21st-century learning can be defined as student-centered learning. We refer to it this way because 21st-century innovations make student-centered learning possible on an unprecedented scale. At the same time, these advances create new demands that make student-centered approaches increasingly necessary.
21st-century advances such as automation, big data, and artificial intelligence are decreasing the need for people to do routine tasks. The vast amount of immediately available information diminishes the need for a person to be an organization's knowledge keeper. While employers need fewer people to perform repeatable cognitive and manual tasks, they are looking for people to take on challenges that are increasingly complex and new. By one popular estimate, 65% of children who are currently entering primary school will eventually work in a job that does not exist today.
The same technologies that reduce the need for routine tasks and knowledge-keeping also allow us to educate our students as we have never been able to before. Anyone with a computer or smartphone can instantly access, copy, transfer, edit, and consume massive amounts of information. Great works and ideas that once were cloistered away in Ivy League libraries are now immediately available with a voice command or a touch. New software and applications now make it possible for all students to receive educational experiences that are tailored to their individual needs.
Educators can keep students moving forward with online teaching tools that immediately show each student's strengths, needs, opportunities, and level of participation. Just as the development of the printing press made possible the age of mass instruction, the advent of new technologies makes possible the age of mass customization.
Student-centered approaches to seize new learning opportunities
One thing that defines 21st-century learning is the emphasis on the students' roles as active discoverers who take ownership of their experiences. Many advocates of active learning consider it a more natural way for people to acquire and retain information and that it more adequately prepares students to deal with situations that require something other than a memorized response.
John Dewey said, "Give the pupils something to do, not something to learn; and the doing is of such a nature as to demand thinking; learning naturally results."
Proponents of 21st-century learning often refer to the need to shift away from 3Rs - reading, writing, and arithmetic - to developing skills in the 4Cs:
Creativity
Creative Thinking
Collaboration
Communication
While the 3Rs emphasize repetition, memorization, and recall, the 4Cs focus on strengthening a student's ability to evaluate information and combine that information with imagination and ingenuity to create something new and innovative.
There are a few broad educational approaches that are important to understand when transitioning from traditional, lecture-style teaching to active learning. Explore these methods as you look for new ways to elevate your learning environments.
Content-Focused Approaches
Content-focused approaches focus on acquiring the knowledge that will help students excel in adulthood. Teachers are probably most familiar with content-focused learning because it’s the type of learning they likely grew up with. However, content-focused learning in the 21st century relies less on lectures and rote memorization and more on hands-on activities and discussions. For example, rather than memorizing the dates of important Civil War battles, content-focused learning in the 21st century helps students think critically about the material by asking thought-provoking questions. The following are some tips for teaching a content-focused curriculum.
Arrange desks in a circle to encourage debates and discussions.
Ask students thought-provoking questions about the material.
Incorporate a variety of visual learning materials.
Search your community for experts who can come to class and provide greater insight.
Ask students how what they are learning will impact their lives.
Provide a list of in-depth online resources students can explore and consider rewarding extra credit points for students who report back their findings.
Incorporate assignments that require students to speak in front of the class.
Blended learning
This approach incorporates technology to better customize the student's experience. A mix of opportunities can occur in this learning space where teachers interact with students, students collaborate with each other in peer-to-peer discussions, and students work with devices that provide the individualized content that they need. Often, educators can opt to divide a larger space into learning stations and rotate students into different learning opportunities within the same instructional period.
Flipped learning
In this approach, students prepare for their lessons by consuming content outside of class time. During class, students work on assignments based on the content they prepared ahead of time. Educators serve as expert mentors who guide students to individually master their lessons. Educators can opt to use the learning environment for large-group discussion, small-group discussion, or individual mentoring during class time.
Technology-integration learning
Today’s students will encounter increasingly complex technology when they are adults in the workforce. Technology is growing so quickly that schools cannot possibly teach students the hard skills they’ll need in the workforce. Rather, technology-integration learning focuses on teaching students how to use logic, diagnostic, and scientific skills when confronted with unknown systems.
Teachers can prepare students for the challenges of deciphering new tech by integrating problem-solving skills with computers, robotics, AI, and other currently available tech. Teachers can help students develop analytical skills by guiding students as they work to “figure out” a complex application. Teaching technology for 21st-century learning means guiding students as they investigate, explore, and take risks.
Project-focused approaches
Project-focused approaches to learning in the 21st century focus on hands-on experiences that help students work with and internalize new knowledge. Through the completion of course-related projects, students learn important auxiliary skills, such as time management, planning, and organization. A project-based curriculum helps students to think more deeply about material and retain their new-found knowledge. The following are some tips for teaching through project-based learning.
Proactively create a positive classroom culture that promotes project-based learning by encouraging independence, accountability, and problem-solving.
Provide a comprehensive introduction to projects to help students visualize their final outcome.
Create a clear structure for the implementation of projects from ideation to completion.
Create clear expectations for students during each stage of the project.
Prevent procrastination by creating deadlines for each stage of the project rather than a single deadline for its completion.
Create a transparent assessment strategy to aid student success.
Create self-assessments that students can use to reflect upon their own progress.
Incorporate real-world challenges, especially those found in your local community, in your project topics whenever possible.
Offer guidance and support during each stage of the project.
Require students to present their project, its details, and its outcomes in front of the class.
Outfit your learning spaces with flexible classroom furniture to facilitate mobility, collaboration, and hands-on experiences.
Teacher-led projects
This approach gives the teacher a lot of control while it also allows students to collaborate and actively apply their knowledge to projects. Educators create the plans and typically set up the materials, allowing all the students to work on the same project. Typically, the project reinforces their lessons. Educators can choose the level of control that is best for them. Some guide their students through each part of the project. Others provide plans and materials and allow their students to work at their own pace.
Student-led projects
In this effective 21st-century approach, control shifts from the teacher to the students. Educators set the parameters, and students determine the content, structure, and format of the project. Educators help students spark ideas, follow a process, collaborate with peers, and communicate outcomes while remaining within the set parameters. Students take responsibility for all aspects of the project from concept to completion.
Full project-based learning
Full project-based learning occurs when the entire curriculum centers around student project work. The projects can cut across many different academic subjects that a traditional approach would separate into distinct class periods. Educators who adopt a full project-based learning curriculum typically assign student-led project work, but they may also guide their students through teacher-led projects or apply some combination of the two.
Collaborative learning
Collaborative learning focuses on helping students develop the skills they need to perform well in teams and groups. While the terms “teams” and “groups” are often used interchangeably, they actually mean two different types of collaboration. Teams are focused on a shared goal, with the efforts of each team member essential to the team’s success. Groups, on the other hand, comprise individuals whose goals may differ. Collaborative learning in the classroom prepares students to cooperate with a variety of personalities, assume various roles, work toward goals, and strategically compromise.
Support for 21st-century learning
The education philanthropist Dale Carnegie once proposed that, "Learning is an active process. We learn by doing. Only knowledge that is used sticks in your mind." Empirical studies offer support for this supposition; several studies find improvement in standardized test scores when applying 21st-century learning concepts:
In the Detroit Public Schools, students who learned with an inquiry-based science curriculum achieved significantly greater scores on the state standardized science exam.
Students who opted into a rural project-based learning high school scored significantly better on standardized social studies exams when compared to their traditional parent school, less than a mile away.
In a sample of high schools in Arizona and California, researchers found greater economics test scores when high school students learned via problem-based lessons, compared to traditional economics instruction. In that same study, teachers also expressed significantly greater satisfaction with their teaching materials and methods.
In addition, a meta-analysis across a number of studies and educational outcomes found evidence that active learning approaches resulted in better academic achievement, improved interactions, higher self-esteem, and better student attitudes when compared with more traditional methods.
Student-centered, 21st-century learning prepares students for the challenges and opportunities that will arise from changes in technologies, economies, and societies. Active learning offers a path for them to develop the cognitive and interpersonal skills they will need to use information differently in the digital age. While this is the promise for the future, 21st-century learning approaches bear fruit today, even reflecting well on standardized test scores.
FAQs about what is 21st-century learning
What is meant by 21st-century learning?
21st-century learning means educators tailor their teaching styles to reflect and meet the demands their students will face as adults. For centuries, education relied on memorization, repetition, and conformity. Technology has eliminated the need for rote work, and in its place, students can learn a new set of skills centered on adaptability and critical thinking.
What are the 4 C’s of 21st-century skills?
Rapidly accelerating technology means that students need a new set of 21st-century skills. These skills can be distilled into the 4 Cs: critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication. By mastering these four skills, students will be able to adapt to the quickly evolving landscape of the 21st-century workforce.
What does a 21st-century learner look like?
21st-century learners look the part as they engage in lively discussions, active attention, and hands-on activities. To prepare students for the 21st century, teachers can transform their classroom to look like “ordered chaos,” with students taking an active role in their education.
What is the 21st-century teaching style?
The 21st-century teaching style brings students in on the action and invites them to engage with the material. Teachers use debates, lively discussions, various media, and hands-on activities to help students internalize new knowledge. Flexible school furniture helps to make these active spaces possible.
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