Teaching in the 21st Century

EDU60010 Teaching in the 21st Century

Introduction
I will be examining the theory, ideas and skills covered in the first five weeks of the Swinburne
Online unit Teaching in the 21st Century:

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21st Century learning

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Personalised learning

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Equity, diversity and inclusivity

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Curriculum that uses deep knowledge

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Rethinking the roles of learners and teachers

Excitement, engagement, and intrigue motivated me during this time. The readings have confirmed, strengthened and challenged my views formed over the last thirteen years during which I have been engaged as a teacher in the vocational education and training (VET) sector. I will reflect upon the three concepts covered that resonate most deeply with my own teaching philosophies; 21st Century learning, personalised learning, and curriculum that uses deep knowledge.

Body
21st Century Learning
“In 21st Century Learning, students use educational technologies to apply knowledge to new situations, analyze information, collaborate, solve problems, and make decisions.” (British
Columbia Ministry of Education, n.d.).
I believe that 21st Century learning is independent of technology (although technology should be used where it supports 21st Century learning) because it is a set of ideas that bring about a change in education from schools of the industrial age to a world where “the typical teenager has at least as much access to knowledge about the world as parents and teachers have” (Senge, 2012, p.60).
Senge (2012) describes the industrial age school as a “school system fashioned in the image of the assembly line, the icon of the booming industrial age” (p.35) , where the school had the monopoly on information (Senge, 2012, p.59). 21st Century learning occurs when:
Students are generally engaged in independent or group projects, often choosing tasks to work on and