UNIVERSITY of GOROKA

School of Education

EDY 2310 – Introduction to Educational Psychology

Semester 2: Assignment # 1 – Essay write up

NAME: Leedon HEPOE

ID #: 2015311284
PRO: Bachelor in Education Science
Tut:
Lect:
Yr of Stdy: Pre- Service Yr 3
The article that the critique will be basing on is all about the Learning in the 21st century-
Teaching today’s students on their terms. This article was amended by the International
Education Advisory Board (IEAB) to help and get teachers equipped in order to cope up with
the technological change with the Millennials of the 21st century. The information suggested
is relevant in today’s education system due to the changes and possible affects it has on
today’s digital children. It is suggested by the University of Goroka under the supervision of
Mr John Y. Hagoiya who is the course coordinator of EDY 2310: Professionalism in
Teaching which is supervises by the school of education, division of teaching & learning. The
main idea behind this critique is to do the analysis or identifying the strength and weakness
and or importance of learning in the 21st century-Teaching today’s student on their terms, and
either to debate it for or against or to debate it concurrently. To be precisely speaking, in this
particular article the discussion will be going concurrently (for and against) with the topic -
Teaching in the 21st century. It will elaborate on the effectiveness, the productivity and the
proficiency of the ICT in this century and also the flaws it experiences.

The article about Teaching in the 21st century-Teaching today’s students in their terms consist
of four (4) main aspects; The 21st century student, The 21st century teacher, The challenges of
teaching millennials and the solutions for using technology to teach 21st century students.
The 21st century students consist of eight (8) characteristics which they acquired in
similarities or common amongst them; The likes to be in control meaning, they do not want
to be bound by traditional schedules and do not want to waste time sitting in a classroom but
instead prefer to utilised their technological skills to do study at their own time etc.. . Free
will of choice; Millennials choose to use technology to complete assign task in new and
creative ways. They are group-oriented and socially prep to expose themselves to the world
via media, they constantly network socially meaning that they seek opportunities to identify
with other individuals on a small scale. Highly collaborative in terms of sharing what they
learn with others. Millennials are inclusive in such a way that they are not limited by the
information available to them; used internet to search for information’s worldwide. They are
the practical users of digital technology, ICT has always been part of their life and because of
the excess granted to them, they used it to support their learning and do whatever they need it
to do. They think differently, as compared to the former generation, to them technology is no
amazing instead they simply accepted technology, adapt to it and used it. They have the urge
to take risk by doing the same problem over and over again till they get it right. Value time
off due to uncertainty of how they view life; they view life differently by not anticipating on
earning a certain status or achievements, want their own time and when it is free they
dedicate it according to their own terms.

The 21st century teachers are referred to as experienced and educated than the past teachers,
making sure that their work and classroom transform as they improve their lesson and
teaching using technology, they also share the following characteristics; they sometimes
resist learning about new technology. Coming out of the Boom generation, they sometimes
feel intimidated by their students’ knowledge of technologies that they do not understand.
Work in environments where professional development is under-emphasized and
undervalued by their employers. By about 75% of teachers participated in educational
technology integration professional development course, more than 60% spent less than eight
hours in a twelve month period in this type of training. Need support and proper planning is
one reason teachers experience dissatisfaction with their jobs, causing them to either leave
their profession or transfer to other schools is the lack of planning time. New technology
takes them out of their comfort zone; this makes teachers become facilitators, new role
conflicts with traditional methods and requires teachers to be seen as backbenchers which
cause discomfort towards their profession.

The challenges of teaching millennials have caused a great effect on the teaching system.
Classroom has change since millennials began moving through today’s school system.
Curricular evolve, new teaching methodologies are developed to reach this generation who
spends as much time stimulated by digital media as it does in school. As teachers, they face
the following challenges; learning must be relevant to students because to millennials,
learning means more when they understand practical application for the information they
receive. Content must be specific, concise and fast. Technology can be distractive which
means, millennials respond best to high technology, more often the teachers and their
students may become distracted by it. Technology can be expensive in terms of the cost
associated in implementing new technology resources in academic institution which are very
daunting. Millennials risk being over schooled and over work; as the most scheduled
generation ever, millennials are pushed to succeed more than previous generations. High
scoring students who went to colleges find themselves unchallenged, sometimes find out that
they have no used in their first two years of higher education. Some millennials will not
pursue post-secondary education; when education is of no interest, millennials move on to
career clusters which provide skills education rather than academics.

