Abstract
Our world has always been changing, sometimes rather gradually, at other times more radically. In today’s world, we see both tremendous challenges and potential to shape it in a new and desirable direction. In almost every domain of our lives we are challenged by high levels of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguousness (“VUCA world”). In this context of profound technological, digital, social, and political changes and transformations, we have to ask ourselves: what is it that makes us humans human? What does a meaningful and joyful relationship between humans, technology, and the future look like? How do we meet the challenges of increasingly blurred borders between humans and technology in a more human(e) manner? Which skills and mindsets do we need to deal with our uncertain and unpredictable future in order to co-shape it in a purposeful and thriving manner? In this chapter, we will explore the challenges of a VUCA world and take a closer look at what their implications are for our educational systems. We will develop a future-oriented perspective on learning that is based on the concept of learning as co-becoming with the world. We will discuss that this requires futures literacies, such as sense-making capabilities, a constructivist epistemology, systems thinking, designerly ways of thinking and making, and most importantly, a capacity to identify and make use of future potentials. We will both discuss theoretical foundations (e.g., from cognitive science/enactive cognition approaches, systems thinking, etc.) and practical implications, skills, mindsets, and a concrete case study illustrating these concepts.
Zusammenfassung
Unsere Welt hat sich schon immer verändert, manchmal eher in kleinen Schritten, manchmal aber auch radikal. In der heutigen Welt sehen wir sowohl enorme Herausforderungen als auch das Potenzial, unsere Welt in eine neue und wünschenswerte Richtung zu gestalten. In fast jedem Bereich unseres Lebens erfahren wir durch ein hohes Maß an Volatilität, Unsicherheit, Komplexität und Ambiguität („VUCA“-Welt) immer neue Herausforderungen. In diesem Kontext tiefgreifender technologischer, digitaler, sozialer und politischer Veränderungen und Transformationen müssen wir uns fragen: Was macht uns in solch einer Welt zum Menschen? Wie sieht eine sinnvolle Beziehung zwischen Mensch, Technologie und Zukunft aus? Wie begegnen wir den Herausforderungen der zunehmend verschwimmenden Grenzen zwischen Mensch und Technologie auf eine menschlichere(re) Weise? Welche Fähigkeiten und Denkweisen brauchen wir, um mit unserer ungewissen und unvorhersehbaren Zukunft umzugehen, um sie mit Bedeutung und fruchtbar zu co-kreieren? In diesem Beitrag werden wir uns mit den Herausforderungen einer VUCA-Welt auseinandersetzen und die Implikationen für unsere Bildungssysteme näher beleuchten. Wir werden eine zukunftsorientierte/gestaltende Perspektive auf das Lernen entwickeln, die auf dem Konzept des Lernens als „co-becoming“ mit der Welt basiert. Wir werden erörtern, dass dies Zukunftskompetenzen („futures literacies“) erfordert, wie z. B. „sense-making“, eine konstruktivistische Erkenntnistheorie, Systemdenken, gestalterische Denk- und Gestaltungsweisen sowie die Fähigkeit, Zukunftspotenziale zu erkennen und zu nutzen. Wir werden sowohl theoretische Grundlagen (z. B. aus der Kognitionswissenschaft/enaktive Ansätze, Material Engagement Theory, Innovationsstudien) als auch praktische Implikationen, Fähigkeiten, Denkweisen und eine konkrete Fallstudie zur Veranschaulichung dieser Konzepte diskutieren.
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Notes
- 1.
See, for instance, here for a recent description of the protopia framework: https://medium.com/protopia-futures/protopia-futures-framework-f3c2a5d09a1e
- 2.
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Peschl, M.F., Fundneider, T. (2023). Co-Becoming: How to Shape Desirable Futures in Highly Uncertain Times. In: Kohlert, C. (eds) Die menschliche (Hoch)schule - Human(e) Education. Springer Vieweg, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-39863-7_2
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