Education is still an essential part of daily business. Several years ago, when greeting a new batch of students, I said to the group that anyone who refuses to learn no longer had the right to exist. Based on the reactions, I could conclude that this sentence had a strong impact on the students. But what constitutes education in the 21st century? What distinguishes today’s education from the one in the last decades?
The educational landscape has changed fundamentally in recent years. When I was studying myself, learning of knowledge was crucial. I can clearly remember how we borrowed books from the library and bought the most important ones ourselves. Back then I spent a fortune on books because I wanted to have the essential basic literature within reach. Today the situation has changed fundamentally. Knowledge is basically available and if you know how, you can find everything on the internet. Therefore, the premise goes from knowledge to ability. You need to learn what you can do with the knowledge at your disposal and how to apply it. The technical term for education in the 21st century is competency-based learning, as is taught, for example, at the level of higher technical colleges in Switzerland.
In my opinion, there are two essential points for successful competency orientation in education. On the one hand, knowledge or better said knowledge of the basics and their connection is still required. As described above, knowledge is basically available today, but the new challenge is how to select from the flood of knowledge. How to find the information relevant to me? On the other hand, knowledge alone is no longer sufficient today. It takes experience of how to apply the knowledge in the specific situation – skills! Accordingly, teachers are no longer lecturers, but rather learning coaches who accompany and guide students on the path to acquiring skills. Would you like to find out more about it? You will find references to hotel education systems or you can simply contact me directly by e-mail.
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