Adapting Rapid Response to Industry Realities

Dr. Katrina Johnson Leon, Dean of Instruction, Applied Science, Business and Technology, San Joaquin Delta College

Higher education, by the nature of academia and bureaucracy, does not have the expeditious response in place for rapidly changing industries.

Using AI as an example, we can consider the numerous ways this new and evolving technology is used across industries, but also in our personal lives. As individuals, we interact with AI platforms and have fun creating images, helping us write letters or crafting presentations. How do we immediately pivot to support technological advancements in the 15 industry sectors recognized in California, or the 16 national career clusters or the numerous traditional disciplines as stewards of education?

There is not one simple answer. We have a combination of opportunities to provide timely, effective, career specific teaching and learning while working with industry to identify relevant technologies. Then creating a higher education curriculum approval process that is more supportive of rapid change.

In any educational environment our goal is to support student learning that is relevant to the world in which we live and interact.

How do we do that? How do we ensure that the curriculum meets the needs of the industries our graduates are entering?

All disciplines should require or suggest, that during curriculum reviews there are advisory committees that include industry partners who can counsel educators on what is happening in the industry now. This presently happens in career technical education (CTE) or vocational education environments as an expectation, but it is not as common for disciplines outside of technical careers and trades.

"Educators have every ability to be involved in the forefront of change. It’s time to make it happen."

Considering the impact AI has had across all industries we must include industry partners in curriculum conversations. Regardless of discipline, technology infusion has happened. Agriculture uses drones to spray fields, soil moisture testing is no longer just a human function, data analysis occurs across industries with various platforms, 3D modeling in drafting brings projects to life, robotics allows remote opportunities and on and on. Then there is the more practical reality for educators and that is instead of looking at AI or other technology as a frustration in the classroom, teach students how to use it properly and efficiently. This requires educators to challenge their established instructional delivery or curriculum design.

Develop assignments that require learning about industry technology. Require students to interview or shadow someone in their future occupation to learn about the technology being used in the field. Educators must embrace change. If we choose to keep doing what we have always done, we are not preparing our future workforce as technology will continue to evolve.

Learning about and implementing AI or other evolving technology is a step in the right direction, but we must also be willing to challenge our current processes around curriculum development.

We must move faster to meet the demands of industry. A very simple example I often provide is about digging a ditch. We all know how to use a shovel to dig, but I would much rather learn to operate a backhoe to do the work. Not only will the project be done more quickly, it will be more exact, reduce the likelihood of employee injuries and provide opportunities to complete more jobs, which benefits the bottom line.

In order to do this, our educational system must be more flexible, adapt quickly and create processes that allow for the implementation of new technologies more immediately in our educational environments.

Educators have every ability to be involved in the forefront of change. It’s time to make it happen.

AI

Robotics