Solutions for using technology to teach 21st century students; in order to effectively engage
and teach millennial students, school systems must be outfitted with prerequisite of ICT
resources and curricula must be designed to promote a collaborative learner-centred
environment to which students will relate and respond. Designing curricula to stimulate a
video-game environment may help teachers to better engage media saturated students.
Consider the following characteristics of the video games and applied it in the learning
environment. The characteristics are as listed;
Well defined goals, Patience, Team play, Tracking, Change, Immediate consequences,
Personalization, Patterns, Digital literacy certification for educators, Digital literacy
certification for students.
The author argued that, according to the article on the 21st century students which consist of
the following characteristics, namely; their likes to be in control which means, they don’t
want to be bound by the traditional schedules and do not want to waste time sitting in the
classroom, their free will of choice that allows them to use technology to complete assign
task in new and creative ways, group oriented and socially prep to exposed themselves
through media, the inclusivity to the unlimited information online, their practicality in using
digital technology, the way they think and see the influence of media, the risk they take and
the way they view life is somewhat sounds reasonable to the students in the 21st century. But
I strongly argued that for the author to overlook the importance of the teacher as a facilitator
in the 21st century education is that, the teacher as a facilitator, his or her job is to make sure
that the students learning comes first out of all classroom activities. As a facilitator, their role
is to make sure that the students must get a fair education and must abide by the rules sets by
the teacher and there must also be some strict rules set to govern the students use of
technology, for example, the appropriate time to use their digital technology, where and when
they are allowed to use. According to the 21st century skills for students and teachers which
was published by the Pacific Policy Research Center, (2010), it stated that Today, much
success lies in being able to communicate, share, and use information to solve complex
problems, in being able to adapt and innovate in response to new demands and changing
circumstances, in being able to command and expand the power of technology to create new
knowledge.
According to Craig D. Jeral’s Defining a 21st century education (2009), he quotes Levy and
Murnane, findings such as students who leave school able to follow directions but without
expert thinking and complex communication skills will have difficulty supporting their own
families. Indeed, they found that as computers take over more and more routine tasks, the
nature of work across the entire economy is undergoing rapid transformation. Between 1969
and 1999, the share of job tasks calling for expert thinking and complex communication rose
sharply and steadily; but beginning in the early 1980s the share of tasks calling for routine
thinking or routine manual work plummeted. As a facilitator, a teacher can make students
understand the proper use of technology and the effect it can affects their learning and how
they can control the use of it.
Source: Kamehameha Schools Research & Evaluation, Honolulu. (2010).

The author also argued that in regards to the 21st century teacher, they sometimes referred to
as experienced and educated. They try their best to make sure their work and classroom
transform as they improve on their teaching using technology. With its characteristics
concerned (21st century teacher), they often resist in learning new things, work in an
environment where professional development is under emphasized and undervalued, need of
support and proper planning and also the new technology usually takes them out of their
comfort zone. I strongly suggested that the 21st century education system should give
sometime in order for the teachers to cope and digest to the change they have to take
regarding this systems policies because according to the educational attainment extract from
the article; Defining a 21st century education (2009), it stated that, Before considering what
skills are necessary for success in the 21st century, it is important to recognize that how much
education one attains is important of itself. According to Harvard University economists
Claudia Goldin and Lawrence Katz in their new book The Race Between Education and
Technology, from 1980 to 2005, the college wage premium—the amount of additional money
earned by those with a college degree—increased by “an astonishing 25 percent.” The rate of
return for each year of college education now stands at about 13 to 14 percent.
(Cited in Craig D. Jeral, 2009, Defining a 21st century education.)

