21st Century Teacher

Wow! This is my first time heard about 21^st Century Teacher. It was for an assignment given by my lecturer. So I have started to dig up what is 21^st Century Teacher? From my reading I find out that the term “21^st Century skills” is generally used to refer to certain core competencies such as collaboration, digital literacy, critical thinking, and problem-solving that advocates believe schools need to teach to helps students survived in today’s world. Wow, so what is exactly 21^st Century Teacher need to be?

The characteristic of 21^st Century Teacher is divided into four major skills; creativity, critical thinking, communication and collaboration. Creativity is about thinking through information in new ways, making new connection and coming up with innovative solutions to problems. Critical thinking is about analyzing information and critiquing claims. Communication is understanding things well enough to share them clearly with other people. Collaboration is about teamwork and the cooperative genius of a group.

Through my further readings I get to know that 21^st Century Students are actually refers to Generation Z and Generation Alpha. Generation Z which is born between 1995 and 2009, most of them do not remember life without the internet, and have had technology like smartphones, iPads, smartboards and other devices available throughout most of their schooling.

Meanwhile Generation Alpha is born since 2010. They are younger than smartphone, the iPad, 3D television, Instagram and others tools These two generations have grown up with advance technology as a given in their homes and classroom. It means all the information at your fingertips with everything just a quick search away.

So as a teacher we must equip ourselves with the “21^st Century skills” in other for us to compete with the technologies. The students in our schools today are intelligent, independent, and extremely capable. They are skilled with technology. With so much information readily available to them, 21^st century skills focus more on making sense of that information, sharing and using it in smart ways.

As for me, I will continue upgrade my skills and knowledge in order for me to become a 21^st Century Teacher. Furthermore all my children are Generation Alpha, so as a parents I must giving them the skills they need to succeed in this new world.