Rethinking Learners and Teachers Roles
Learner’s in the 21st Century are commonly nicknamed “digital natives,” they are the emerging generation that has never experienced a world without some form of technology whether that be mobile phones, internet, Ipads, computers etc. As a result teaching techniques are facing the pressure to change to adapt to these learners new ways of thinking. These students are "...figuring out how to live in a brand new context." (Prensky, 2013). Because of this learners and teachers roles are also changing. No longer are teachers solely responsible for providing information, they have to instead be a facilitator to the information new learners are already being faced with and cater to their individual experiences and knowledge base. This response is due to the change in society and schooling. Rapid social and economic transformations require a deeper level of learning from students, and teachers need to support this reshaped mission of education. “The invention of 21st century schools that can educate all children well rests, first and foremost, upon the development of a highly qualified and committed teaching force.” (Darling-Hammond, 1996)
A teacher’s new role as an educator in the 21st century is to provide their learners with skills in creativity, prolific engagement and for social life. They are no longer limited to just providing skills for future employment. Teachers must be the learners first and teachers second. They need to, “…model the process of learning for students and show them what intrinsic motivation and curiosity and creativity look like.”(Richardson, 2013) In this both the teacher and learner roles develop, both gaining life skills to enhance them as people and lifelong learners. "I think we need a new core: effective thinking, effective action, effective relationships, and effective accomplishment. Thinking, acting, relating, and accomplishing ought to be what primary and secondary school is about." (Prensky, 2013). It has become a demand that teachers, “…understand learners and their learning as deeply as they comprehend their subjects, and that schools structure themselves to support deeper forms of student and teacher learning than they currently permit … Teachers are expected not only to "cover the curriculum" but to create a bridge between the needs of each learner and the attainment of challenging learning goals.” (Darling-Hammond, 1996)
Learner’s in the 21st Century are commonly nicknamed “digital natives,” they are the emerging generation that has never experienced a world without some form of technology whether that be mobile phones, internet, Ipads, computers etc. As a result teaching techniques are facing the pressure to change to adapt to these learners new ways of thinking. These students are "...figuring out how to live in a brand new context." (Prensky, 2013). Because of this learners and teachers roles are also changing. No longer are teachers solely responsible for providing information, they have to instead be a facilitator to the information new learners are already being faced with and cater to their individual experiences and knowledge base. This response is due to the change in society and schooling. Rapid social and economic transformations require a deeper level of learning from students, and teachers need to support this reshaped mission of education. “The invention of 21st century schools that can educate all children well rests, first and foremost, upon the development of a highly qualified and committed teaching force.” (Darling-Hammond, 1996)
A teacher’s new role as an educator in the 21st century is to provide their learners with skills in creativity, prolific engagement and for social life. They are no longer limited to just providing skills for future employment. Teachers must be the learners first and teachers second. They need to, “…model the process of learning for students and show them what intrinsic motivation and curiosity and creativity look like.”(Richardson, 2013) In this both the teacher and learner roles develop, both gaining life skills to enhance them as people and lifelong learners. "I think we need a new core: effective thinking, effective action, effective relationships, and effective accomplishment. Thinking, acting, relating, and accomplishing ought to be what primary and secondary school is about." (Prensky, 2013). It has become a demand that teachers, “…understand learners and their learning as deeply as they comprehend their subjects, and that schools structure themselves to support deeper forms of student and teacher learning than they currently permit … Teachers are expected not only to "cover the curriculum" but to create a bridge between the needs of each learner and the attainment of challenging learning goals.” (Darling-Hammond, 1996)
The video below addresses the further concept of how a student’s learning environment, whether that be their relationships with teachers, parents and friends or their personal home life, such as the amount of love they are given, influences and inspires them to become the creator of their own education and the 21st century content they produce. Teachers have a high impact on this, but their roles have changed. Many teacher’s are now asking for their students to direct themselves, and the teacher only acts as a guide to supply them knowledge along the way, so that they can achieve their potential. “The role of the human teacher is now to give students what technology can't—motivation, respect, empathy, and passion." (Heitin, 2013)