The author strongly claimed that the challenges of teaching millennials in the 21st century has
cause a great effects on the teaching system whereby; classroom teaching have change,
curricula evolved, new teaching methodologies are developed in order to contemplate to the
standard of today’s generation, because learning must be relevant to students in terms of them
understanding the practical application for the information that they receive, the technology is
also distractive and can be expensive therefore I intensely agreed with the author because
today’s teachers had to equipped themselves with some basic knowledge of computing and if
not, they will have to attend some sorts of training in that particular field which will also cost
they money but will also assist them in bringing forth the practical knowledge to their
students. By looking at today’s industries that deals in inventing new technologies, their
charging rate is very costly and it is also very expensive when it comes down to installing of
technologies. To keep on exercising these practice, the institution or school will had to
consider the electrical bills, the maintenance of the hardware and software also etc... .
According to Craig D. Jeral’s Defining a 21st century education (2009) he elaborate on the
P21 research brief on 21st century professional development such that it provides both
“guiding
recommendations” and “promising directions.” Also stating the eleven guiding
recommendations which are; 1) develop intensive teacher professional development
programs that focus intentionally on 21st century skills instruction, 2) integrate 21st century
skills into teacher preparation and certification, 3) build capacity, 4) develop district
leadership teams to infuse 21st century skills throughout the school district, 5) invest in
information communications technologies (ICT), 6) develop professional learning
communities around specific 21st century skills, 7) train administrators around how to lead
21st century skills initiatives, 8) offer professional development to state departments of
education staff, 9) engage colleges of education for 21st century skills leadership, 10)
integrate 21st century skills into teaching standards, and 11) leverage the reach of the Web to
distribute resources. As you can see, some of these guiding recommendations is very
expensive to carry out and may also cause conflicts between teachers, administration staff
students’ body and the school board. (Cited in Craig D. Jeral, 2009, Defining a 21st century
education.)

The Author intensely appealed that, in order for the use of technology in teaching 21st century
students to workout, school system must outfitted with prerequisite of ICT resources and
curricula must also be design to promote a collaborative learner-centred environment. The
Author later on elaborates on the designing of curricula that stimulates a video game
environment. By looking at the characteristics of the game, it is easy to consider
implementing it to the learning environment. I supportively agree because when considering
the characteristics of the game, I see that the game provides the player alternatives, options,
second chances and also progress to new and interesting levels when a player completes a
certain stage of the game. If implementing it to the learning environment, it will produce an
effective impact on students learning. According to the article prepared by the American
Association of Colleges of Teacher Education and the Partnership for 21st Century Skills
(P21), it is suggested that teachers should; Successfully aligning technologies with content
and pedagogy and developing the ability to creatively use technologies to meet specific
learning needs, Aligning instruction with standards, particularly those standards that embody
21st century knowledge and skills, Balancing direct instruction strategically with project-
oriented teaching methods, Applying child and adolescent development knowledge to
educator preparation and education policy, Using a range of assessment strategies to evaluate
student performance and differentiate instruction (including but not limited to formative,
portfolio-based, curriculum-embedded and summative), Participating actively in learning
communities; tapping the expertise within a school or school district through coaching,
mentoring, knowledge-sharing, and team teaching, Acting as mentors and peer coaches with
fellow educators, Using a range of strategies (such as formative assessments) to reach diverse
students and to create environments that support differentiated teaching and learning, and
Pursuing continuous learning opportunities and embracing career-long learning as a
professional ethic.
(Cited in Partnership for 21st century skills, 2010, AACTE)

To conclude, the author’s idea about the 21st century learning is that, it is a very competitive
learning environment which involves both the teacher and students cooperation. In order for
the 21st century teaching system to work-out, there must be some certain rules and or
guideline put in place to govern students and teachers to follow. Teachers must have some
basic ICT knowledge for using digital technology and students must be guided to follow
certain guidelines stating when and where it is appropriate for them to use internet (online
searching) or using any form of technology provided.
Reference

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● David, E.H & Edmund, V.S (1974). Between Psychology and education. Hinsdale, Illinois:
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