Here are some key points that were discussed: - Educators need to focus on developing 21st century skills like collaboration, problem solving, digital literacy, etc. rather than just content knowledge. Project-based learning can help achieve this. - Teaching methods need to shift from teacher-centered to more student-centered. Students should be given more autonomy over their learning. - Technology needs to be fully integrated into teaching and learning. Students should be taught how to effectively use tools to find, evaluate and create information. - Soft skills like communication, creativity and cultural awareness must be explicitly taught to prepare students for a globalized world. - Assessment needs to evaluate higher-order thinking and real-world

1. Changing the way we teach today
7 March 2012

2. My Mother’s Classroom is not
like My Classroom
Michael Gordon Robinson
AST 2nd Outstanding-Educator-In-
Residence (OEIR)

3. Abstract
In this article, he shares his reflection on how
teaching requires a combination of old and new
teaching techniques in order to engage the
students in the learning process. He believes
that teachers must be willing to embrace change
and continue to develop their teaching
strategies to incorporate within them the latest
technology and information available.

4. My mother’s classroom
• Mother a Third Grade teacher
• No computers and no multimedia projectors
• Internet non-existent
• Set of 1980s encyclopedias on a bookshelf
• Mother taught with textbook and chalk-filled
blackboard

5. My classroom

6. Teaching is challenging
• Teaching is an art form that you perfect over
time. You do not just start out as a great
teacher…Teaching can be at times a thankless
and frustrating ordeal, but you stick with it
because the reward of seeing your students
learn and the satisfaction of knowing what
you do matters more than most professions. It
makes teaching worth it.

7. My classroom then
• 1994 – no computers in the room, no email,
no cell phones; overhead projector and notes
written on clear transparencies
• 1997 – email address and one computer in the
classroom
• One computer would change my entire
approach to my lesson preparation
• My mantra then “Why change what works?”

8. My classroom now
• A good lesson on world climates becomes a
great lesson by the resources now available on
the internet
• It is no longer now a matter of choice for a
teacher to use the internet in the classroom. It
is a NECESSITY.
• What I must now learn is how to best use the
internet and teach my students how to best
use it. The key word again is “TEACH”.

9. Preparing for the unknown
• Teachers have a new job when it comes to
preparing students for the 21st century.
• It has become necessary for teachers to focus on
“learning how to learn”.
• The challenge for teachers is to focus on how
their students can learn beyond the classroom.
• Students need critical thinking skills so that they
can problem solve and be innovative and
creative.

10. Living in a shrinking world
• The human experience is an increasingly
globalized phenomenon in which people are
constantly being influenced by transnational,
cross-cultural, multi-cultural and multi-ethnic
interactions.
• We must embrace CHANGE and, enrich and
equip our students to meet the challenges of
the changing world.

11. Do we teach today as we taught
yesterday?

12. C2015

13. The relationship between
SDL, CoL and 21CC
• SDL and CoL are skills and
learning processes integral to
achieving 21CC
- as listed in many educational reports
• 21st century learners are
active and life-long learners.
They need skills pertaining to
group-based problem solving
and knowledge creation
13

14. Self-directed Learning (SDL)
SDL is intricately linked to lifelong learning.
The salient aspects of SDL are: ownership
of learning, management and monitoring
of own learning and extension of own
learning.
14

15. Self-directed learning spectrum
High Self-directed learning
degree “Students independently set learning goals and outcomes, and design
of self- activities that extend their learning. They then reflect on and evaluate their
direction own progress to improve their learning.”
Self-planned learning
“Students negotiate and set learning goals and manage their own learning.
They pursue learning outcomes through activities they design themselves
and incorporate feedback from their peers to achieve their goals.”
Self-managed learning
“Students independently complete activities presented through learning
guides. They monitor their own learning, and look for resources that
complement given resources to achieve their learning goals.”
Teaching students to think independently
“Students work on teacher-facilitated learning activities that develop them
to think independently. The activities emphasise the personal pursuit of
Low meaning through exploration, inquiry, problem solving and creative activity.
degree
Incidental self-directed learning
of self-
“The occasional introduction of SDL activities into activities that are
direction otherwise teacher-directed.”
15
Adapted from http://www.selfdirectedlearning.com/SDLProgram.html

