Group 1

H.E.L.P Teaching in 2040: The Evolving Role of Educators in Toronto's Future Classrooms

Abstract

In 2040, the primary mode of schooling follows a remote-learning format with heavy screen based learning from the comfort of the students home. This poses the question: what is the role of the teacher if students are receiving their knowledge from technology? This paper examines four key topics: evaluation methods, Indigenous knowledge and relationships, hybrid learning, and mental health challenges for teachers. It concludes that by the year 2040, the role of educators in Toronto will evolve into that of 'technology facilitators' rather than the holistic teachers we see today.

Diary Entries

The End of Meaningful Evaluation

Gemma,

The information I bring for you must be dealt with in haste. I have told you about the downfall of in-person learning and the role of educators being reduced, but I did not tell you how. This letter will reveal to you the first way technology has taken over our once beautiful and intricate educational system, through the destruction of educational evaluations.

Evaluations, once a tool to assess student learning, provide feedback for improvement, and guide students to meet their educational goals, are now met with hollow data.

In 2024, evaluation is shaped by the blend of traditional assessment methods and holistic, personalized approaches such as self-assessment, peer feedback, and exams based on the individual learning needs of students. Educators were able to make evaluations an interactive and inclusive process by emphasizing the personal goals of each student, helping them keep track of their own development, and using evaluation as an extension of the learning journey. Students were actively participating in self-reflection and progress awareness. A holistic and personalized assessment system inspired students to apply the skills and knowledge learned in the classroom and independently towards their final evaluations, creating a safe learning environment for all.

Today, in the year 2040, things are not so simple. Evaluation is now an empty and soulless machine, deprived of any humanity or understanding. What was once a dynamic, personalized and holistic process is now an algorithm-driven nightmare. In my world, evaluation is haunted by three complex ideas: algorithmic traps on automated grading, self-assessment as counterproductive tools for autonomous learning, and the death of empathetic human connection in grading.

In 2040, online learning has initiated the rise of digital assessments such as quizzes, multiple-choice tests, and auto-graded assignments. These assessments were designed as efficient automated tools to be used for personalized grading, not for checking sincere understanding. It is clear an alternate agenda is hidden deep within this system, as cheating and algorithms take over. These new systems of evaluation encourage students to memorize, rather than to think critically, reducing their learning and assessments to data points, checkboxes and scores generated by algorithms. Here, grades no longer reflect a student’s true knowledge. With no supervision or accountability, students have become masters at cheating their way through evaluations from the comfort of their own homes. Regardless of effort, because of this new system, grades and evaluations become meaningless, and teachers are unable to distinguish between students who understand the material and students who simply know how to play the system. Today, a perfect score on a test does not mean understanding, rather it means the student has found a way to manipulate the digital system well enough to pass the algorithm's surveillance. With this advanced virtual method of learning and assessing, an algorithm spits out numbers while teachers have been reduced to evaluation organizers and cheating enablers, a shallow erosion of what once was a holistic, personalized, and fair drive for meaningful evaluation. For both students and teachers, nothing is truly earned.

What was once an opportunity for students to engage with teachers to reflect on their own learning and find ways for personal growth has vanished completely from this dystopian world. Today, without human interaction and in-person learning, students must complete self-assessments without any real guidance or true feedback from educators. Because of this, students are not able to effectively assess their learning or personal growth but rather must grade themselves blindly by checking boxes while filled with self-doubt. The advanced systems of 2040 do not prepare students with sustainable assessment skills (David Boud) to develop their ability to assess their learning. David Boud claims that “assessment that meets the needs of the present and prepares students to meet their own future learning needs” (Boud, 2000) is key to fostering lifelong learning, and teachers have a critical role in doing so (Boud, 2000). Effective self-assessment requires supportive feedback from teachers, which students are simply not receiving. Without feedback from an experienced educator, students are being misled by a new system that does not care for their learning. Evaluation at the institutional level has been completely abandoned, replaced by a counterproductive system that places educators far from the core of what education means. Teachers wait behind screens, biting their tongues from giving feedback, monitoring students as they falsely assess themselves.

Today - unlike in your time - teachers are avatars on a digital screen, never truly getting to know their students or building real relationships with them. Personal connection, the cornerstone of impactful education, is now a distant memory, lost among a sea of screens. In the past, teachers would roam around the classroom, whisper words of encouragement to their students, and even pat them on the shoulder. This new technological world has brought with it the death of empathy and compassion in learning and evaluation. Online, a teacher's feedback is often overlooked, comes too late, or is unseen, meanwhile, students feel isolated and alienated in their learning. The teacher’s role in the classroom is reduced to mere administrators of automated feedback and mechanically produced grades that lack personalized student connections or compassion. The meaningful connection once praised in education and evaluation is now forgotten and replaced by machines and empty bots.

