A mismatch between students’ skills and available jobs, as well as missed opportunity for higher education due to poor academic performance are two factors which give rise to high unemployment rates, particularly among youth. Throughout the Caribbean region and much of the developing world, at the end of an 11-year academic period more than half of students who write the regional exams fail to graduate secondary school with the requisite post-basic literacy and numeracy skills for higher education or the requisite learning and innovation skills for work in an increasingly competitive, global market.
Current trends in the global economy indicate an increased penetration of information technology and convergence of various disciplines impacting all work environments by 2030. It is expected that jobs and organizations will become more fluid as workers move from project to project, requiring increased personal agility in embracing change; greater collaboration; and the ability to constantly acquire new skills and competencies. This in turn places a greater demand on the formal education system to adequately prepare students for the future of work in the 21st century, where innovation and agility in learning are premium. Although life skills are taught within the Caribbean region, there remains an absence in the acquisition of said skills.
The Learning Zone provides teachers with the necessary tools to facilitate project based learning in their respective classrooms with editable, pre-written project guides based on the national curriculum. It is a medium through which critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration, creativity and communication skills are developed, and is a methodology that is little known and not widely used in the developing world. The aim of The Learning Zone is to enable teachers to spend less time planning and searching for resources and more time engaging and supporting students. The Learning Zone is currently testing these resources on Grade 3 General Science teachers.
Achieving sustained economic growth through enhanced productivity requires quality education that prepares students for the current labor market and the future of work in the 21st century. The project-based learning methodology provides evidence of understanding that is transferable, involving the assessment of students’ capacity to use their knowledge thoughtfully and to apply it effectively in various settings.
