Teaching and Learning in 21st century

Question: Discuss about theTeaching and Learning in 21st century. Answer: 21st Century Learning and Teaching In the twenty-first century the standards for literacy has changed, as it is not limited to the learning of letters and numbers. The requirements for a person to function properly in society has changed significantly in the recent years so the change in the teaching and learning had become necessary to facilitate the proper assimilation of the students in the society. Now the computer has become a tool that is used in every aspect of professional and social life so the necessity of the computer literacy has become absolute. The use of different technology and new processes are being introduced in every aspect of the society. Therefore, the method of learning has become more important than the memorization of facts and processes. The twenty-first century education is based on the understanding of the functions and the implementation of the knowledge gained from the education. The teachers had to change their approach to focus on the skills of the students rather than their capability of retaining information. The ability to understand something new depends on the factor that if a student can understand the whys of a process of function they can critically evaluate the process and their understanding is liable to help them understand any change in the process and adjust to the change (Cheng, 2002). The learning in the twenty-first century student is not based on what to learn but how to learn. It makes sense that if the ability to learn is ingrained into the student then they are much more capable of adjusting to the changes that are common place in the century where the world is rapidly changing. Key Features of Traditional Education The standard modern education or the traditional education has its roots in the eighteenth century. Some key features of the traditional education are quite sensible and practical, as the system has worked for a long time (Nunan Lamb, 1996). One of the features is the usefulness of the things that are taught to the students. The materials that are taught are the basic facts of the different disciplines that help the students function properly in the society. Another feature of the traditional education is the system of judging the competency of the learner by using harsh trials that test the ability of the student to retain the important information that might help him or her in their adult life (Denemark, 2011). The use of said knowledge in controlled situation where the ability of the student to apply the knowledge in appropriate situation is also tested by the trials. The most effective form of the learning that is traditional is the method of learning on the job or as an apprent ice is also included in the key features of traditional education. The process of teaching is dependent on the benefit of acquiring knowledge being exchanged with the compensation of the teacher by service or money or goods. Therefore, the process of teaching is completely because the knowledge is a commodity that can be gained through practise and compensation (Smilkstein, 2003). New Practices The twenty-first century practices in education have birthed many a new practises that are effective and suitable for the situation at hand. Among the new practices, the availability of knowledge and the accessibility to the learning is much more pronounced. In many of the countries, the children are given mandatory education so their development as individual is more complete ("Learning and teaching", 2005). The new practices have adopted the use of specially prepared material and orchestrated situation that prepare the students to learn the use of their skills on a much larger scale than previously possible so the efficiency and the capacity of the process has increased. The rate by which the knowledge is imparted has improved the process. The learning process exhibits the interaction between students and the tutors so that the teaching can be adjusted to the learning goals of a single student and they can gain knowledge that is most important to them in their daily life at their o wn pace (Freitas Yapp, 2005). Forces Driving the Change in Education There are many forces driving the change in education among which two of the most important are given below: Social Change The standard of the society in the twenty-first century is changing as the effect of globalization. Diversity of the population is changing the cultural standards of the people to broaden their views. The current availability of knowledge is higher and the specific needs of the different communities and professions are different and diverse. Thus, the need for an education that is all rounded with basic information about the world is paramount. Now days, the skill of the person is treated as the determinant of the persons role in the society, rather than the birth and social standing. Therefore, the education system needed to broaden to be able to recognise the various skills of the student base from all strata of the society. Previously the role of a person in the society was bound by ones birth and position in the society so knowledge that is more specific was passed from generation to generation (Herteis, 2010). The current society that is mix of people with different skills and b ackgrounds forced the education system to change. Technology The technology is another driving force behind the changes in the learning and teaching in the twenty-first century. The technology has improved rapidly in the last century that caused the change in education sector the connection between the people from different culture and the different social standard has been rendered common as the technological knowledge is used similarly across all (Simpson, 2010). The digital literacy and the use of internet made a vast quantity of knowledge available so the process of how to learn from them is being treated as more important as the information is more readily available than ever on a plethora of subjects. Therefore, it is clear that the technical advancement made many changes possible in the teaching and learning process. The changes to improve the teaching and learning of the individuals would have been impossible if the technology to facilitate them was not present. For this reason, technology can be dubbed the most prominent driving force behind the teaching and learning process in the twenty-first century. References Cheng, Y. (2002).Subject teaching and teacher education in the new century. Hong Kong: Hong Kong Institute of Education. Denemark, R. (2011). Teaching and Learning about Teaching and Learning.International Studies Review,13(3), 543-545. https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2486.2011.01061.x Freitas, S. Yapp, C. (2005).Personalizing learning in the 21st century. Stafford: Network Educational Press. Herteis, E. (2010). Teaching, Learning and Interning: From Teaching Internships to Scholarly Teaching.The Canadian Journal For The Scholarship Of Teaching And Learning, 1-13. https://dx.doi.org/10.5206/cjsotl-rcacea.2010.2.5 Learning and teaching. (2005).Health Information Libraries Journal,22(2), 156-159. https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-1842.2005.00567.x Nunan, D. Lamb, C. (1996).The self-directed teacher. Cambridge [England]: Cambridge University Press. Simpson, K. (2010).The Learning Process. Cork: Publish on Demand Global LLC. Smilkstein, R. (2003).We're born to learn. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Corwin Press.