How to prepare students for the unknowable

The workforce is on the cusp of a major evolution. But will Gen Z—those born after 1996 and just beginning to think about their careers—be prepared with the essential skills to succeed? Now more than ever before, educators have the opportunity and the imperative to engage students in learning tasks that ask them to think critically and problem-solve.

According to an Institute for the Future report, “The Next Era of Human-Machine Partnerships,” emerging technologies like augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR), artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI), big data, cloud computing, and the Internet of Things (IoT) are going to completely transform the workplace by 2030. This change is coming so fast that an estimated 85 percent of the jobs that will make up the future workforce have not yet been invented. At the same time, a survey of business leaders shows than eight in 10 (82 percent) expect that humans and machines will work as integrated teams within their organization inside of five years, and 84 percent expect that all of their workers will be digital experts by the year 2030.

It’s clear that the way we engage students in the learning process needs to change. But how do we transform the educational system to adequately prepare students for an unknowable future?

Understanding the drivers of transformation
As automation continues to take over many of the routine tasks we manage today, humans will become increasingly free to focus on more big-picture, creative tasks. This is not to say machines will completely take over human work; rather, we’ll see the rise of augmented work, in which humans and machines work together to learn and perform tasks more efficiently and comprehensively than either could do alone.

Machines will augment and extend our own abilities, providing us with the advanced knowledge we need to make real-time, data-driven decisions, perform tasks more successfully, and get our jobs done more effectively and efficiently. Consider how the internet has reshaped the workplace by providing us access to faster communication and more in-depth knowledge. AR and VR make our connection to those resources more immediate, natural, and comprehensive, while AI helps us glean more insights from data and make informed decisions.

Only a year ago, a person needed hundreds of hours of specialized training to make critical repairs on autos or aircrafts. But today, AR technology makes it possible for lesser-trained mechanics to be successful, with virtual guides overlaying vehicles, providing step-by-step instructions every step of the way.

In our lifetime, we’ll also experience advanced technology’s impact on soft sciences like philosophy, fine arts, language arts, and business as machines allow us to offload mundane tasks and create more immersive experiences. We will have the power to analyze massive amounts of data instantaneously to solve a specific problem, or sift through centuries of ideas and information to reach better conclusions, faster.