This was a presentation given a few years ago.Requires o be updated.

1. Learning Societies and the Role of
Teachers
L J Haravu

2. Outline of talk
√The concept of a knowledge economy and the
characteristics of knowledge as a resource
√The relationship between learning and knowledge
√The concept of a learning society and its
characteristics
√How teachers might help in their own ways in
building a learning society

3. Knowledge Economies
√ ‘For countries in the vanguard of world economy,
the balance between knowledge and resources has
shifted so far towards the former that knowledge has
perhaps become the most important factor
determining the standard of living – more than land,
than tools, than labour. Today’s technologically
advanced economies are truly knowledge-based.’
√ Alvin Toffler proclaims knowledge as the source of the
highest quality of power and the key to the powershift
that lies ahead.
√ knowledge is the key to economic power, there is a
battle for the control of knowledge and the means of
communication.

4. Knowledge Economies
√ Peter Drucker, an acknowledged
management guru, argues that in the new
economy, knowledge is not just another
resource alongside the traditional factors of
production – land, labour and capital. – but
the only meaningful resource.

5. Knowledge Economies
●
The Info revolution has broken down
barriers between economies and
markets
●
Need for business, industry (educational
instns) to be alert to changes in their
environment
●
Think globally but act locally is
becoming the new paradigm for all kinds
of organizations

6. What is knowledge?
√ Knowledge and information are not the
same although we speak of these as
though they are synonymous
√ Information alone does not often have the
capacity to resolve uncertainty.
√ Knowledge gives the capacity to act
effectively in order to produce desired
outcomes in a complex, uncertain and fast
changing environment.

7. What is knowledge?
√ Although personal knowledge includes certain
pieces of information and bits of data, it also
contains a wealth of experience and
memories that are unique to each one of us.
These experiences flavour, filter and shape
what we know and understand.
√ our knowledge is a constantly shifting
configuration of memory, context, patterns,
associations and relationships. It continuously
evolves through constant exchange with our
environment.

8. Paradigm shifts
Scientificfoundation Newtonianphysics Quantumphysics
Timeis Monochronic(onethingatatome) Polychronic(Manythingsatonce)
Weunderstandby Dissectingintoparts Seeingintermsofthewhole
Informationis Ultimatelyknowable Infinite,unbounded
Growthis Linear,managed Organic,chaotic
Managingmeans Control,predictability Insightandparticipation
Workersare Specialized,segmented Multi-faceted,alwayslearning
Motivationisfrom External forcesandinfluence Intrinsiccreativity
Knowledgeis Individual Collective
Organizationis Bydesign Emergent
Lifethriveson Competition Cooperation
Changeis Somethingtoworry about Allthereis

9. Learning and Knowledge
●
Learning can be defined as gaining
knowledge, comprehension or mastery
through experience or study.
●
Learning by individuals, organizations,
including educational institutions is vital to
their continued well-being, survival, and
growth in the Knowledge era.

10. Learning and Knowledge
●
In the twenty first century an illiterate person
is not one who cannot read or write, but one
who will not learn, unlearn and relearn”.
●
Equally true of organizations
●
Many organizations are seeking to become
learning organizations as this is the only way
they can hope to remain relevant, competent
and competitive in a fast changing world.

11. Learning and Knowledge
●
“According to new growth economics, a
country’s capacity to take advantage of
the Knowledge Economy depends on how
quickly it can become a ‘learning
economy’. Learning means not only using
new technologies to access global
knowledge, it also means using them to
communicate with other people about
innovation. In the ‘Learning Economy’
individuals, firms and countries will be
able to create wealth in proportion to their
capacity to learn and share innovation”.

12. Learning and Knowledge
●
Formal education too needs to be less
about passing on information and focus
on teaching people how to learn”.
●
An overarching philosophy, policies and
support systems are needed for people
to lean on.
●
Such a support system has been called
the Learning Society.

13. The Learning Society
●
Donald Schon provided a theoretical
framework linking the experience of living in a
situation of an increasing change with the
need for learning.
●
society and all of its institutions are in continuous
processes of transformation. We cannot expect
new stable states that will endure for our own
lifetimes.
●
We must learn to understand, guide, influence and
manage these transformations.
●
In other words, we must be able not only to
transform our institutions, in response to changing
situations and requirements; we must invent and
develop institutions which are ‘learning systems’

14. The Learning Society
●
Torsten Husén, another early contributor to the
concept of learning societies: “it would be
necessary for states to become 'learning
societies' - where knowledge and information lay
at the heart of their activities”.

15. The Learning Society
●
Husén's vision of a relevant educational system for
Learning Societies include the following:
Education is going to be a lifelong process.
No fixed points of entry and 'cut-off' exits.
More a continuous process within formal education and in
its role within other functions of life.
Will take on a more informal character as it becomes
accessible to more and more individuals.
In addition to 'learning centers', facilities will be
provided for learning at home and at the workplace
To an ever-increasing extent, the education system
will become dependent on supporting systems to
produce teaching aids, systems of information
processing and multi-media instructional materials.

16. The Learning Society
●
Three key strands in the notion of a learning
society
− The learning society is an educated
society, committed to active citizenship,
liberal democracy and equal opportunities.
This supports lifelong learning.
− A learning society is a learning market,
enabling institutions to provide services for
individuals as a condition for supporting the
competitiveness of the economy.
− Learners adopt a learning approach to
life, drawing on a wide range of resources
to enable them to support their lifestyle
practices.

17. The Learning Society
●
Key attribures
 values and fosters habits of lifelong learning
 socially inclusive and ensures that all of its
members are part of its learning communitie
 It recognizes the importance of early-childhood
development as part of lifelong learning and
develops organized ways of enhancing the
development of all children.
 It views information technologies, including new
interactive, multimedia technologies, as tools for
enriching learning

18. Teachers and Learning Societies
●
Teachers should set an example for their
wards by committing themselves to renewing
their own knowledge in an ongoing manner.
●
Take special courses on occasion but more
importantly by self-analysis and by being
conscious of the need to improve their skills
as teachers. Seek and use student feedback
intelligently.
●
Take responsibility for self-learning. Don't
think that the institution alone should take the
initiative.

19. Teachers and Learning Societies
●
Experiment with their teaching.
●
Use web-based and multimedia resources
whereever possible.
●
If a picture is worth a thousand words, an
animated film or multimedia presentation is
worth a thousand pictures.

20. Teachers and Learning Societies
●
Associate media specialists in developing
innovative learning resources.
●
Collaborate with multimedia specialists to
develop such resources.
●
AVK could set up a media lab to develop
some of these resources and in fact make
these available on the web site for use by
students and teachers.

21. Teachers and Learning Societies
●
Iimportance of early childhood development
− requires that a teacher should not only
provide curricular instruction but also
inspire children to see the subtleties and
nuances of a subject. These have a lasting
impact on children.
− not to curb or curtail the natural creativity of
children.
− emphasis on completing the syllabus and
preparing the children for examinations
does inhibit the creativity of children.

22. Teachers and Learning Societies
●
Need to teach children to learn for themselves
and from each other in group assignments, is
I think equally important.
●
Learning to learn is I think as important as
instruction.
●
in India students expect to be spoon fed even
in post-graduate courses. They are not
encouraged to think for themselves.
●
Problem solving skills and lateral thinking will
become important in the 21st century. These
are not in the syllabuses of schools and
colleges. How to inculcate problem-solving
skills is a challenge that will be interesting to
work on.

23. Teachers and Learning Socities
●
One more area which I have found neglected
in our schools and colleges is communication
skills, inter-personal, written and oral including
public speaking. Many of our college and
university students sorely lack good
communication skills.