Paradigms to Drive Higher Education 4.0

Abstract

This paper discusses two important paradigms that should to be present to fuel the needs of today's technology driven environmentroles of teacher education that must be changed and the eco-system of the learning institutions itself. Access to education has moved away from the traditional campus environment to a technology driven platform. New tools and technologies have provided borderless and flexible learning. Change in education is undergoing at an unprecedented speed never experienced before. Teachers are the frontliners towards helping children reach their potential, however this paper argues that current teaching staff may lack the pedagogy to teach in this 'digitised' world and to be competent to lead their ward into the new era of technology driven experiences. Therefore, reforms in the content and teaching of student teachers become imperative. The second paradigm looks at the institutions of higher learning itself. The paper asserts that these institutions need to move away from the traditional way of imparting knowledge and conducting research to a new way of doing which provides autonomy to educators and learners through technology. Teaching and learning approaches, innovation, and valueadded student experiences which use technology are all part of the concept of Higher Education 4.0.

Characterization of the Teaching Profile within the Framework of Education 4.0

“…In the consultations with the experts, we determined that education must stop being traditional and relying on memorization, elements that stifle the development of creativity and innovation; it must favor entrepreneurship and research. In this sense, institutions should develop pedagogies that encourage these processes and allow teachers to guide students towards creating experiences facilitated by technologies [24]. Hence, a teacher leadership profile is proposed to promote digital pedagogies in the context of the current reality.…”

“…How prepared are teachers for Education 4.0? Goh and Abdul-Wahab [24] argued that current faculty professors may lack the pedagogy needed to teach in this "digitalized" world and are not competent enough to guide students into the new era of technologydriven experiences. They asserted that institutions need to move away from the traditional way of delivering knowledge and conducting research in order to adopt new ways that provide autonomy to educators to define goals in the formative process where students learn through technology [25], and the approach is learner-centered [26,27].…”

E-readiness measurement tool: Scale development and validation in a Malaysian higher educational context

“…The internet is the digital connoisseurs' library. Digital connoisseurs are learning in an environment where the classrooms are everywhere (Goh & Abdul-Wahab, 2020). Institutions of higher learning must be ready to receive these learners.…”

“…Institutions of higher learning must be ready to receive these learners. Higher education which includes teacher education, at least in Malaysia, has been accused of being slow to change and of using outmoded "traditional" methods of teaching and learning (Goh & Blake, 2015;Goh et al, 2020b).Traditional setting has moved away from lecture halls to the integration of new tools and technologies in teaching (Goh & Abdul-Wahab, 2020). There has been an uptake in e-learning, more so since the beginning of 2020 when the world was hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.…”

“…For example, there are questions whether the infrastructure within higher education institutions is ready to support both the required resources and tools and students using them. It also begets the question of whether these institutions are able to maintain a strategically driven teaching and learning environment of continuous improvement for its learners (Goh & Abdul-Wahab, 2020). It would appear that what is missing at this point is the education institution's level of knowledge concerning their own e-readiness.…”