Embracing Change
- Kim
- May 7, 2024
- 3 min read
Rethinking Learning: The 21st Century Learner
21st Century Education vs. 20th Century Education
What 60 Schools Can Tell Us About Teaching 21st Century Skills
The videos were very interesting, and they made me think about how education is changing as we move further into the 21st century. It's clear that teaching students to be curious and to ask questions is very important for their success in a world that is always changing. To do this, I think we need to make learning spaces that inspire students to explore and think critically. This can be done through project-based learning, in which students are given real-world problems to solve. This sparks their natural interest and desire to learn more about the world around them. If you want to be the "someone" who inspires digital learning, you need to stop being a teacher and start being a guide. It's about showing students how to find their way around the huge amount of digital information out there and giving them the tools they need to properly evaluate and use technology. This means keeping up with changes in technology and being open to adding new tools that help with learning.
It's important to make sure that official and informal learning work together, since learning doesn't happen in a vacuum. Using real-life examples in the classroom helps students understand why what they are learning is important and gives them chances to use what they have learned in useful ways. This link not only helps students remember things better, but it also gets them ready to keep learning after school is over. Learning in the 20th century and the 21st is like comparing a still picture to a moving movie. In the 20th century, education was mostly focused on teaching facts and following rules. Learning in the 21st century, on the other hand, is about getting better at things like communication, critical thinking, and innovation. It's personalized and focused on the learner, changing based on their skills and needs.
I am reminded that learning should be active and interesting. It's not about remembering facts, but about getting ideas. In my classroom, this means switching from standard lectures to problem-solving and interactive discussions that put an emphasis on getting students involved and showing them how to use what they've learned in real life.
By going to 60 schools, Grant Lightman found that going to the front lines of education he documented a lot resistance to change and innovation. Simply put, change is really hard. One of the most important things that was learned is that there is no one way to teach everyone. Even though each school had its own way of teaching 21st-century skills, the ones that did well all had one thing in common: they were open to new ideas and had a strong culture of support for both students and teachers. As I think about these ideas, they will definitely help me with the innovation plan I'm making. I want to strive for my innovation plan to be creative, adaptive, permeable, dynamic, systemic, and self-correcting going against the industrialized model for learning. It's clear that a learning design that focuses on outcomes and gives students the skills they need to survive in today's complex world is not only better, it's important. Using these ideas and tactics together will help create an educational setting that is more flexible, responsive, and ready for the future.
References:
21stEducator. (2009, April 2). 21st Century Education vs. 20th Century Education [Video]. YouTube.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiD1UqLPrOg
Macfound. (2010, December 1). Rethinking Learning: The 21st Century Learner | MacArthur Foundation [Video].YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0xa98cy-Rw
TEDx Talks. (2013, March 21). What 60 Schools Can Tell us About Teaching 21st century skills: Grant Lichtman at TEDxDenverTeachers [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZEZTyxSl3g
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