Cayote, Anjeanette B.

SPEC 120 – Teaching Multi-grade Classes

Module 4 – Learning Task

1. What kind of learning activities is required in the 21st century?

21st century learning means that students master content while producing,
synthesizing, and evaluating information from a wide variety of subjects and sources with
an understanding of and respect for diverse cultures. Students demonstrate the three R’s
(reduce, reuse, recycle), also the three C’s (creativity, communication, and collaboration).
They demonstrate digital literacy as well as civic responsibility.

2. What is the role of 21st Century Teacher?

Learning activities in 21st century are complex, and powerful learning of this
nature demands well-prepared teachers who draw on advances in cognitive science and
are strategically organized in teams, in and out of cyberspace. Teachers also serves as
learning concierges, virtual network guides, gaming experts, community organizers, and
policy researchers.

3. What are the qualities of teachers to teach 21st century learners?

Teachers should be flexible in adapting to new ways of how students learn in the
st
21 century classroom. As such, they are required to lifelong learners, which may include
even having a virtual identity and always updating their skills in order to meet the
changing demographics of students in their classrooms.

4. Why do we need to teach 21st century skills?

In this globally and digitally interconnected world, all learners, from cradle to
career, need new skills and knowledge to succeed. If we want to prepare our children for
success in school, work and life, opportunities to learn 21st century skills are essential.

5. How can I become an effective 21st century science teacher?

 To become an effective 21st century science teacher, first, content knowledge is
very important, and is related to student learning. Teachers with strong content
knowledge are more likely to teach in ways that help students construct knowledge, pose
appropriate questions, suggest alternative explanations, and propose additional inquiries.
Also, teachers should features learning on how to solve problems in collaboration with
others. Engages students in productive metacognitive strategies about their own learning.
Places some learning decisions and activities in the hands of students that were formerly
determined by the teacher; and depends for success on monitoring of students thinking
about complex problems and relies on ongoing targeted feedback to students.

Process questions:

1. What are the main points of Vygotsky’s theory?

Vygotsky’s Cognitive Development Theory postulates that social interaction is

fundamental to cognitive development. Vygotsky’s theory is comprised of concepts such
as cultures-specific tools, language and thought interdependence, and the Zone of
Proximal Development.

2. How is Vygotsky’s theory used in the classroom?

The most important application of Vygotsky’s theory to education is his concept

of a zone of proximal development. This concept is important because teachers can use it
as a guide to a child’s development. It allows a teacher to know what a student is able to
achieve through the use of a mediator and thus enables the teacher to help the child attain
that level by themselves.

3. Discuss briefly the theory of Albert Bandura.

Bandura is known for his social learning theory. He is quite different from other
learning theorists who took learning as a direct result of conditioning, reinforcement, and
punishment. Bandura asserts that most human behavior is learned through observation,
imitation, and modeling.

4. What are theories that must be applied in teaching science?

 Educational physiologists have developed theories of learning based on three
main paradigms – behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism. Behaviorists believe
that the behavior of learners is a response to their past, and behavioral modification is the
main purpose of education. According to cognitivists, the behavior of learners is the
result of his cognition, and the main aim of education is to change the cognitive schemas.
Constructivists, on the other hand, believe that learners construct their own knowledge,
and the objective of education is to provide opportunities to gain knowledge.

5. Why learning theories are important to teachers?

An understanding of learning theories helps teachers connect to all different kinds

of students. Teachers can focus on different learning styles to reach different students,
creating teaching that focuses directly on student needs and aptitudes.

6. Why is Piaget’s theory important in education?

Piaget’s revolutionary theories are an important part of the study of human

development and they continue to be studied by psychologists. His theory is important in
education because governments used his theory to develop the educational policy and
teaching practice and is largely used in teaching and learning today.

7. What is Dewey’s theory?

Dewey believed that human beings learn through a ‘hands-on’ approach. This
places Dewey in the educational philosophy of pragmatism. Pragmatists believe that
reality must be experiences. From Dewey’s educational point of view, this means that
students must interact with their environment in order to adapt and learn.

8. Which learning theory is best?

As a future educator, I recently thought as to how millennials learn. Which

method work best for a millennial? What is the best way to engage a millennial? What is
the best way to design learning for a millennial? This generation wants choices on how
they learn and wants to be able to access learning on various devices. They want their
learning to mean something to them now or in the near future. They like teamwork,
collaboration and interactivity – not just lecture, and they want to have fun while
learning. Constructivism seems best fitted for today’s millennials. Although it brings
active learning theory to reality for the millennials, it also allows them to be part of the
“construction” of their learning experience.