Andreas Schleicher, the director of the Education and Skills for the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development and the founder of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), attended the 2024 World Digital Education Conference on Jan 30.

PISA is a research project that evaluates the reading, mathematics, and science abilities of 15-year-old students. Schleicher, widely regarded as the "father of PISA", shared his views on how technology is changing ways of learning and the definition of a "good student".

The 2024 World Digital Education Conference in Shanghai. [Photo/paper.xinmin.cn]

"We need to focus on how students acquire skills, process information, and persevere, which are the aspects we are more interested in seeing in future PISA tests," said Schleicher.

He further explained that PISA's definition of a "happy student" covers eight dimensions — academic performance, mental well-being, engagement, adaptability, peer relationships, study-life balance, material and cultural well-being, and openness. Academic performance not only involves the knowledge and skills students acquire but also their ability to apply the knowledge to solve real-life problems. The dimension of adaptability examines students' resilience, confidence, and emotional intelligence, as well as their intrinsic motivation and self-discipline in learning.

Schleicher stated that the most evident benefit of technology in education lies in a personalized pattern of learning. Artificial intelligence can analyze and visualize the learning process. For example, as you learn mathematics, AI can detect where you make progress, where you face challenges, and when you become disengaged, which makes the learning experience more targeted and interactive.

However, he also pointed out that some students may be distracted by digital devices and become anxious when the devices are not available, leading to a decreased anti-pressure ability. Yet, banning such devices contradicts the trend in the digital age. Therefore, the challenges brought by digital educational transformation require collective endeavors from educators around the world.

Source: paper.xinmin.cn