The teaching profession today is saddled with much more responsibilities compared with what was obtainable years back. With technology, the world is rapidly changing, so educators have a major challenge to prepare the children for the future.
Today’s teachers have the additional challenge of engaging digital natives’ interest and dealing with children who are exposed to innumerable sources of knowledge on the internet and the migration to student led learning. Teaching needs to go above and beyond the basics of knowledge sharing to embracing the 4 Cs – Creativity, Critical Thinking, Collaboration and Communication. Today’s 21st Century Teacher requires training and retraining to stay atop.
As the year kicks off, we have put together a list of 15 things a 21st Century must aim to do this year.
- Don’t do the same old thing. Look for something new and fresh to include in your lessons and class.
- Embrace technology – learn how to use new technology tools this year
- Use technology in the classroom – try out flipped classrooms
- Introduce gamification to your lesson plan. It could be as simple as Jeopardy, Who Wants to Be A Millionaire or The Voice – make the class more fun and engaging
- Help and encourage students to use technology – move them from being mainly consumers to producers of digital content
- Actively encourage students to take ownership of their learning
- Be intentional in promoting collaboration among the student – use peer to peer and ask 3 before me strategies
- Embrace challenges – Look for and accept opportunities to move out of your comfort zone
- Share your ideas, expertise, experience and knowledge with other teachers via whatsapp, Instagram, facebook, etc
- Explore collaboration opportunities with other teachers both locally and internationally
- Actively seek out and attend teachers’ forums and seminars and other events for continuous learning and networking.
- Actively look for both classroom and online course to learn and deepen knowledge
- Follow teachers’ groups on Instagram and Facebook, interacts and take part in discussions, learn from others wealth of experience as well as for networking.
- Become an advocate for quality education for every child on your social media page
- Celebrate others successes and find inspiration in others’ successes – don’t compare but let their success spur you.
Get ready for a great year of growth in leaps and bounds. If you enjoyed our post, please share with friends and colleagues. We would love to hear from you, drop a comment or send us your additions to our list.
