The adoption of technology in everyday life has changed the way of many ways of doing a task. 21st-century learners require to have a very different type of skill set compared to learners of the past. In traditional learning, students do not use to ask too many questions, instead, they need to listen and repeat. Currently, a large number of schools still continue with the conventional way of teaching which in maximum cases are not applicable. Today, the meaning of knowing has shifted from being able to remember and repeat information to locate and evaluate information effectively.
Today’s students are in the utmost need to practicality. They need to be fully prepared for successful learning. They are heading into a busy and competitive world, full of uncertainties. Schools need to make changes in their approach in order to prepare students with the required 21st-century skills and techniques.
Technology is transforming the ways in which people work and relate to each other. This means that learning in schools needs to change in order to adequately prepare students. Education should be much more about ways of thinking which involve creative and critical approaches to problem-solving and decision making plus also emphasizing learning. Education should also introduce ways of working through communicating and collaborating as well as finding the necessary tools for working. These tools include information literacy and basic information and communication technology literacy. And the last but not the least, students need to know the skill to survive in this multifaceted world as an active and engaged citizen with personal and social responsibility.
A 21st-century learner should be able to apply his or her skills to newer situations and experiences. One should be capable of constantly adapting, learning, and growing in a fast-changing world influenced by technology.
To meet the challenge of preparing students for a life of constant change and constant learning, teachers must be innovative in their approaches. The skills need for 21st century must be centered to what students are doing in the schools. Inquiry-based learning enables teachers to address these skills in a meaningful way- student centered approach and real-world applications. Inquiry based learning prepares students for an uncertain future by providing education that supports them to get actively engaged in their learning, to think critically, to communicate in various ways, to collaborate and to process information, and make them market-ready.
New and innovative methods of data collection are continually being developed, which offer new options for ongoing formative, culminating summative and alternative assessments. Here are five emerging trends for 21st-century classrooms.
- App Innovation and Gamification;
- Digital Literacy;
- Library Media Specialists;
- Self-Directed Professional Development; and
- Collaborative Learning
The four Cs of 21st-century learning are critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity. In the 21st century, the word infuses hopes, expectations, and regards of the highest order, therefore, 21st-century learning definitely has to be something unconventional and off-menu. This is the era of technology, competition, and evolution.