Every year, we share our 10 most read stories. Not surprisingly, many of this year's top 10 focused on equity, educational technology innovation, immersive learning, and the science of reading. This year's no. 1 of the most read stories focuses on some of the biggest education trends starting in 2023.
With the start of a new year and the educational conference season just getting started, educators and industry leaders are uncovering the biggest education trends for 2023. Recent years have seen a significant transformation for education and educational technology , and 2023 will continue to bring new ideas and emerging technologies.
This year, schools are focusing on supporting students' individual needs and making up for learning loss caused by the pandemic. Because of this, we will see an increase in educational technology to support learning, better accommodations for students, a focus on well-being, and new teaching approaches that interact with students' interests and their future careers.
Here are five of the top education trends for 2023:
1. Social and emotional well-being
The pandemic created a need to pay more attention to supporting the social and emotional well-being of students and teachers alike. As we recover from the academic, emotional, and community challenges that arose during the pandemic, schools will need to ensure they are offering the support and resources that students and teachers need.
Children and adolescents are currently experiencing higher rates of depression.anxiety and suicidal thoughts than before the pandemic, and the academic and emotional pressures that come with recovering from learning loss caused by the pandemic continue to impact student well-being. In 2023, we will see schools working to improve mental health programs, provide new academic support systems and resources for students, and implement technologies and programs focused on social-emotional learning and student well-being.
Teachers are also struggling: the demands of teaching have caused high rates of stress and anxiety in teachers, and K-12 educators have the highest burnout rate of any profession in the U.S. To support teacher well-being and retain valuable and talented educators, schools will adopt new ways to improve teachers' work-life balance and well-being, including implementing new educational technology tools, the offer of mental health resources or even the redesign of school spaces to better support educators in the classroom.
2. Personalized and self-directed learning
Personalized learning is by no means a new educational trend, but learning models focused on an individualized or personalized approach will continue to evolve in 2023. Learning gaps have widened during the pandemic, and as students continue to work toward technology-health-education-1d2f79e2c242d2212ff47983050e5330″ target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>recover this learning, will benefit from individualized learning opportunities. Schools will continue to provide tutoring services to struggling students, while advanced students will find new learning opportunities through online courses or internships outside the classroom.
Active and self-directed learning will also see an increase as teachers allow students to work at their own pace and make more decisions about their learning, from what types of assignments they complete to how they want to work in the classroom. We hope this motivates schools to create more flexible and active learning spaces which can be modified to suit a wide variety of learning needs. This will include the addition of modular pieces, technology-enabled learning areas, and a variety of different seating options to ensure student comfort and encourage movement.
3. Game-based learning and esports
Ninety-seven percent of adolescents Play at least an hour of video games a day, so bringing games into the classroom is intuitive for students. Gamified learning motivates students to interact with educational content in a different way, keeping them excited about their progress and helping them synthesize learning. Bringing games to the classroom also gives students the opportunity to explore social-emotional principles, increasing their adaptability and communication and improving their ability to work with others.
In recent years, schools have also seen an increase in participation in esports teams. In 2023, we expect this trend to continue, with schools investing more resources in creating esports teams and creating comprehensive esports spaces where teams can meet, practice and compete. Evidence Shows Academic Esports Benefit Students general academic performance and social-emotional learning. Additionally, students who succeed in esports competitions earn significant college opportunities and scholarships.
4. Microlearning and Nanolearning
“Microlearning” or “nanolearning” is a learning approach that has been successfully used in corporate training for a while, but it is expected to really emerge in K-12 education in 2023. This bite-sized learning technique focuses on small chunks of learning content, presented to students in short, easily digestible tutorials or mini-lessons. Lessons focus on repetition of the same concepts spaced over time, with the goal of greater retention.
The rapid growth of short-form video content like TikTok and Instagram Reels has illuminated the possibilities of using microlearning to engage students. The students are already technology/students-are-turning-to-tiktok-for-homework-help-is-that-a-bad-thing/2022/11″ target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Turn to TikTok for Homework Help, which can expose them to new ideas and topics, but also opens students to possible misinformation. Microlearning emerging as a trend in K-12 education will allow teachers to better curate the bite-sized content students seek for their learning, providing them with engaging content that breaks complex topics into less intimidating chunks.
5. AR, VR and ai
Augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and artificial intelligence (ai) are all ai-in-education.asp” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>They are expected to become more prevalent as educational tools and resources.
In other applications, students will directly use AR, VR, and ai. Students will participate in virtual reality and augmented reality experiences, gaining access to more immersive learning experiences through these tools. As easy-to-use ai art generators become more popular, they may use ai in creative endeavors. There are also ai programs available to help students find quality resources for research assignments, help them refine their writing, explain complex math problems, and more. When students graduate, they will encounter and use these technologies in college and in their careers, so early exposure will be beneficial.
We anticipate this year to be exciting as new educational trends transform learning in classrooms everywhere.
Related:
37 predictions about the impact of educational technology in 2023
4 videos that invite reflection on education
For more news on educational technology trends, visit eSN's Innovative Teaching page
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