By Celia Leanne Franze
The Class of 2040
Imagine stepping into a classroom in 2040, where each student embarks on a personalised journey, guided by intelligent technology designed to pinpoint their learning progress and offer precisely targeted challenges. In this visionary learning space, teachers are facilitators, nurturing deep engagement and guiding students to think critically, collaborate dynamically, and harness metacognitive skills to self-direct their learning. While this scenario may sound futuristic, emerging evidence clearly demonstrates that these transformative changes are already taking root.
Professor Geoff Masters, former Chief Executive of the Australian Council for Educational Research, recently highlighted three significant transformations set to reshape education by 2040: enhanced flexibility in learning, broader learning priorities, and a strengthened focus on continuity. As educators committed to future readiness, we must critically reflect: Are we preparing our students adequately for this rapidly evolving educational landscape? Encouragingly, frameworks such as ThinkPlus are already embedding these progressive principles in classrooms, equipping learners with cognitive, emotional, and metacognitive competencies essential for future success.
Area 1: More Flexible Learning (Beyond the Traditional One-Size-Fits-All)
The traditional model of schooling often resembles an “assembly line,” where students progress uniformly regardless of their varied readiness and capabilities. Research consistently highlights substantial diversity in students’ levels of achievement—especially within critical areas like literacy and numeracy, with some students operating years ahead of their peers. This rigid approach frequently leaves students either inadequately challenged or advancing with significant learning gaps that compound over time.
By 2040, personalised learning pathways powered by advanced digital technologies will become the norm, allowing educators to conduct precise diagnostic assessments and deliver targeted instruction tailored to each student’s developmental needs. ThinkPlus actively fosters this transformation today by equipping students with metacognitive tools to assume greater ownership of their learning. Through structured reflection, intentional goal-setting, and cognitive flexibility exercises, learners actively assess their progress and adjust strategies accordingly. For example, a teacher using ThinkPlus strategies in a Year 2 classroom may simultaneously support a student struggling with phonemic awareness and extend learning for a more advanced peer through inquiry-based literacy activities. This deliberate personalisation ensures optimal challenge and maximises engagement within each learner’s zone of proximal development.
Area 2: Broader Learning Priorities (Nurturing Future-Ready Learners)
As global access to knowledge expands and automation increasingly takes over routine tasks, educational priorities must shift from simple knowledge retention toward effective knowledge application. Future-focused schools will prioritise critical thinking, creative problem-solving, collaboration, and emotional intelligence, enabling learners to navigate and flourish within an unpredictable global context.
Present curricula, however, often remain overly content-driven, limiting opportunities for students to engage deeply, build conceptual understanding, and solve real-world problems. ThinkPlus directly addresses these limitations, embedding higher-order thinking skills, emotional intelligence, and cognitive flexibility into daily teaching practices. Learners become skilled in critical evaluation, collaborative problem-solving, and regulating emotional and cognitive processes—skills that are foundational for lifelong learning. For instance, a Year 4 teacher employing ThinkPlus techniques might guide students through group inquiry tasks, explicitly teaching self-regulation strategies. Rather than responding to setbacks with frustration or disengagement, students learn to identify their emotional states, apply constructive strategies, and reflect thoughtfully on their learning processes. This approach cultivates resilience, adaptability, and a robust growth mindset.
Area 3: A Greater Focus on Continuity (Continuous, Connected Learning)
Educational structures today often separate learning into segmented stages (early childhood, primary, secondary, tertiary), unintentionally disrupting continuous cognitive and skill development. Transitions between these stages frequently create gaps, with students either lacking necessary foundational knowledge or remaining insufficiently challenged. Future educational models will likely embrace seamless progression, advancing students based on demonstrated mastery rather than chronological progression alone. This requires dynamic curriculum frameworks supporting individual growth trajectories and sustained skill development.
ThinkPlus actively supports this vision of continuity, emphasising cumulative learning experiences grounded in conceptual understanding, retrieval practice, and executive function. Rather than treating learning as disconnected episodes, ThinkPlus ensures students retain and transfer their knowledge and skills effectively across various contexts and educational stages. A Year 5 student struggling with multiplication, for instance, could utilise ThinkPlus retrieval strategies to reinforce neural pathways before tackling division. Conversely, a Year 3 student excelling in numeracy might leverage ThinkPlus extension activities to explore advanced mathematical reasoning. Such practice ensures meaningful, sustained progress for all learners.
Embracing the Educational Future, Now
The year 2040 is not as distant as we may believe—the educational transformation we envision is already underway. Schools are progressively adopting personalised, skills-focused, and metacognitively enriched learning models. Our role as educators extends beyond content delivery; it is about empowering students with cognitive, emotional, and metacognitive skills essential for lifelong learning.
ThinkPlus is at the forefront of this educational shift, embedding leading-edge educational neuroscience, metacognition, and skill-building strategies into classrooms today. Want to learn more about applying these strategies in your school? Connect with us to become a ThinkPlus School.
If our goal is to nurture students ready for a future defined by adaptability, collaboration, and deep learning, we must actively embed these practices now. The resources and frameworks are already in our hands—let’s use them to create classrooms where every learner thrives, both now and into the future.
Resources
https://www.teachermagazine.com/au_en/articles/will-schools-of-the-future-be-different