the way we educate the next generation? In this episode, we invited Fernando Reimers, Professor of the Practice in International Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and Stefania Giannini, Assistant Director-General for Education at UNESCO, to discuss the situation with Andreas Schleicher, Director for Education and Skills at the OECD.

The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in school closures in countries across the globe, forcing many students to continue their learning from home. The news is full of government responses and updates from political leaders, but comparatively little airtime is given to those affected most by school closures. What is the sudden switch to home learning actually like for a student? Does it work? What are the major challenges? To find out, we spoke to three high school students in three different countries, all of whom participate in the OECD Future of Education and Skills 2030 project: Ayumi Mitsui is a Japanese student currently at school in Viet Nam; Juyeop Kwon is a high school student in Korea; and Alessandra Policarpo is a Brazilian student finishing her last year of school in Germany. www.oecd.org/education/2030-project

A lot of talk goes on about the future of education – in ministry offices, school staff rooms, even household kitchens. But one voice is routinely left out of the discussion: that of the students themselves. A defining – and inescapable – feature of “the future” is that it’s always just around the corner. But why is it that we so rarely consult those who are about to face what’s around that corner? In this episode of TopClass, we sit down with students from across the globe to ask what they believe is next for education in the 21st century, as well as their views on the future of the job market.

Much talk about technology in the 21st century is focused around the advent of a new level of computing: artificial intelligence (AI). No sector will go untouched by AI’s reach and capabilities – and this includes teaching. Teachers today already have access to a wide range of technologies that they can use in the classroom, technologies that are getting smarter, sleeker and faster by the day. But how will teaching change if that technology has the ability to adapt, learn and even make decisions? Charles Fadel, Founder and Chairman of the Center for Curriculum Redesign, joins us to talk about how AI will affect teaching and what schools can do to prepare. https://curriculumredesign.org

You’re no doubt hearing a lot about education these days, with the release of the latest results from PISA. Over the two decades of its existence, the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment has convened a growing number of countries – now around 80 – to participate in its triennial assessment of what 15-year-old students know and can do. But PISA has also attracted some criticism along the way. Yong Zhao, professor in the School of Education at the University of Kansas, and Aaron Benavot, professor of Global Education Policy in the School of Education at the State University of New York at Albany, discuss the value of a test the whole world can take with Director of the OECD Directorate for Education and Skills, Andreas Schleicher.

The world that today’s students will enter after leaving school is volatile, complex and uncertain. Things have changed dramatically in just ten years, and the rate of change shows no signs of slowing. Students will need to adapt to new ways of working, socialising and participating in society. Overcoming these challenges will require a generation of innovators, and a new approach to education. But how can educators foster innovation among their students? And why are schools struggling to do this today? To discuss this, we caught up with Geoff Mulgan, CEO of Nesta, and Stéphan Vincent-Lancrin, a senior analyst in the OECD’s Directorate for Education and Skills.

Teaching, like any other profession, will need to adapt to the new challenges and opportunities of the 21st century. But unlike some other professions, innovations in teaching are unlikely to come in the form of the latest gadgets or software – it will instead be a matter of refining and reshaping practice. But are our current education systems ready to accommodate this? Steven Farr, Director of Classroom Leadership at Teach For All, and Noémie Le Donné, analyst for the OECD’s Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS), discuss what innovation in teaching actually is and why it’s important, also touching on the landscape of the profession and how systems today support new approaches. For more information on Teach For All visit https://teachforall.org. Note: TALIS results discussed in this podcast are taken from TALIS 2013.

Teachers’ own learning is an integral part of their practice – after all, it is said that to teach is to learn twice over. But understanding which kinds of in-service training are effective for teachers and which aren’t can be complex, and many countries have yet to find the perfect formula. Data can provide some guidance. Edmund Mission, Deputy CEO of the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL), and Pablo Fraser, an analyst for the OECD’s Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS), discuss the importance of professional development for teachers and the direction systems should be heading in to get the most out of their professional development programmes.