Keynote Address – A Book Review on "Education Meeting Knowledge Economy: 21st Century Expectation" delivered at the Book Launch Ceremony held 19 July, 2019.

1. Some Reflections…
Shironica P. Karunanayaka
Professor in Educational Technology
Dean/Faculty of Education/OUSL

2. KeyNote_BookLaunch_ShironicaKarunanayaka
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 “The principal goal of education in the
schools should be creating men and women
who are capable of doing new things, not
simply repeating what other generations have
done; men and women who are creative,
inventive and discoverers...”
― Jean Piaget
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<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jean_Piaget>

3. KeyNote_BookLaunch_ShironicaKarunanayaka
21st Century Learning Skills
 Are these
skills
‘NEW’…?
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<https://www.flickr.com/photos/rujroadk/25011040216>
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4. KeyNote_BookLaunch_ShironicaKarunanayaka
Focus
Transferable Skills
to the
World of Work
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<https://burnabysouthadmin.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/21st-century-learning.jpg>
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5. KeyNote_BookLaunch_ShironicaKarunanayaka
Understanding
the Change…
 Human
Capital
Development
in a
Knowledge
Economy
Image Credits: Pixabay

6. KeyNote_BookLaunch_ShironicaKarunanayaka
By Charles Fadel and Krishna Chaitanya Velaga - File:Framework for 21st Century Learning.jpg,
CC BY-SA 4.0, <https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=77435748>
Meeting the
21st Century
Expectations
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7. KeyNote_BookLaunch_ShironicaKarunanayaka
Knowledge Economy
…an economy in which
growth is dependent on
the quantity, quality, and
accessibility of the
information available,
rather than the means of
production, which has a
greater reliance on
intellectual capital rather
than physical inputs.
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Image Credits; <https://steemit.com/money/@tosuccess/knowledge-economy>
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Knowledge Economy

8. KeyNote_BookLaunch_ShironicaKarunanayaka
Developing
Transferable
Skills
Taxonomies of
Educational Objectives

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Development of
Generic Skills
transferable
across the
domains
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Image: Reproduced with permission from the author
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A Skills-based Classification System

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“…Unless instructional and assessment system is
performance-oriented and authenticated, formal school
learning will fail to produce the type of human capital for
the knowledge economy and the 21st century
demands…”
(p.206)
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11. KeyNote_BookLaunch_ShironicaKarunanayaka
Authentic
Learning,
Instruction,
Assessment
18 July 2019
<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eds_Authentic_technology.png>

12. KeyNote_BookLaunch_ShironicaKarunanayaka
A Skills-Oriented Thematic Authentic Curriculum
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Image: Reproduced with permission from the author
 Skills-Oriented Taxonomy
 Authenticated Learning,
Instructional &
Assessment System
 Theme-based learning -
micro learning units
linked to macro themes
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13. KeyNote_BookLaunch_ShironicaKarunanayaka
“…Educational reforms need to concentrate more on the learning
environment and mindset of the learner to leave room for self-
learning, room for exploring, space for experiencing, liberty to
roam with ideas, accept tacit and implicit knowledge than fixed
answers. This can be done only through the change of the
instructional and assessment system. Making it more and more
authentic, as opposed to the conventional…”
(p.208)
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14. KeyNote_BookLaunch_ShironicaKarunanayaka
 …classrooms are “highly stereotyped and monotonous” with
little activities dominated by “rather dull talk sessions” by
teachers”…(NEC, 1992, p.66);
 …the education system is “heavily weighted in favor of book
learning and memorizing facts to pass examinations, rather than
acquiring knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary for
successful living”…(NEC, 1997, p. i);
 …limited use of up-to-date instructional materials and lack of
engagement in innovative pedagogical approaches by
teachers are often observed in the general schooling
system…(NEC, 2016).
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15. KeyNote_BookLaunch_ShironicaKarunanayaka
“…Change is
a journey, not
a blueprint…”
(Fullan, 1993)
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Image Credits: Pixabay
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16. KeyNote_BookLaunch_ShironicaKarunanayaka
In a nutshell…
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Demands of the Knowledge Economy
Transferable Generic Skills from the learners
Need to translate cognitive subject matter to real life
practices
Authenticated instructional and assessment methods
A “Skills-Oriented Thematic Authentic Curriculum”
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17. Shironica P. Karunanayaka
Professor in Educational Technology
Dean/Faculty of Education/OUSL