The term "21s century" has long been an integral part of educational thinking and planning for the future. Administrators and teachers are looking for ways to prepare students for the future, and the education system is developing faster than ever before.
Numerous studies indicate that mechanical memorization is not a successful learning strategy, and classrooms and audiences may not always be ideally suited for studying with students.
Despite studying the skills students will need to achieve success in the 21st century, as well as what educational concepts are worthwhile and which are not, educational institutions, along with teachers, are still trying to figure out what their role should be in teaching students in XXI century.
In the old days, the role of the teacher was to prepare students for certain tasks that they had to fulfil fully (be it trade, crafts or professions). In addition, the communities were more homogeneous, so there was a need to transfer and use special cultural and other values for the purpose of their subsequent existence.
Today, the world in which people live is no longer homogeneous. The society is a conglomeration of different cultures and beliefs. Globalization made the world more accessible and allowed people to connect in new ways. We mix traditions and create unique systems of representations that are not taught in any audience, and which are developed through our life experiences and feelings. We pass on our values and culture without waiting for their audience to be adopted - enough that she simply recognized them.
So, what is the role of education in the 21st century?
As always, the role of education, in fact, consists in the formation of students as active and successful members of society. And, although the essence of the role of education has not changed today, there are still some important changes that are worth considering.
There have been changes in the society. We can not adequately prepare students for the society that exists today or will exist tomorrow if we continue to prepare them for the society of yesterday. In order to prepare students to fulfil their functions in the 21st century, we must take into account some points when deciding on what kind of education should be in educational institutions.
1. Learning should be person-oriented
The times of teachers who lecture have already passed, though not completely. While personal-oriented instruction is strongly recommended in the 21st century, this does not mean that teachers can not already lecture. This also says that now the main source of knowledge in the audience can be not only the teacher. The educational process is no longer limited only to the perception of information received from the teacher, and its assimilation. To make a personal contribution to the community, students should be able to receive new information as soon as any problems arise. They will also need to combine new information with their existing knowledge and use them to solve the problem. They will no longer have to contact the teacher in search of answers, they will have to learn it themselves.
In this model of classroom activities, the teacher is assigned a place of assistant for students. Instead of passively receiving information, students will have to extract it themselves, under the guidance of their teacher.
Different styles of learning are welcome, and students have an increased motivation and sense of responsibility. Students take part in many types of practical activities, and at the same time show their knowledge. Training is a study, not a simple memorization of information.
2. Learning should be joint
Students must learn to cooperate with each other. The society today includes people who cooperate around the world. How will students be able to work with people from other nations with very different spiritual and cultural values if they are not able to establish contact with people who are seen every day in the classroom? Students should also be encouraged to work together to obtain information, to unite them. Cooperation should be progressive, dynamic. Students must learn to recognize the opportunities and abilities that each person can bring to the project, and change roles, depending on these attributes. Our CustomWriting company thinks that institutions also need to work with other educational institutions around the world to share information and learn about the various practices and methods developed. They should be prepared to change their teaching methods in light of new developments in this field.
3. Learning should be contextual
The term "person-oriented" does not at all mean that the teacher loses full control over the situation in the classroom. And while there is an encouragement for students to gain knowledge in different ways, the teacher continues to guide the skills that students need to master. It can also help them understand how the skills they master can be applied in life. Students will have much more motivation to learn something that, in their opinion, will be useful in life. Since we no longer train students to perform specific tasks and functions, we should adopt a more general approach and train them in skills that are suitable for any situation. In the classroom, it is not very useful if they do not affect the lives of students outside the school.
4. Educational institutions should be integrated with the society
To prepare students as responsible citizens, we need to understand what is included in the notion of "responsible citizen". Institutions will work more on this by organizing events for the learning community, encouraging students to join committees or take part in school projects, and also periodically assisting the community around them, for example, delivering food or cleaning up the neighbourhood. Today, students, armed with technology and the Internet, are capable of much. Our community is no longer just an area of space around an educational institution - it extends further and covers the whole world. Training should help students to participate in the global community and find ways to influence that would be more than just a neighbourhood. This does not mean that they do not need to know about the value of helping people around them and the natural environment. They also need to know how they can help protect a world that, while far away from them but is getting closer all the time.