Teaching Pedagogy
Globalization and advancement in technology have brought multitude of challenges and opportunities in the world. In order to grab the opportunities and survive in the challenging environment, we need to equip our students with all the necessary skill, knowledge and competency to succeed in work and life. This requires a transformation in our traditional method of education into a new model of teaching and learning in our school to enable our students tackle complex challenges. Experts have recognized that the “transmission” or lecture method is highly ineffective for teaching twenty-first century competencies and skills.
Students learn in different ways and therefore, it is difficult for teachers to discover which methods help them learn most effectively. Until a teacher knows about student’s individual strength and needs, it is difficult to know which learning methods will have a positive impact on that student. Nevertheless, research suggests that some forms of pedagogy are consistently more successful than others in helping students acquire a deeper understanding of knowledge and skills. Learning strategies for this century will not only be limited to school and textbooks, but also through peers, libraries, museums, community center, nearby firms, sports, among others. Twenty-first century pedagogy must employ innovative and research supported teaching strategies, learning technologies and real world applications. Education scientists have suggested nine principles to be included in teaching pedagogy to help students acquire the 21st century competency and skills:
- Make learning relevant to the ‘big picture’.
- Teach through disciplines
- Develop lower and higher order thinking skills to encourage understanding in different context
- Encourage transfer of learning
- Teach how to ‘learn to learn’ or metacognition
- Address misunderstanding directly
- Promote teamwork
- Exploit technology to support learning
- Foster students creativity
We emphasize the following components to be incorporated in our teaching pedagogy in the view of above nine principles:
- Personalize and customize learning
- Project and problem-based learning
- Encourage collaboration and communication
- Engage and motivate learners
- Employ appropriate learning tools
- Design relevant and real-world learning activities
- Include every learner through technology
- Highlight learner-centered models
- Promote learning without borders
- Encourage lifelong learning
- Encourage learning through open education
- Redefine teachers’ role and function
