Being a 21st Century Teacher

 

Being a 21st Century Teacher

Sheena M. Valer

 

The 21st century is an era where diverse and new concepts and ideas are emerging rapidly. Therefore, teachers must not only be comfortable with new ideas, but also be prepared to accept change with an open mind.

As a 21st century teacher, you need to develop the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values necessary to cope with these changes and to help your students to do so. A great challenge of today and even tomorrow is that we have to integrate thinking, feeling and action. Integration involves managing learning opportunities, taking advantage of different learning settings, and embracing the concept of lifelong learning. 

Students from different families, cultures, beliefs, and status have different abilities and needs to meet. As a teacher, it is your responsibility to create a school environment that respects, accepts, and celebrates cultural diversity and letting them experience a quality and meaningful learning. In this way, students can learn in a safe and supportive environment where all learning needs are met according to their abilities.

To be an effective 21st century teacher, you need to know the needs of your students and the most effective and meaningful way to meet them. On the other hand, we should be a learner centered, to identify their learning styles is also very important for us to use strategies appropriately.

Collaboration, sharing, contributing, adapting and inventing must also be practiced, to enhance and captivate our learners. Promoting creativity and foster critical thinking among our learners is also very important to be able to achieve educational goals and outcomes. 

A 21st century teacher is also a learner to stay current with the best practices, research and new technology. We should be a leader and a model to our learners in values and behaviors.