ACROSS the millennia, the meaning of teaching has undergone many shifts.
Perhaps we are most familiar with the ancient practice of transferring knowledge from the more informed to the less informed. This approach was necessary when literacy was not universal and information was scarce or accessible only to a select few.
Today, with information at our fingertips and literacy widely recognised as a human right, modern teaching and learning (T&L) face new implications.
The first concerns technological progress. Whether through generative artificial intelligence (AI), 5G infrastructure or extended reality, technological advances have transformed how educators teach.
In this disrupted space, the key question is whether educators are acting upon technology or merely reacting to it. To be future-ready, they must take charge of technology, not the other way around.
Acting upon technology means facilitating deep learning so that learners not only gain knowledge, but also understand how they come to know what they know. This awareness of self-knowledge serves as a safeguard against being outpaced by technologies designed to mimic and even surpass human intelligence.
Regardless of discipline, educators must stay ahead of the technological curve to guide learners to become creators, not just consumers, of technology.
Teaching with AI matters, but reflecting on how AI shapes learners matters even more.
Although the benefits of technological advancement are undeniable, excessive reliance on synthesised knowledge risks decoupling human thinking from learning itself.
The second implication concerns authentic knowledge production. Authentic knowledge, especially local knowledge, remains the bedrock of meaningful progress. In T&L, the human person, shaped by lived experience, should remain central.
Educators should guide students to ask questions such as: Who am I? What is my background? What am I learning, and why? How can my life improve others’ lives? What can I contribute to the world?
These questions are now crucial. For too long, education, especially in science and technology, has shied away from acknowledging the subjective self for fear of compromising objectivity.
Yet the future of knowledge production will increasingly belong to those who are grounded in empathy, service and social-emotional well-being.
To apply this approach, assessment methods must focus on solutions to problems found in local and indigenous contexts. This makes T&L more integrated and humanistic.
Educators of tomorrow must teach for better lives, not just better grades. To meet these challenges, educators must consider the following:
> Unpack technological advances and anchor them in the philosophy of human learning.
This keeps human learning at the heart of education and prevents technology from becoming the main driver of human progress.
By acting upon technology, socially grounded educational initiatives can shape generations that are not only technologically ready, but also socio-emotionally intelligent and morally sound.
> Recognise individual and biographical stories, and prioritise local contexts.
T&L should speak to the realities of local communities and issues, keeping the learner at the centre of every educational initiative.
Educators should teach thinking skills that raise new questions and offer critical, even unpopular, solutions, emphasising values like empathy, equity and justice. This fosters deep human connections and empowers citizens to protect the marginalised.
> Prioritise original knowledge production while acknowledging the power of AI.
This means leveraging new forms of intelligence but ensuring that the knowledge pool is enriched by fresh creations born of human experience.
In sum, becoming educators of tomorrow requires embracing disruption and building innovative pathways of learning.
Despite ongoing technological advancements, it is the ingenuity of human thinking that will ultimately ensure the sustainability of the human race.
DR CHONG SU LI
Manager and senior lecturer
Department of Education Excellence (Teaching & Learning)
Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS
