Lifelong education on service systems: a perspective for STEM learners 1
One of the benefits of the IBM’s Smarter Planet vision(s) is its encouragement to think about the 21st century world from a fresh perspective. The rise of the service economy — which is not the same as the service sector — calls for the nurturing of talents with different emphases. While curricula typically have a strong grasp of agricultural systems (developed since, say, 1600 A,.D.), and industrial systems (since, say, 1850 A.D.), the science of service systems is still emerging.
A study on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education by a 2007 National Academies committee published recommendations in 2008 for professional science master’s education that is interdisciplinary in character. Such an investment in curriculum change has been proposed as a good use of stimulus funding in the U.S. In concert, 8 of 10 students expressed a wish for universities to revamp their traditional learning environments in the Smarter Planet University Jam conducted in spring 2009 .
In 2008 and 2009, the focus has shifted to primary and secondary school education, convening another National Academies committee centered on K-12, with a report due in 2010. Jim Spohrer — formerly the Director of Almaden Services Research, and now the Director of IBM Global University Programs — updated me on his current thinking about a potential design for education on Smarter Planet Service Systems.
| Systems that move, store, harvest, process | Kindergarten | Transportation |
| 1 | Water and waste management | |
| 2 | Food and global supply chain | |
| 3 | Energy and energy grid | |
| 4 | Information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure | |
| Systems that enable healthy, wealthy and wise people | 5 | Building and construction |
| 6 | Banking and finance | |
| 7 | Retail and hospitality | |
| 8 | Healthcare | |
| 9 | Education (including universities) | |
| Systems that govern | 10 | Government (cities) |
| 11 | Government (regions / states) | |
| 12 | Government (nations) | |
| Higher education | Specific service systems | |
| Professional life | Specific service systems |
Jim is following confirmation of the effectiveness of a Challenge-Based Learning approach by the New Media Consortium as “a strategy to engage kids in any class by giving them the opportunity to work on significant problems that have real-world implications”. I liked his ordering of systems into three levels:
