Special Issue, Volume 8, Number 2, 2016 I Full Text PDF
DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v8n2.00
Teacher Education over the years has undergone numerous changes and teaching in 21st century specifically is a different phenomenon. The classrooms have become global with diverse students population having cultural and language variations. The expansion in information and technology has given a new direction to the teaching learning process. Students do not want to be spoon-fed. Educators argue that with so much new knowledge being created, content no longer matters. However, the ways of knowing information are now much more important than information itself.
We live in fast changing world that demands new and different adaptive abilities. To meet the challenges we need to ensure that students in today’s classroom learn the 21st century adaptive skills. It is felt that the present system of education does not fully support to prepare students with the essential 21st century knowledge and learning skills necessary to succeed in life. Students in today’s classroom need to develop core learning skills that include Creativity and Innovation, Problem Solving and Critical Thinking, Communication and Collaboration. In order to achieve the same it is quite obvious to note that it is a joint task the educationists and the policy makers to facilitate the teaching learning process so that the instructional program is complete and that is directed to make the learners self sufficient. To meet out students choices, having one’s own hands-on experience and expertise will be a bare necessary for a teacher in 21st century. The concern is obvious that how to meet the challenges of delivering content and skills in an enriched way that creates a thinking classroom and as a whole leads towards productive output. For this, we need to ensure that all students have access to quality education that supports an integrated development of the learner. It is argued that we need better curriculum, better teaching and better testing of learner’s performance. Almost all teacher-educators acknowledge that the field has deep problems and there is a need to look into all these aspects. The special issue in this direction would provide guidelines to the academicians for enabling them to explore the new possibilities which could be used to make teaching meaningful, purposeful and enjoyable.
Mihir Kumar Mallick
Prof and Head, School of Education
Lovely Professional University, Phagwara- Punjab.