Teaching and Learning in the 21st Century Essay Example

This is a lecture style of teaching which is considered one of the traditional teaching methods (Jordan, Carlile, & Stack, 2008). The lecturing approach does not fully enhance learning.

The views of the learners are also not taken into consideration hence not achieving the overall goal of learning (Jordan, Carlile, & Stack, 2008). The students might find the lecture boring hence drifting away from it. Jim the firefighter might not elaborately express his ideas since according to Swann (2011), for the case of a lecture the children may not raise questions for clarifications. After the lecture by Jim on ways they used to put out the fire, Mr.

Benjamin has proposed that the children should write a story about the fire. In this case, Mr. Benjamin is acting as the controller of the classroom and the students are not given a chance to decide whatever they want to achieve from the lecture (Mincu, 2012). This learning approach displays a situation where power and responsibility are held by the teacher.

The teacher is, therefore, the instructor and the decision maker in all learning processes (Saavedra & Opfer, 2012). This is a traditional learning approach evident in the case study and the grade two children may not benefit so much from the story writing. Further grade two children may not be in a position to first listen to a lecture then extract a story from it. According to the principal of Brown Coal, the teachers should carry out some science project to understand the emotions of the students concerning the fire. This is a traditional view of teaching and learning according to Garci?a & Baetens Beardsmore (2009), which considers the

teacher as the one causing learning to occur. The science project is teacher-centered and the children may not be fully involved in understanding the effects of the fire on Victoria town.

From the scenario, Ms. Newcombe, one of the grades two teachers, is looking for different approaches to supporting the children in learning the effects of the fire and promoting their well-being in the process. These approaches may not be modern approaches to teaching and learning and might also not suit the students. Introducing a blackboard and using verbal expressions to explain the effects of the fire to the children may be such approaches (Jordan, Carlile, & Stack, 2008).

This approach is also a traditional teaching and learning technique since it considers the children as having knowledge gaps and they take the information given to them without questioning (Mincu, 2012). The teachers in the case study have used fairly old techniques in examining and explaining the effects of the coal fire to Victoria and Brown Coal School. The children may therefore not fully understand the effects of the coal fire leading to the closure of their school ten years ago.

New Practices in Teaching and Learning for the 21st-Century Classroom

The approaches used in the scenario to teach the children the effects of the fire are evidently traditional. New learning approaches have been developed over time to enhance the learning experience for the students. These new teaching practices utilize both internal and external classroom partnerships, by adequately using modern technologies in the learning process (Dror, 2011).

The techniques according to Saavedra & Opfer (2012) are student-centered and the views of the students are taken into consideration. Demonstration or

taking the role of a coach is one new strategy which is increasingly used by teachers to enhance learning. In this case, the teachers retain their formal authority role (Hallam & Creech, 2010). They, however, demonstrate their expertise by showing the students what they need to know. This teaching practice gives teachers a room to incorporate different learning formats such as using multimedia, lectures, and demonstrations. Through such incorporations, the students have access to different approaches in their process of gaining and retaining the knowledge obtained in class (Mincu, 2012).

The technique should, however, be used sparingly since it may not accommodate each student’s learning needs. The method is suitable for teaching music, mathematics, arts and craft and physical education (Hallam & Creech, 2010). Facilitation and activity are other modern teaching practices which greatly enhance learning. This method aims to promote self-learning by helping students develop critical thinking skills and retaining knowledge leading to self-actualization (Lankshear & Knobel, 2011). In this case, the teacher is not viewed as a custodian of knowledge.

The learning experience is a shared process according to Swann (2011), where the teacher gives directions on the major knowledge areas in the classroom. The teacher also engages the students in different activities during the lesson such drawing, comparing notes and making appropriate conclusions. This style trains students to be explorative in learning by asking questions and finding appropriate answers. Delegating duties and utilizing student groups is another helpful modern teaching strategy which works for most teachers (Saavedra & Opfer, 2012). It is suitable for experimental subjects and those requiring peer feedbacks. It is an effective learning approach since it is a guided and inquiry-based

where the teacher is an observer and only inspires the students by working in tandems towards achievements of common goals (Jordan, Carlile, & Stack, 2008).

The teacher in this learning approach is a consultant and steps forward to help in case a problem arises. Bird & Edirisingha (2011) suggest that it replaces the traditional authoritative role where the opinions of the students are not important in the learning process. Technologically advanced approaches are also used in enhancing classroom teaching and learning. Blended learning where face to face teaching and online platforms are integrated and used collectively (Dror, 2011). This approach is utilized according to Tsang, Kwan, & Fox (2007), to accommodate the students' diverse learning styles and enables them to work before or even after school. Such approaches are not available in the traditional and conventionally accepted classroom instructions methods.

The technique has the potential of accelerating productivity within the students by employing learning outside the schools hours, minimizing the cost of instructional resources used in learning and sufficiently saving the teacher’s time (Swann, 2011). The strategy is effective for schools in remote areas where it can help both the teachers and students overcome the distances to resources barriers. New teaching methods also include using open educational resources. These are teaching, learning and research resources that are readily available over the internet to everybody (Tsang, Kwan, ; Fox, 2007).

Students, teachers, and facilitators can use them since they range from digital libraries, podcasts, and games critical to sharpening the understanding of different concepts. It is important for such resources used in the process of learning to meet high integrity, accuracy and quality to make them authentic for use

within the classroom set up (Lankshear ; Knobel, 2011). The resources should also be accessible to all students for effective learning to take place. The modern classrooms also use partnerships and linkages and to enhance teaching and learning. For instance, most schools have online platforms where they connect with other schools around the world in the process of sharing information (Grant ; Lei, 2001).

