Our world is changing, and in order to prepare our children for this new world we need to change the way we educate them. In the 21st century educators must create a curriculum that will help students connect with the world and understand the issues that our world faces.
Schools in the 21st century should become core centers, a place for teachers and students to connect with those around them and their community. Teachers in this new environment would become less instructors and more orchestrators of information, giving children the ability to turn knowledge into wisdom.
In order to educate in the 21st century, teachers and administrators need to cultivate and maintain the student’s interest in the material by showing how this knowledge applies in the real world. They must also try to increase their student’s curiosity, which will help them become lifelong learners. Next they should be flexible with how they teach and give learners the resources to continue learning outside of school.
There are many skills that children will need in order to be successful in the 21st century. Here are a few of the most important 21st century skills:
- Ability to collaborate, work in teams
- Critical thinking skills
- Oral presentation skills
- Written communication skills
- Ability to use technology
- Willingness to examine civic and global issues
- Ability to conduct research to learn about issues and concepts
- Chance to learn about new career opportunities
- Inter and Intra personal skills
In the ideal 21st century classroom, students are actually excited about going to school, and there are little or no discipline problems because everyone is eager to learn. In this type of classroom activities and lessons are related to the community, whether local or global. Students collaborate with people from different schools and different countries to learn about issues that affect us all, as well as how we can solve them today and in the future.
The curriculum in the classroom is designed to incorporate many skills and multiple intelligence levels, and makes use of technology and multimedia. The lessons are not based only on textbooks, instead they are project based. Skills and content are learned through their research and projects, and textbooks are provided as one of many possible resources.
A new addition to 21st century curriculum is the study of green education and environmental issues. Students are taught awareness of their world and real experts such as scientist and politicians are brought in to answer student’s questions.
New schools in the 21st century would be bright and spacious, and children would have room for group projects and individual assignments. Walls would be hung with student work, and there would be places for students to put on performances for their parents and members of the community. Students have full access to technology and, if possible, every student will have a laptop.
Within the 21st school there would be labs and learning centers, as well as studios for art, music, theatre, and so on. Each classroom would be equipped with the ICT devices so that all students can share school productions and other school presentations.
Rethinking schools and teachers´s role properly to foster an integrated approach to learning and educate with creativity in the new century is an ongoing duty for all as global citizens and a human right for the generations to come.
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| "By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and nonviolence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development“.(UNESCO) |
