EDU731 Contemporary Issues in

Fiji Education

Week 9 Lecture 1
The 21st Century Fijian Classroom
 Welcome
• Start with a clear understanding of your
destination.
• Know where you are going so that you better
understand where you are now so that the
steps you take are always in the right
direction.

Stephen R Covey
 Outline
• Learning Outcomes
• Old School vs New School
• Characteristics of the 21st Century Classroom
• The Changing face of the 21st Century Classroom
• Components of a 21st Century Classroom
• Roles of the Teacher in the 21st Century Classroom
 Learning Outcomes
• 9.1 State the
characteristics of the 21st
century classroom.

• 9.2 Discuss and critically

reflect on the Changing
face of the 21st century
classroom.
Old School vs New School
Characteristics of a 21st Century Classroom

• Technology is undeniably changing the face of

education.
• Technology has slowly substituting the traditional
mode of learning & teaching.
• Teachers will eventually change to meet the
changes.
Characteristics of a 21st Century Classroom

• The evolved 21st century classroom is a productive

environment in which students can develop the skills
they will require in the workplace.
• Teachers are facilitators of their learning.
• The focus of a 21st century classroom is on students
experiencing the environment they will enter as modern
day workers, developing their higher order thinking
skills, effective communication skills, collaboration skills,
making them adept with using technology and all other
skills that they will need in the 21st century workplace.
Characteristics of a 21st Century Classroom

1. Student-centric:
• Students play an active role in their learning and
teachers serve as mere guides.
• They are more facilitators of learning than lecturers.
• They help students think critically and learn by doing
and act as a resource while their students discover and
master new concepts.
• Student-centric classroom environments put students’
interests first and are focused on each student’s needs,
abilities and learning styles.
Characteristics of a 21st Century Classroom

2. Computing devices:
• Computers are readily available in modern classrooms, since
they are essential tools for 21st century students and replace
the utilities of pen and paper.
• They not only give students the means to conduct online
research and master the technology skills they need, but they
also give teachers the opportunity to enhance their lessons.
• The ability to deftly operate a computer is a critical 21st
century skill.
• Computing devices greatly assist in teaching and learning and
make them more engaging and effective.
Characteristics of a 21st Century Classroom

3. Adaptive learning:
• Any classroom will always have students of different types
of learning abilities in it which often makes it difficult for
teachers to make sure that all of them understand the
concepts.
• The modern approach of adaptive learning gives students
the freedom to learn at their own pace and in the way they
are most comfortable with.
• There are various kinds of software available for adaptive
learning that teachers can use to enhance the learning of
their students.
Characteristics of a 21st Century Classroom

4. Students understand and follow the rules and procedures:

• The learning environment is carefully planned and well-
organized.
• Class rules, procedures, and notices of upcoming activities
are posted in convenient places to help students stay on
track.
• Students are constantly encouraged to remind them of their
goals and responsibilities.
• They follow class routines and understand what they are
expected to achieve each day and how they are to go about
it.
Characteristics of a 21st Century Classroom
5. Mutual respect:
• Teachers and students should always have respect for each other.
• Teachers encourage students to speak with confidence and value
their opinions and also co-operate with and respect their classmates.

6. Students take responsibility of their learning:

• Students are encouraged to actively participate in their own learning,
they become responsible for their learning.
• Self-directed students not only encourage each other, but also work
with their teacher to achieve academic and behavioral goals that they
themselves have helped establish.
• Teachers should employ a variety of strategies to promote
responsible decision-making and create self-reliant students.
Characteristics of a 21st Century Classroom

7. Performance-based assessments:
• Regular performance-based assessments are carried
out by teachers through various methods which are
not restricted to tests.
• These can be by conducting quizzes and polls.
• Teachers can utilize projects as well as other products
and performances as assessments to determine
student achievements and needs.
• Assessments are tailored to the abilities and needs of
the students.
Characteristics of a 21st Century Classroom

8. Collaborative learning:
• Learning through collaboration is one of the most effective
forms of learning.
• Teaching and learning in isolation are very restrictive and
hinder progress.
• Learning in groups enhances the scope of learning and
develops critical thinking.
• Collaborative learning activities include collaborative writing,
group projects, joint problem solving, debates and more.
• Collaborative learning redefines traditional student-teacher
relationship in the classroom.
 The Changing faces of the 21st Century
Classroom
Integration of social networks in the
Increasing presence of online courses classrooms
The Changing faces of the 21st Century
Classroom
 The 21 Century Classroom
st

• Teaching students to be successful in a 21st

century, knowledge-based economy requires a
different way of teaching.
• The students we see in the classroom today are
digital natives.
• They have grown up with technology around them
rather than being forced to learn the technology
later in life (Prensky, 2010).
 The 21 Century Learners
st

• They have only known a

world bathed in
technology.
• Technology is their first
language.
• They are technologically
enhanced.
• Much of what they learn
occurs outside the school.
Digital Alphabets of the 21st Century
Learners
 The 21 Century Learners
st

• Networked
• Multi-tasker
• Digitally literate
• Craves interactivity
• Tethered to internet
• Wants to learn things that
matter
• Wants to be challenged to
reach their conclusion
 Reference
• Prensky, M. (2010) Teaching Digital Natives.
Partnering for real learning. Thousand Oaks, CA:
Corwin Publishers.

• https://
edtechreview.in/news/862-top-10-characteristics-of-
a-21st-century-classroom
Final Thoughts!