These linkages are done through video conferencing and online chats where students get the classroom experience in distant schools around the world. Educational exchanges where students physically visit other classrooms are also responsible for longer knowledge retention. The teacher can also invite experts to facilitate a practical concept resulting to a more elaborative teaching (Garci?a ; Baetens Beardsmore, 2009).

Review and Comparison of Other Team Members’ Findings

Teaching and learning have shifted from the traditional approaches where the teacher was the giver of knowledge and students were the recipients. Teaching was set up as lecture where students’ opinions and feelings were not very important.

According to the findings by other team members, learning in the modern classrooms is student based and teachers inspires and facilitates the learning process. Here we have a review of team members’ findings in efforts to compare and contrast teaching and learning practices around the world. According to Jisu, teachers should use demonstrations and coaching techniques in their processes of explaining the concepts to the students. His findings concur with mine where we both found out the benefits of using the techniques. In both cases, our research findings suggest that teachers should incorporate learning with charts, photographs, and multimedia resources to enhance learning (Saavedra ; Opfer, 2012). Classroom demonstrations

according to Swann (2011) are also useful in schools in Australia and Canada according my findings which also confirm findings by Jisu.

Most teachers in Finland have adopted the role of coaches when it comes to learning according to Juthamas’ research findings. Students organized into groups and delegation of duties improves learning outcomes and higher retention of the knowledge learned in the classroom according to findings by all group members. Juthamas, for instance, outlined the importance delegating tasks for children in China. The children in the Chinese classrooms are organized into groups when undertaking experimental classes and tasks. His findings are, therefore, the same as my own findings where I detailed the importance of task delegation and group studies in enhancing skills acquisition.

Most European teachers have adopted the delegation of task techniques and hence remaining as observers or inspiration in the whole process of learning (Cohen, 2002). When it comes to using open educational resources, some differences emerged on the effectiveness of such methods from the cross-examination of our findings. Our research findings tend to agree on the importance of such methods. However according to facts presented by Jisu, open educational resources are not very effective in some Arab and Asian countries (Garci?a ; Baetens Beardsmore, 2009). His argument is that these countries have not fully adopted classroom technology hence podcasts and digital libraries may not suit the children in such classrooms. He suggests that they should continue using the traditional techniques as they gradually adopt the open educational resources.

My findings majorly focused on the US classrooms where the technique is fully functional and helps both the teachers and the learners. All our research findings agree

on the importance of blended teaching as an effective approach in most modern classrooms. According to Jisu, blending face to face learning with online resource platforms which are web based is a suitable strategy for the classrooms in the developing countries. Juthamas further argue that such blending provides vital resources for the children who are not financially capable of obtaining the physical resources (Hallam ; Creech, 2010). My findings also agree with them that blended teaching facilitates learning in almost all school environments since it breaks the monotony of traditional classrooms (Lankshear ; Knobel, 2011). All our findings appreciate the role of using new techniques such as technology, partnerships and linkages in the whole learning process for both teachers and students.

From the research findings of all the team members, it is important to note that learning has gradually changed over time. Teachers and students are now considered partners in pursuit of knowledge. The focal point of learning in almost all classrooms according to the team findings is shifting from teacher-centered learning approach to a student-centered approach while utilizing the technological innovations to enhance knowledge acquisition (Tsang, Kwan, ; Fox, 2007).

Reflection on the Experience of Working as a Team

Carrying out the task in a team is important since it has helped gained a lot of skills during the process. Fostering creativity and learning is one such benefit I got from examining the case study in a team.

Group activities such as brainstorming have helped me learn the ideas of the other team members (Mincu, 2012). Teamwork is also vital in maximizing shared knowledge and learning new concepts which I can use throughout my learning (Dror,

2011). Through teamwork, I have discovered that it can be appropriately used by teachers to improve students’ performance. Working as a team also blends complementary strengths within the team members (Jordan, Carlile, ; Stack, 2008). Each team member has a unique set of talents.

I have learned that when these talents are combined, the productivity of the team is greatly improved. It is, therefore, important to observe the skill and talents of each group member to develop a stronger team. In the practice of teaching according to Lankshear ; Knobel (2011), teachers have the opportunity of discovering strengths in each child and complementing them with those from other children. Teamwork is, therefore, very necessary for the learning process (Mincu, 2012).

Challenges are inevitable when operating as a team. Lack of trust is one challenge I encountered during the process of working as a team (Saavedra ; Opfer, 2012). Some of the team members in my case had neither commitment nor motivation to keep the team functional. This impacted negatively on the performance and delivery of tasks assigned to each member (Tsang, Kwan, ; Fox, 2007). This situation can also occur to a teacher in their daily practices.

When a teacher discovers the lack of trust among children in a team it is important to address the challenge by introducing a new team member or restructuring the team (Bird ; Edirisingha, 2011). Communication can also be a major challenge for different team members. Lack of communication on the delivery of tasks can lead to team members losing focus and purpose of the team (Lankshear ; Knobel, 2011). I experienced this when we were undertaking the work whereby some delays

or breaks in communication channels led to the late delivery of tasks from the team members.

My recommendations for any team performing a joint task are the minimization of the challenges of teamwork as much as possible. The team members should have total commitment towards the objective of the team. The team should have clear communication channels, trust and always consistent with the goals of the team in order to accomplish the joint tasks.

References

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