Educational innovations

World of education is constantly changing. This is because pedagogical science like any science evolves, subverts and adapts both the conditions for ideal learning and the learning context itself. Successful educational organizations are those that are able to create for students and teachers an ideal environment of education, providing exchange and processing of information and essential learning that goes beyond trivial knowledge and touches their behaviors. During the 20th century with the rise of higher education, and at the 21st century with the rapid spread of technology, leading educators, researchers and academics from around the world are proposing bold educational reforms, innovations and changes. They accentuate that it is very important for institutions of all levels to try new practices and evaluate them in practice, as this is how knowledge is acquired in the educational process itself. Let’s look with examples the educational and pedagogical innovation of recent years.

Concentration even for hyperactive students

Canadian scientists have tried to investigate the eternal issue of lack of concentration. They found that student hyperactivity is strongly associated with lack of concentration, especially among students with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). As a result, elementary schools in Laval, Canada, have embraced the innovative proposals of Academician Mario Leroux and built groundbreaking bicycle desks. Every student (with or without ADHD) can ride a bike during the lesson and thus to maintain his concentration through relaxation. With this innovative way the performance of  students improved dramatically.

In the last five years United States of America introduced an inovative educational concept called STEAM(Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math). Gymnasiums and Lyceums adopted this modern educational framework in order to prepare for the global cultural revolution that takes place through technological developments.The new curricula with the concept of STEAM are oriented towards technological developments and their effects on humans: advanced technology of mechanical constructions, incredible designs of digital systems, artificial intelligence, state-of-the-art robots compose the puzzle of the modern political scene. But they are not curricula that are oriented towards a “tradition” in technology without criticism and especially without understanding how much the world has changed. The main target of the STEAM approach is to teach student the impact of these technological developments on language, literature, theater, history, art history, philosophy, poetry. Therefore, we are talking about an educational model that tries to use technology for the benefit of learning, while at the same time emphasizing the distortions that result from overexposure to it and preparing students for the open society of the future.

Mobile phones stay out of school

In France, an educational innovation is based on a seemingly strict ban. In July 2018 French government passed a law who stipulates that children cannot use their mobile phones inside school grounds (or at school based activities outside of school such as sporting events or day trips) nor can they connect via any device to the internet. It is considered a “public health” measure as experts advise parents that they should limit the use of mobile devices so that their children do not become addicted to digital technology and are not distracted during class and reading. In fact, this decision was made after extensive research linking the reduction of mobile phone usage time with the improvement of exam performance. Scientists commonly claim that with the excessive use of mobile phones and especially social media, the brain of a teenager is “addicted” to multiple stimuli and conditions of fragmentation, while school exams practically require an acquaintance with the absolute possible concentration. Should we listen to the scientists and put our mobile phones aside for a while?