This presentation was given by Dr. Anne Sliwka of the University of Heidelberg at the CERI Conference on Innovation, Governance and Reform in Education on 4 November 2014 during session 3.d: 21st Century Pedagogies: Making Change Happen.

1. 21st Century Innovation in Learning:
Implications for Learning in Teacher Education
Prof. Dr. Anne Sliwka
Institute für Educational Science
University of Heidelberg

2. 21st Century Practice in Learning (Dumont, Istance &
Benavides 2010)
The Learning Environment
• recognizes the learners as its core participants, encourages
their active engagement and develops in them an
understanding of their own activity as learners.
• is founded on the social nature of learning and actively
encourages well-organised co-operative learning.
• employs learning professionals highly attuned to the learners’
motivations and the key role of emotions in achievement.
• is acutely sensitive to the individual differences among the
learners in it, including their prior knowledge.
Prof. Dr. Anne Sliwka – Institute for Educational Science – University of Heidelberg

3. 21st Century Practice in Learning (Dumont, Istance &
Benavides 2010)
The Learning Environment
• devises programmes that demand hard work and challenge
from all without excessive workload.
• operates with clarity of expectations and deploys assessment
strategies consistent with these expectations; there is strong
emphasis on formative feedback to support learning.
• strongly promotes “horizontal connectedness” across areas of
knowledge and subjects as well as to the community and the
wider world.
Prof. Dr. Anne Sliwka – Institute for Educational Science – University of Heidelberg

4. What‘s New in 21st Century Education?
• Diagnostic assessment: differentiation/personalisation of
learning and scaffolding
• Focus on cognitive, meta-cognitive and social-emotional
learning
• Consistent use of ICT in learning environments
• Transparent assessment criteria and formative assessment
• Deliberate selection of social processes: individual –
collaborative – competitive
• Deliberate selection of learning methods: e.g. inquiry-,
project-based-, service learning.
• Networked, wrapped-around schools
Prof. Dr. Anne Sliwka – Institute for Educational Science – University of Heidelberg

5. But what about Teacher Education?
Let‘s use a cooperative learning method:
Think for 2 minutes on your own
Pair with your neighbour
Share your ideas for 5 minutes
Question:
Do current learning enviroments in teacher education
reflect 21st century learning principles?
Prof. Dr. Anne Sliwka – Institute for Educational Science – University of Heidelberg

6. Self-Similarity of Learning in Schools and in
Teacher Education
Hypotheses:
If teacher education programmes want to prepare
teachers for 21st century learning environments, they
need to reflect, model and consistently apply 21st
century learning principles.
-> self-similarity
Prof. Dr. Anne Sliwka – Institute for Educational Science – University of Heidelberg

7. Self-Similarity of Learning in Schools and in
Teacher Education
• How can we use diagnostic assessment and differentiate instruction to
make sure that teacher trainees work in their „zone of proximal
development“?
• How can we create a balance between cognitive, meta-cognitive and
social-emotional learning in teacher education?
• How can we make assessment criteria transparent and provide formative
assessment to teacher trainees?
• How can we diversify approaches to learning to encompass inquiry-based,
problem-based, project-based and service learning?
• How can we use cooperative/collaborative learning methods to model
„professional learning communities“?
• How can we create strong support networks for teacher education
programmes?
Prof. Dr. Anne Sliwka – Institute for Educational Science – University of Heidelberg

8. Thank you!
Bibliography:
• Conner, L. and Sliwka, A. (2014): Implications of Research on Effective
Learning Environments for Initial Teacher Education. In: European Journal
of Education. Teacher Education and Professional Development. Volume
49, Issue 2, S. 165–177.
• Sliwka, A. and Klopsch, B. (2012): Service Learning and School
Development in German Teacher Education, in: Murphy, T. und Tan, J.
(2012): Service-Learning and Educating in Challenging Contexts. London:
Continuum, S. 89-104.
• Sliwka, A. (2010): From homogeneity to diversity in German education, in:
Effective Teacher Education for Diversity: Strategies and Challenges. Paris:
OECD, S. 205-217.
Prof. Dr. Anne Sliwka – Institute for Educational Science – University of Heidelberg