Within the 21st century, life has changed to a great extent and on many different aspects and levels including economy, politics, commerce, and even teaching and learning. In this respect, teachers are required to teach the learners a set of skills that is completely different than what was taught before.
That is because societies need active minds and individuals who are equipped with strong communication, critical thinking, problem-solving, and innovation skills that would contribute to the growth of the community.
That would only be possible to happen if we had teachers who possess the necessary package of competencies and qualities which allow them better teach the current century’s kids. Continue reading this article if you are interested to know what it takes to be a good teacher in the 21st century.
1. Be Adaptive- Being adaptive is not solely reserved for teachers as adaptability is required from all individuals who are seeking to survive in this modern world. However, for teachers, it is highly important to be able to adapt to whatever comes your way. Today's teaching sphere knows ongoing changes on both sides of the learners and the tools used to teach these learners.
Curriculums and syllabi are often designed and modified by specialists who do not necessarily consider the teachers’ preferences, yet the teacher needs to be okay with that. Moreover, today's learners are not the same old learners of yesterday. You should not expect your learners to think or do how you were thinking and how you were doing things in the past.
Today's learners have different attitudes, behaviors, and perspectives that might look unusual and new to you like a traditional teacher which requires you to adapt to them so that you could fulfill your teaching missions with no issues arising. Also, bear in mind that even the teaching aids and tools are changing nowadays as many institutions around the world adopted technology such as tablets and smartphones rather than textbooks and handouts in their educational settings.
2. Be Collaborative- Again, collaboration is another skill that is important to you as an individual and a teacher equally. It is innate in our human nature that we are born social creatures who live in groups, so it is extremely valuable for us to be good team workers. That applies to teachers as well who are expected to appreciate working in a team and collaborating with their colleagues.
A teacher in the 21st century should be open-minded enough to accept new ideas from his team members and share his ideas with them. An instructor is invited to opt for cooperation not a competition as a tool to help them level up their teaching.
Teachers should not be selfish as selfishness is an enemy of teamwork and collaboration. Therefore, a mentor who chooses to be cooperative with his colleagues working toward bettering themselves and their learners' levels is deemed a successful teacher among the current century's teachers.
3. Be Tech-Savvy- Learners of the 21st century, specifically of the current decade, are digital natives. This obliges the teachers to become digital natives as well if they weren’t already. Technology is developing at a fast pace which makes it a must for the teacher to master the trends and not only know about them. The Covid-19 pandemic has taught us many lessons among which is that distance learning can replace classroom learning in times of hardships.
In this respect, teachers have used many educational technology-related tools and apps which were not familiar to all teachers equally. In my university, for example, my teachers were required to design online courses for us because we were under lockdown and could not study in a school like always.
However, many of the teachers did not design good online courses that respect the right criteria for one main reason which is that they did not master the educational technology tools they used. Therefore, being an internet kid is a key skill for every teacher interested in being the best in their field.
Conclusion
These were among the key skills that would help you be a good teacher and perform better in your job during our current time. Your ability to adapt, collaborate, and be a better use of technology are all required from you if a successful teaching career is your goal.
Written by - Khawla ACHIT HENNI
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