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Thinking out-of-the-box urged for Asian education
By Bill Costello |
February 2, 2010, Tuesday
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WHILE researching education systems in Asia, I had the opportunity to visit schools and universities in Japan and China.
What I observed was a scarcity of creative thinking. While students in those education systems achieve some of the highest scores in the world in math and science, they have problems when it comes to "thinking outside the box."
This is problematic for the future of these Asian nations because creativity is increasingly becoming one of the most important skills in the global marketplace according to several distinguished authors.
In "A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future," business guru Daniel H. Pink outlines the four major historical ages: agricultural age (farmers), industrial age (factory workers), information age (knowledge workers), and conceptual age (creators and empathizers).
Pink argues that while logical thinkers ruled the first three ages, creative thinkers will rule the upcoming conceptual age.
The scarcity of creative thinking in many Asian education systems bodes well for US students, who score lower in math and science but tend to think more creatively.
This is not to say that knowledge in math and science is not important, because it is. However, knowledge alone is not enough. It must be combined with the ability to apply knowledge in new ways. As Einstein put it, "Imagination is more important than knowledge."
For centuries, the US has been the world's innovation leader. It's uncertain whether or not the US will maintain that position.
China is off to a good start. It now has the largest higher education system in the world. Five of its universities are in the world's top 100.
University enrollment has more than tripled since 2000. More university degrees are awarded in China than in the US and India combined.
(Bill Costello, an education columnist and blogger. He can be reached at www.makingmindsmatter.com.)
What I observed was a scarcity of creative thinking. While students in those education systems achieve some of the highest scores in the world in math and science, they have problems when it comes to "thinking outside the box."
This is problematic for the future of these Asian nations because creativity is increasingly becoming one of the most important skills in the global marketplace according to several distinguished authors.
In "A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future," business guru Daniel H. Pink outlines the four major historical ages: agricultural age (farmers), industrial age (factory workers), information age (knowledge workers), and conceptual age (creators and empathizers).
Pink argues that while logical thinkers ruled the first three ages, creative thinkers will rule the upcoming conceptual age.
The scarcity of creative thinking in many Asian education systems bodes well for US students, who score lower in math and science but tend to think more creatively.
This is not to say that knowledge in math and science is not important, because it is. However, knowledge alone is not enough. It must be combined with the ability to apply knowledge in new ways. As Einstein put it, "Imagination is more important than knowledge."
For centuries, the US has been the world's innovation leader. It's uncertain whether or not the US will maintain that position.
China is off to a good start. It now has the largest higher education system in the world. Five of its universities are in the world's top 100.
University enrollment has more than tripled since 2000. More university degrees are awarded in China than in the US and India combined.
(Bill Costello, an education columnist and blogger. He can be reached at www.makingmindsmatter.com.)
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