Teaching in the 21st Century

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Recommended: prospects of teaching and learning in the 21st century

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has come about due to the realisation that the current education system has fallen behind the modern world, become outdated and ineffectual.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.

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