21ST CENTURY LEARNING

SALLY M. CHOA

What the students of today need are 21st century skills, which are basically acquired by synergizing content and skills. This requires not only memorization of facts and details, but mastery of disciplines including English, reading or language arts, Mathematics, Economics, Science, Geography, History and Government.

Twenty-first century learning, while using the past as a baseline for the future, aims to create learners who take intellectual risks. It fosters learning dispositions and nurtures school communities where everyone is a learner.

In preparing students for today’s world, education should be delivered in a vastly different manner. This means that true 21st century learning must involve more than information literacy alone.

Truly, reading, writing and arithmetic play a core role in the 21st century classroom. They become avenues for imparting a whole array of 21st century skills which will allow students to function, learn and adapt throughout life in this post-modern world.

To promote understanding of academic content at much higher levels, schools are moving beyond basic competency by weaving 21st century interdisciplinary themes into the curriculum. Schools are now focusing on creativity, critical thinking, communication and collaboration, which are essential to prepare students for the future.

To be effective in the 21st century, citizens and workers must be able to create, evaluate, and effectively utilize information, media, and technology. Students need to develop thinking skills, content knowledge, and social and emotional competencies to navigate complex life and work environments.

There are a lot of possibilities for students in a 21st century classroom. Schools have now become more than just places of learning for students; they have now become places for preparing students for the next level of education, which will lead to lifelong success and personal fulfillment.

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The author is Teacher I at Nuestra Señora del Pilar Integrated School