Teaching & learning nowadays is no where near compared to how strict, rigorous, boring and painful it was 50, 100 or 200 years ago (20th & 19th Century). To make things worst, we still have 20th Century teachers educating 21st Century students so in many parts of the world Education is suffering a decline in its quality. Education reform must take place from the inside out. Teachers certainly have to change.
Ubiquitous learning is irreversible as most of our students own personal mobile devices which are able to communicate, store and access information anytime, anywhere. Never before have we had a student as a provider of knowledge in the classroom. Back in the old days when I was a student, it was just the teacher's word and nothing else.
Information technology skills (IT) have affected most of our students’
learning styles, thus Technology, media
and digital literacy have become a fundamental tool of development for educating
and connecting with digital natives. Project based learning; Inquiry based learning,
CLIL, B-learning, M-learning, E-learning, and the Flipped classroom are some of the newest and most effective educational trends. The Cs or Social Skills involve Creativity, Communication, Collaboration and Critical thinking while Adaptability and Flexibility, Problem-solving, and leadership are proven to be Life Skills 21st Century students need in order to compete for jobs in a global market where these skills are the new basics.
In this article I will summarize 21st century teaching skills into 3 categories that educators need to OWN in order to equip their students for being successful at school and later on in life.
As I said in my previous article let's keep in mind that apart from being Teachers of English we are also Educators.
Information, Media and Technology skills
Today's teachers are digital immigrants teaching digital natives. Thus, every teacher needs to be aware of the latest methodologies, and to follow, adapt or design a curriculum which connects with students interests, and a real and globalized world so that students get to own skills for lifelong learning. It is no longer acceptable for educators to be technology illiterate.
It is crucial that we have knowledge of a wide range of electronic tools, resources, apps and websites so that when we are teaching we can interact and engage our students in our teaching and so their learning becomes more meaningful and memorable.
When we provide our students with the appropiate tools for their investigation we equip them and allow them to slowly become an independent learner, thirsty of knowledge. By doing this we empower their ability to find and select information so it is important that we evaluate their discoveries and now it is also vital that we give them immediate feedback, prize them and ask them to share and publish their presentations, projects or findings.
Out students should have an understanding of global awareness, and every topic should drive for
a cultural and social understanding through an effective communication. Make them aware that their mobile devices are powerful weapons which can be used for good or bad and that they should be smarter than their phones. Working collaboratively in a project based learning is one of the best ways of working nowadays, allo your students to have their own research time and then allow yourself to sit down and really listen to them. Any social media can be of great use if you set the rules and know how to use it. It is time for our studens to voice their thoughts, embrace technology.
Avoid using papers and go for emails and word docs, tri google docs and blogging, this will save a few trees, dont you want to be part of the change?
Think about it!
Do you know this 11 basic technology skills?
1. Word Processing skills
2. Spreadsheets Skills
3. Electronic Presentation Skills
4. Web Navigation Skills
5. E-Mail Management Skills
6. Digital Cameras
7. File Management & Windows Explorer Skills
8. Downloading Software From the web (such as ebooks)
9. Videoconferencing
10. Coputer-Related storage devices (Cds, usb, drives, cloud, zip,etc)
11. Social media, basic apps and websites such as twitter, facebook, facebook pages, facebook groups, facebook games, blogs, snapchat, instagram, whassap, audiobooks, google, youtube.
Social skills - The 4 Cs
In order to build a community of education, learners have to master the 4cs. This will only happen when you, my dear colleague, start redesigning your teaching style. Update your process of teaching through technology. Technology enables collaboration between educators and pupils. Creating digital resources, projects and presentations together with other classrooms will make school activities resemble the real world. Collaboration is more than exchanging emails or creating power point presentations, it is inspiring, making students enjoy their subject, it is about motivating them to want to participate and speak up.
What about activating students knowledge by starting your class with a question and after one simple answer, continue asking many more questions. Somebody said that if you want different results you need to try different things. Ask and allow your students to speak their mind. And you, Open your mind and be tolerant to new ideologies and opinions, after all you are interested in becoming a 21st century teacher right?
All in all, help your students to learn to work in a team because this is one of the most important values and characteristics employers seek in their employees nowadays.
Life and Career skills
Presentation skills:
I really dont remember who told me that the best Amerivan soeakers always starts their talks with a joke... I jhave given talks in Peru and in other countries and this strategy has certainly been a great card to play, but if we see the big picture this can also be applied in our classrooms. Having a great class starter will set our classroom mood. It is up to you to teach your kids how to give a presentation before expecting them to give a great lecture that deserves a standing ovation. Dont take things for granted.. Many of your students' previous teachers haven't taught them how to give a presentation even if you are teaching university students.
Body language conveys 70% of oiur message, tell your students that eye contact, the way they talk and even the way they stand matters. Tell them that self-confidence is very important for an audience to pay attention to the speaker. Preparation is key and ask them to remember that if they believe it they can achieve it.