16. Collaborative Learning (CoL)
CoL is also defined as social interactions that
are targeted at deeper knowing.
When students interact for the purpose of
achieving better understanding of a
concept, a problem, a phenomenon or to
create a novel piece of knowledge or
solution that they do not previously know,
they are engaged in collaborative learning.
Simply defined, CoL is where students work in
pairs or groups to solve a problem or to
achieve a common learning objective.
(Barkley et al., 2005).
16

17. CoL and the 5 phases of knowledge construction
Phase Processes Actions
High degree of V Application of As students inquire collaboratively and teach
knowledge newly constructed one another reciprocally, their further
construction discussion reflects new knowledge
meaning
construction.
IV Testing and The negotiations trigger further
modification experimentation, collecting data, review of
literature and consultation with experts.
III Knowledge Considering others’ viewpoints, students
co-construction negotiate their diverse ideas and direct them
towards a collective understanding.
II Exploration of Students contribute ideas and the ideas are
inconsistency different from each other.
among
participants
I Sharing and In groups, students discuss identified
Low degree of problems, set goals and determine group
knowledge comparing of
information processes with guidance from teachers.
construction
17

18. SDL, CoL and 21CC
• SDL and CoL are skills that students can acquire in order
to learn and work effectively in the 21st century
knowledge-based environment
• SDL and CoL are also learning processes which allow
students to become self-directed learners, active
contributors, confident persons and concerned citizens
– the Desired Outcomes of Education.
18

19. “If we teach today as we taught
yesterday, we rob our children of
tomorrow.”
John Dewey

20. 2 fundamental questions
• Who are the 21st Century Learners and what
are their learning preferences?
• What do they need to know to confidently
handle the challenges of the changing world?

21. 21st Century Learners and their
Learning Preferences

22. Future Work Skills for 21st Century Learners
3 People Skills for the Workforce
• Virtual Collaboration
– Ability to work productively, drive engagement, and
demonstrate a presence as a member of a virtual team
• Cross-Cultural competency
– Ability to operate in different cultural settings
• Social Intelligence
– Ability to connect to others in a deep and direct way, to
sense and stimulate reactions and desired interactions

23. Future Work Skills for 21st Century Learners
7 Literacy Skills for the Workforce
• Transdisciplinarity
– Literacy in and ability to understand concepts
across multiple disciplines
• New-Media Literacy
– Ability to critically assess and develop content that
uses new media forms and to leverage these
media for persuasive communication

24. Future Work Skills for 21st Century Learners
7 Literacy Skills for the Workforce
• Design Mindset
– Ability to represent and develop tasks and work
processes for desired outcomes
• Cognitive Load Management
– Ability to discriminate and filter information for
importance, and to understand how to maximize
cognitive functioning using a variety of tools and
techniques

25. Future Work Skills for 21st Century Learners
7 Literacy Skills for the Workforce
• Computational Thinking
– Ability to translate vast amounts of data into abstract
concepts and to understand data-based reasoning
• Novel and Adaptive Thinking
– Proficiency at thinking and coming up with solutions
and responses beyond that which is rote or rule-based
• Sense Making
– Ability to determine the deeper meaning or
significance of what is being expressed

26. 21st Century Literacy Skills

27. 21st Century Literacy Skills
6 processes PIACC identifies as Critical
Components of Literacy
• Accessing
– Knowing about and know how to collect and/or
retrieve information
• Managing
– Organising information into existing classification
schemes

28. 21st Century Literacy Skills
6 processes PIACC identifies as Critical
Components of Literacy
• Integrating
– Interpreting, summarising, comparing and
contrasting information using similar or different
forms of representation
• Evaluating
– Reflecting to make judgments about the quality,
relevance, usefulness or efficiency of information

29. 21st Century Literacy Skills
6 processes PIACC identifies as Critical
Components of Literacy
• Constructing
– Generating new information and knowledge by
adapting, applying, designing, inventing,
representing or authoring information
• Communicating
– Conveying information and knowledge to various
individuals

30. Discussion Time
• How can educators meet the needs of the 21st
Century Learner?
• How can we re-evaluate the practice of
teaching and learning and equip students with
the necessary tools to help them advance in
this digital age?
20 min