Recommended Practices for Educators
The following recommended practices emerged from the work on this project. These practices are specifically for educators in higher education who are considering where GenAI may be impacting the workforce and workforce education. These are general recommendations that are intended to be applicable to most higher ed organizations and contexts. These certainly aren’t the only recommendations, but stand out as important ways to take action and lead the change locally around GenAI and workforce education.
Start Conversations
If you are reading this and this is your first time thinking about how GenAI might be impacting workforce education, you may be in need of conversations. Amidst all of the chaos, around information, published ideas, and so on, conversations may be the most lacking element out of everything. Conversations should be happening with educators, employers, and students, to get a sense of the local (and greater) workforce needs. Starting conversations can lead to unlocking paths to all the other recommended practices on this list.
Identify Focus Areas and Commit
Exploring the evolving workforce is immense. Exploring the evolving GenAI technologies is also immense. Consider starting conversations and planning with identifying key focus areas. These may include staying on top of employers’ changing job descriptions and requirements. This may be inspiring playful looks at hypothetical applications of GenAI in various fields. This may include staying on top of published research. The options are endless, but our capacity to explore and investigate is not. Roles to support these focus areas are important. When the completing the work within a community (as explored in “Build Coalitions” below) a more robust, holistic approach can be achieved.
Listen to Employers and Industry Leaders
Whenever possible, educators should put effort into reaching out to and listening to employers and industry leaders. There is always a gap between the educator and the workforce, of course, but with emerging technology and proprietary solutions that vary from employer to employer, that gap may be widening. Individuals within the industry spaces our students will inevitably find themselves in can be helpful. Consider additional voices from program advisory boards and local stakeholders.
Build Coalitions
Collective action can be incredibly powerful in reducing isolation and removing some levels of uncertainty and confusion with GenAI. Coalitions and communities can take many forms, but emphasizing diverse perspectives is key. Consider working with educators from multiple disciplines who have the same charge and curiosity in developing skills. Consider working with industry connections mentioned in the previous recommendation. Consider working with recent graduates to get first-hand experience from the field. Most importantly, identify structures and formal ways to bring groups together, once and over time.
Respect Transitions
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