Problem solving skills:
The purpose of teaching 21st century students is to get them ready for a fast forward ever changing world. Our purpose is to be the guide that prepares them to be successful and make a good living. Many of the current jobs require problem solving skills (if not all). From a tailor, to a psychologist, to an enginner to a doctor. You and your students need to know that your ability to identify the problem and opportunities and comeup with effective solutions will get you all hired or allow you to keep your jobs for as long as you want.
A few years ago I was taught to "own the problem", I give this credit to Royal Caribbean, they always encouraged me to identify any problems and have the initiative and proactiveness to try to solve it or to find the right person to deal with the issue. Another key factor is resourcefulness is easy now if we use the interbet's unlimited resources, determination and resilience is something that we need to learn as teachers when it comes to professional development. Let's teach our students to overcome the problems and resist the adversity. The next step in problem solving is looking for possible solutions, evaluating the risks and planning a good course of action considering the idea of trying new approaches. Finally the capacity of make a good decision is key to master this skill.
Flexibility and adaptability
As English teachers we are bound to find different part time jobs or take a full time job but always look for an extra basket. The "school" policies vary from place to place and we need to be flexible and open to new ideas. Dealing with digital natives and heterogeneous classes usually puts us in a challenging situations specially when planning our lessons. Technology can help us adapt our teaching and turn a disaster into an amazing class. We just need to keep calm and take a new course of action. Adapt and change your classroom setting, vary your starters, your tone of voice, take a mindful moment with your students and start over again until you achieve your objectives. Try to get rid of that "Nope" and start saying "YES" more often.
If you want to be noticed then show your employer how eager you are for learning new procedures or techniques. How glad you are to have a new software or system to store and share information with the whole "school". Be tolerant with your colleagues, do not take things personally and always meed your deadlines.
Leadership:
All good leaders require a set of soft skills in order to be able to manage grouos or team. It is your job as a teacher to epower your students to become a well-rounded citizen.
Do you feel like testing your leadership skills?
Take this short quiz: https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_50.htm
As you can see becoming a 21st Century educator is not easy task. We need to make a personal change and try to see the big picture. What is it that we need to do in order to achieve our goals as teachers. I believe helping our students to survive in this jungle is not enough. First we need to help ourselves to become 21st century teachers and then our students will feel motivated to want to leanr from us.
Siorella Gonzales
http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/sept09/vol67/num01/21st-Century-Skills@-The-Challenges-Ahead.aspx
https://www.teachingquality.org/about/teaching-2030
http://www.macmillanenglish.com/life-skills/examples/
https://biginterview.com/blog/2014/02/behavioral-interview-question-problem-solving.html
https://www.thebalance.com/workplace-flexibility-definition-with-examples-2059699
In this article I will summarize 21st century teaching skills into 3 categories that educators need to OWN in order to equip their students for being successful at school and later on in life.
As I said in my previous article let's keep in mind that apart from being Teachers of English we are also Educators.
Information, Media and Technology skills
Today's teachers are digital immigrants teaching digital natives. Thus, every teacher needs to be aware of the latest methodologies, and to follow, adapt or design a curriculum which connects with students interests, and a real and globalized world so that students get to own skills for lifelong learning. It is no longer acceptable for educators to be technology illiterate.
It is crucial that we have knowledge of a wide range of electronic tools, resources, apps and websites so that when we are teaching we can interact and engage our students in our teaching and so their learning becomes more meaningful and memorable.
When we provide our students with the appropiate tools for their investigation we equip them and allow them to slowly become an independent learner, thirsty of knowledge. By doing this we empower their ability to find and select information so it is important that we evaluate their discoveries and now it is also vital that we give them immediate feedback, prize them and ask them to share and publish their presentations, projects or findings.
Out students should have an understanding of global awareness, and every topic should drive for
a cultural and social understanding through an effective communication. Make them aware that their mobile devices are powerful weapons which can be used for good or bad and that they should be smarter than their phones. Working collaboratively in a project based learning is one of the best ways of working nowadays, allo your students to have their own research time and then allow yourself to sit down and really listen to them. Any social media can be of great use if you set the rules and know how to use it. It is time for our studens to voice their thoughts, embrace technology.
Avoid using papers and go for emails and word docs, tri google docs and blogging, this will save a few trees, dont you want to be part of the change?
Think about it!
Do you know this 11 basic technology skills?
1. Word Processing skills
2. Spreadsheets Skills
3. Electronic Presentation Skills
4. Web Navigation Skills
5. E-Mail Management Skills
6. Digital Cameras
7. File Management & Windows Explorer Skills
8. Downloading Software From the web (such as ebooks)
9. Videoconferencing
10. Coputer-Related storage devices (Cds, usb, drives, cloud, zip,etc)
11. Social media, basic apps and websites such as twitter, facebook, facebook pages, facebook groups, facebook games, blogs, snapchat, instagram, whassap, audiobooks, google, youtube.
