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Prospects of teaching and learning in the 21st century
Prospects of teaching and learning in the 21st century
Old versus new teaching methods
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Teaching in the 21st Century has come about due to the realisation that the current education system has fallen behind the modern world, become outdated and ineffectual. We are over a decade into a Century which has brought forth an information age with limitless resources and instant access to information. Collaboration has turned global, with people all over the world communicating, sharing ideas and solving common issues through and with technology. The issue has become more so how to teach rather than what. Education in the 21st Century calls for personalising learning so that every learner, regardless of learning style, race, culture, creed or gender, may develop to their full potential and promote “life-long learning” (Collins, 2009, p. 104) for both teacher and learner alike. It also brings to light the importance of redefining the roles of both teacher and learner.
The definition of 21st Century teaching is “not a fixed prescription or known formula [but]... an emerging cluster of new ideas, beliefs, knowledge, theories and practices” (Bolstad et al., 2012, p. 1). It is about promoting various approaches and pedagogies that enable a “knowledge-centred” (Bolstad et al., 2012, p. 1) environment. Children nowadays are constantly being stimulated by the world around them. Except when they’re at school. They’re told to sit down, keep quiet, and listen in order to learn (Robinson, 2011).
Doing the weekly readings and watching the videos, my mind exploded with possibilities for change - not unlike Raphael’s “brain popp[ing] open” (Senge, 2012, p. 64). Senge brings to our attention that schools were organised due to the necessity of the industrial age. However he also states that it’s time to move on from this out-dated mode, as i...
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...rieved from http://www.parra.catholic.org.au/catholicoutlook/news/latest-news.aspx/the-changing-role-of-the-teacher.aspx
Robinson, K. & Aronica, L. (2009). The element: how finding your passion changes everything (pp. 27-51). Victoria: Penguin.
Senge, P., Cambron-McCabe, N., Lucas, T., Smith, B., Dutton, J. & Kleiner, A. (2012). Schools that Learn (pp. 32-69). Boston: Nicholas Brealey Publishing.
TED Talks (Producer). (2006, February). Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity [video file]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html
TED Talks (Producer). (2013, February) Sugata Mitra: Build A School In The Cloud [video file]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/sugata_mitra_build_a_school_in_the_cloud#t-65046
Warner, D. (2006). Creating a perspective for schooling in the knowledge era. Camberwell, Victoria: Acer Press.
Robinson, Ken. “How Schools Kill Creativity.” Online video clip. TED. Ted, Feb 2006. Web. 26 March 2014.
Schugurensky, D. (March 2003). History of Education – Selected Moments of the 20th Century. Retrieved March 20, 2004 from
Schank, R. (2003, November). FUTURE PERSPECTIVE- A Vision of Education for the 21st Century. Retrieved November 9, 2003, from http://www.thejournal.com/magazine/vault/A2598.cfm
Morris, Jerome., et al. Encyclopedia of Education. Ed. James W. Guthrie. 2nd Ed vol. 6. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2002. 1961-1971. Opposing viewpoints in context. Web 25 April.2014
Matheson, D (2008) An introduction to the study of education. 3rd ed. London: David Fulton Publishers Ltd.
Education remains a cornerstone for society as it has for decades. Technology advances, the economy fluctuates, and politics change, but education remains, not only important but imperative for personal and social growth. Yet, as important as it is touted to be, the quality and purpose of learning is often lost in the assembly-line, manufactured process of education that exists today.
In “Five Rarely Considered Obstacles to 21st century Education ”, published in Forbes, Jordan Shapiro opens new gates to exploring the philosophical impediments that block the way of the 21st century education. The rapidly changing world requires a type of education that tends to view essential enduring knowledge and fashionable thought paradigms as intertwined. “Good education involves framing persistent knowledge within current structures”, Shapiro states. In many cases, adults fail to fit the enduring knowledge within the framework of modernity and hide this failure by blaming technology and content knowledge. This, in Shapiro’s viewpoint, is responsible in many ways for the failure of schools to prepare kids for the 21st century world.
Marples, R. (2010). What should go on the curriculum? In Bailey, R. (Ed.), The philosophy of education: An introduction (pp 33-47). London: Bloomsbury
Shulman, L. (1987). Knowledge and teaching: Foundations of the new reform. Harvard Educational Review, 57, 1-22.
By educating children, we need to prepare them for the life in a fast changing society where they can be responsive, fulfilled and innovative. The ability to use methods of teaching and learning within the curriculum is important when trying to make it possible. Countless amounts of schools have already been familiarising themselves with the importance of creativity and ways of how to teach, how to make the learning more holistic, more engaging and more creative. With the new curriculum complete, there are consequently many more opportunities and challenges for teachers to provide the best and most appropriate learning opportunities for the pupils they teach. The White Paper on education, publicising the new curriculum, stated it ‘creates scope for teachers to inspire’. It foresees ‘teachers taking greater control over what is taught in schools, innovating in how the...
Greene, Maxine. "Teaching as Possibility: A Light in Dark Times." (n.d.): n. pag. Web. .
Throughout history people as well as animals have found ways to make life, as we know it simpler. With this ease comes a greater level of technology, which requires humans to once again adapt to this ever-changing society. In result, communication, understanding and knowledge plays key importance to how our society grows. Through trial and error we have learned how education works and the best method of teaching, but we still sometimes wonder what is the absolute best way.
21st century learning is bold, flexible, creative, challenging, and complex; it takes into account the rapidly changing world filled with new problems and new possibilities (21stcenturyschools, 2008). Students develop critical thinking and interpersonal communication skills in order to be successful in the 21st century (Edweek, 2010). By implementing technology to create an environment that meets the needs of this generation, learning no longer has to be a ‘one-size-fits-all’ system; the opportunities possessed by technology should be used to reconfigure 21st century learning (Howell, 2012).
Education has transformed immensely from where it first began and needs to continually transform in the future to meet the growing needs and expectations of society. Consequently, teaching and learning are quite different in the 21st century when compared to previous centuries. There are several key factors driving change in education today with the focus on globalisation and social factors, including: Information Communication Technology (ICT), cultural and social inclusion along with changes in the economy, jobs and businesses. Additionally, 21st century learners are expected to ascertain a multitude of qualities and skills in order to succeed in today’s world. Communication, collaboration, global awareness, creativity and problem solving
This age is dedicated to more of learning age. It is said that even the teachers are the learner. This is the age of knowledge gradually shifted towards the age of communication. Thought and ideas are playing a crucial role in the present 21st century. The period when the denial and ignorance was the answer to the learner’s inquisitiveness has no solution. The answer to these questions is the technology which has solved problem to very much extend. People call such kind of change where teachers are supported with the technological tools to prove their worth. It does not say that previous centuries teachers were not efficient or they do not have that kind of knowledge. In the present time, the knowledge has got the support of the technology to explore. The learners are satisfying their requirements to the larger extend. The technological tool such as internet has shown great difference. The use of videos and photographs, 3D picture support, animations and documentaries and use of computers especially has changed the whole scenario. The most advanced version we have seen are the mobiles and the various applications which are loaded in mobile has taken the world in strong fist. The laptops are converting into the interactive machines which are loaded with n number of facilitation.