In today’s dystopian world, what once was an inclusive and holistic approach to evaluation has become a lifeless system of control. The humanity and creativity that once nourished educational institutions are now replaced by a student's ability to comply with digital instructions and algorithms. Now, evaluations are a representation of artificially produced grades and lack the human compassion needed for fair assessment. 2040 is a year of isolation and disconnection, a future where evaluation is a tool for dishonesty and injustice rather than a means for fostering educational growth. As technology facilitators, teachers have been stripped of their autonomy and forced into rigid and hollow systems devoid of meaning, forced to give students grades that fail to reflect true knowledge.

Gemma, so long as virtual learning continues to dictate education, the end of meaningful evaluation will continue. You must figure out a way to stop this. The future is in your hands…

Over and out.

Messenger #346

Challenges for Teachers

The time has come. This is my last letter to you. By now, you must feel overwhelmed by the harsh realities of 2040 and what is to come. Yet, I write to you to express that you, as an educator, are the bridge between what humanity needs and the effects technology has had on us. It is evident that the ones who once said, “Technology cannot replace teachers” were false, and it continues to be a problematic situation in time.

Many educators struggle to understand how and why technology has replaced their positions. Motivation is nearly extinct, morale is at an all-time low, and teachers no longer have that spark in their eyes that they once had. My heart breaks more and more every day as I watch teachers slowly walk into their classrooms, where they typically greet their students every day and see no one but their coworkers. For all individuals, the need for human connection is a crucial factor in maintaining mental health. Now, think about the question as you read the remainder of what I have left to say, “What is the role of the teacher if technology does everything for you?”.

Here in 2040, the presence of technology has created a profound challenge for teachers. Although technology is an issue, the real challenge is human. The rise of mental health has taken a devastating toll on educators. I understand that all teachers do experience burnout, anxiety, and stress. However, what we face now is nothing like what we have previously encountered. It is important to remember that “teachers' psychological and mental health is of utmost importance as it indirectly affects the students they teach”(Agyapong et al., 2022). Without your efforts, willingness, and drive, the longevity of this profession will be at an all-time low.

You may ask yourself, “What can I do today to improve teachers' overall well-being and education as a whole?”. Well, I will provide you with three reasons that I believe will help spark the change that educators need in order to maintain a healthy well-being. Three Changes to Improve Teachers’ Well-Being: Create Professional Boundaries

As a teacher, you understand that saying “No” is often difficult. You either take on too many school teams or overlook too many after-school clubs, but you need to learn to prioritize your mental health. It is important to remember that burnout, “a stress-related problem for individuals who work in interpersonally oriented occupations” (Agyapong et al., 2022) does occur. If you begin to promote self-care, it will lead to fewer worries while you are educating students of the future. Encourage Connection

In your classroom, students have their own issues that they may not share. They may be going through a hard time that you are unaware of. By creating check-ins with your students once a week, the students will gain your trust and want to talk to you more and more. Not only will this help your students, but you will feel refreshed and confident as you see your purpose in your position. Create Support Systems Currently, hybrid learning does not promote support systems. Nor does it promote human connection and relationships. By creating support systems in your classroom and with other educators, teacher wellbeing would be reconnected and an enhancement of job satisfaction would occur.

Before I say my goodbyes, I will leave you with hope. Hope that you understand that your job is not replaceable. A machine or screen does not provide students with confidence, personal growth, and guidance – YOU do. Preserve with purpose through the difficult days that lay ahead. Remember, an educator’s wellbeing may change each day, but your actions today will shape the future generations to come.

Mission complete!

Messenger #346

References

Agyapong, B., Obuobi-Donkor, G., Burback, L., & Wei, Y. (2022). Stress, Burnout, Anxiety and Depression among Teachers: A Scoping Review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(17). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191710706

Boud, D. (2000). "Sustainable Assessment: Rethinking Assessment for the Learning Society"

Brayboy & Maughan (2009). Indigenous Knowledge and the Story of the Bean, Harvard Educational Review, 79(1).

Harris. S. Kara. Rogers. E. George., “Soft skills in the technology education classroom: What do students need?” The Technology Teacher (2008).