Social skills - The 4 Cs
In order to build a community of education, learners have to master the 4cs. This will only happen when you, my dear colleague, start redesigning your teaching style. Update your process of teaching through technology. Technology enables collaboration between educators and pupils. Creating digital resources, projects and presentations together with other classrooms will make school activities resemble the real world. Collaboration is more than exchanging emails or creating power point presentations, it is inspiring, making students enjoy their subject, it is about motivating them to want to participate and speak up.
What about activating students knowledge by starting your class with a question and after one simple answer, continue asking many more questions. Somebody said that if you want different results you need to try different things. Ask and allow your students to speak their mind. And you, Open your mind and be tolerant to new ideologies and opinions, after all you are interested in becoming a 21st century teacher right?
All in all, help your students to learn to work in a team because this is one of the most important values and characteristics employers seek in their employees nowadays.
Life and Career skills
Presentation skills:
I really dont remember who told me that the best Amerivan soeakers always starts their talks with a joke... I jhave given talks in Peru and in other countries and this strategy has certainly been a great card to play, but if we see the big picture this can also be applied in our classrooms. Having a great class starter will set our classroom mood. It is up to you to teach your kids how to give a presentation before expecting them to give a great lecture that deserves a standing ovation. Dont take things for granted.. Many of your students' previous teachers haven't taught them how to give a presentation even if you are teaching university students.
Body language conveys 70% of oiur message, tell your students that eye contact, the way they talk and even the way they stand matters. Tell them that self-confidence is very important for an audience to pay attention to the speaker. Preparation is key and ask them to remember that if they believe it they can achieve it.
Problem solving skills:
The purpose of teaching 21st century students is to get them ready for a fast forward ever changing world. Our purpose is to be the guide that prepares them to be successful and make a good living. Many of the current jobs require problem solving skills (if not all). From a tailor, to a psychologist, to an enginner to a doctor. You and your students need to know that your ability to identify the problem and opportunities and comeup with effective solutions will get you all hired or allow you to keep your jobs for as long as you want.
A few years ago I was taught to "own the problem", I give this credit to Royal Caribbean, they always encouraged me to identify any problems and have the initiative and proactiveness to try to solve it or to find the right person to deal with the issue. Another key factor is resourcefulness is easy now if we use the interbet's unlimited resources, determination and resilience is something that we need to learn as teachers when it comes to professional development. Let's teach our students to overcome the problems and resist the adversity. The next step in problem solving is looking for possible solutions, evaluating the risks and planning a good course of action considering the idea of trying new approaches. Finally the capacity of make a good decision is key to master this skill.
Flexibility and adaptability
As English teachers we are bound to find different part time jobs or take a full time job but always look for an extra basket. The "school" policies vary from place to place and we need to be flexible and open to new ideas. Dealing with digital natives and heterogeneous classes usually puts us in a challenging situations specially when planning our lessons. Technology can help us adapt our teaching and turn a disaster into an amazing class. We just need to keep calm and take a new course of action. Adapt and change your classroom setting, vary your starters, your tone of voice, take a mindful moment with your students and start over again until you achieve your objectives. Try to get rid of that "Nope" and start saying "YES" more often.
If you want to be noticed then show your employer how eager you are for learning new procedures or techniques. How glad you are to have a new software or system to store and share information with the whole "school". Be tolerant with your colleagues, do not take things personally and always meed your deadlines.
Leadership:
All good leaders require a set of soft skills in order to be able to manage grouos or team. It is your job as a teacher to epower your students to become a well-rounded citizen.
Do you feel like testing your leadership skills?
Take this short quiz: https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_50.htm
As you can see becoming a 21st Century educator is not easy task. We need to make a personal change and try to see the big picture. What is it that we need to do in order to achieve our goals as teachers. I believe helping our students to survive in this jungle is not enough. First we need to help ourselves to become 21st century teachers and then our students will feel motivated to want to leanr from us.
Siorella Gonzales
“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn. ” Alvin Toffler
http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/sept09/vol67/num01/21st-Century-Skills@-The-Challenges-Ahead.aspx
https://www.teachingquality.org/about/teaching-2030
http://www.macmillanenglish.com/life-skills/examples/
https://biginterview.com/blog/2014/02/behavioral-interview-question-problem-solving.html
https://www.thebalance.com/workplace-flexibility-definition-with-examples-2059699
Well done Siore!!!!!
ReplyDeleteAs you said we need to master the 4Cs . Having said that I would suggest one more "C": commitment. Commitment towards ourselves as teachers which will end up in having more motivated students earger to explore, discover, construct their own learning, and develop their skills more than just contents��
Commitment is essential Katherine! I totally agree with you. Thanks for your comment :)
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