Comparing+20th+vs.+21st

Comparing 20th vs. 21st Century Teaching and Learning

Characteristics of 21st Century Teachers: How do Students Learn?
//In order to be successful in a 21st Century classroom, the teacher must understand that the role of the "instructor" is changing. This is in part due to the nature in which the students learn. Students have the resources to obtain information from a variety of sources 24/7. For them, a single resource is often not enough, and not necessarily the most effective when that resource is considered to be an outmoded method. In addition, students are often used to learning information within the context of solving a problem or learning a new skill. For this reason, teachers need to provide contextual learning environments while infusing project based learning to engage students in the classroom.// //In order to create this type of environment, the teachers need to be open to relinquishing some of the control they are used to having. At times it can be difficult to not fully be a part of the learning process when it is your job to "teach." However, you and your students will learn more when you do not limit the information to a single source; especially when you are using technology. Be open to learning from and/or with your students. As you collaboratively explore information, you will be teaching more than you ever could have imagined. Together you may discover a fresh approach to learning a specific topic, or see it from a different perspective.// 21st Century Teacher

Critical Thinking? You need Knowledge.
In an article on critical thinking, renown educator and author Diane Ravitch pushed back against the skills-based curriculum aimed to prepare students for the 21st century. She argues that the students of today also need to know a body of knowledge in order to perform the skills asked of them. To read the short article click here.

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Kids Speak Out on Student Engagement
Written by a twelve-year teaching veteran and a California regional Teacher of the Year, this Edutopia article provides quotes from students about how they learn best. Although some of these principals have held true for the previous century, others reflect a dynamic and changing learning environment where kids expect to be engaged in different ways in their classrooms. Click here to read this short article about student engagement in the 21st century.

// "We Spend 80% of our classroom time on skills needed for 10% of our jobs" // This is the title of a blog post by renowned author and educator Scot McLeod who serves as Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Kentucky. He is also the Founding director of the nation's only academic center dedicated to the technology needs of school administrators, and the co-creater of the wildly popular video Did You Know? (Shift Happens). This blog post quotes other educational leaders about how our classrooms are not preparing students for the jobs of the 21st century. Click here to read this post.

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