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eople used to go to school to learn how to do homework and exams. Today, everyone needs to learn how to grade the homework.- Po Shen Loh
Po-Shen Loh is a dynamic social entrepreneur deeply engaged in mathematics and education on a global scale.
As a distinguished mathematics professor at Carnegie Mellon University, he not only imparts his expertise in the subject but also serves as the national coach for the USA International Mathematical Olympiad team.
Under his guidance, the team secured first place worldwide in 2015, 2016, 2018, and 2019. Prof. Loh's commitment extends beyond traditional academic settings; he actively participates in research and educational outreach initiatives, connecting with diverse audiences across the globe.
With an impressive annual in-person reach of nearly 15,000 individuals through public lectures and events in various cities, Prof. Loh brings mathematics to life.
His online presence is equally impactful, with featured or co-created videos amassing over 9 million views on YouTube. Notably, his platform (https://daily.poshenloh.com) has been recognized as the premier online math course for students excelling in the top 10% of their middle school math class.
Prof. Loh's distinctive approach combines profound mathematical knowledge with global public engagement, embodying his mission to elevate worldwide interest and proficiency in mathematics.
However, Po-Shen Loh, a Carnegie Mellon University professor, thinks more is needed. According to him, kids today need skills to solve problems, and they need the skills to grade papers.
He argues that helping kids prepare for math competitions only prepares them by telling them to solve strange math questions many times; to solve these, children have to study for many hours.
This system needs to be revised as it only focuses on repetition and does not encourage students to think for themselves.
Today, unfortunately, there's a massive industry around test preparation and cramming where people try to help students get high scores on these strange math questions by showing you all of the peculiar math questions that you might possibly see.
Po-Shen Loh suggests that we must change the education system to encourage students to think independently by having limited subject areas that encourage critical thinking rather than memorization.
Today, everyone needs to learn how to grade the homework.
This approach will help students be more independent early on so that they don't need to attend classes in the future.
He believes that if students first go to Chat GPT, like any sound software engineer going to Stack Overflow, to find similar problems, they must be good analytical thinkers to identify if Chat GPT's answer is accurate.
Any repetitive task can be automated or done with a calculator in the real world, but we need to know how to think.
Po-Shen Loh has created a list of cities where he goes to give math talks, and through his talks, he emphasizes the need for the education system to change.
The system should not focus on preparing children for rote learning; instead, it should instil analytical and critical thinking in them. He argues that we need more people who can come up with ways to think rather than just solving problems.
This change will help students prepare better for the future.
Po-Shen Loh's education system supports the development of practical skills that will prepare students for the future workforce. He argues that when we want to learn anything, we will first go to chat GPT. Therefore, analytical thinking and critical reasoning are essential skills to develop.
I love the fact that entrepreneurship is about creating new things. So, the message I've been sending throughout my tour is that this new world of AI will be a Wild West. There will be lots and lots of new opportunities. The people who will be the most successful are the ones who are very good at creating value.
The education system needs a revamp to focus on developing necessary skills for the future. Po-Shen Loh's limited subject area system that encourages critical and independent thinking can be the stepping stone towards better education.
Analytical thinking and critical reasoning are essential skills that students should learn rather than memorizing an endless list of subjects. Through this change, students can prepare for the future that awaits them.
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