E-EDUC 321 Building and Enhancing
New Literacies Across the Curriculum
Module 1: The 21st Century Education
COURSE LEARNING OUTCOME
CLO1: Demonstrate the application of new literacies within and/or across
curriculum teaching areas.
TOPIC LEARNING OUTCOMES
TLO1: Characterize 21st century education, curriculum, pedagogy, students, and
technology use.
TLO2: Explain the changing role of the teachers in the 21st century classroom.
1
NTRODUCTION
In Module 1 of the course “The Teaching Profession”, you were asked if you have what it takes
to be a teacher – Are you a teacher material? This question enabled you to look at the qualities
that you possess that can help you become an effective teacher in the future.
In this module, let us explore some more - Can you be a 21st century teacher? Do you have 21st
century skills and characteristics that will allow you to deliver 21st century education to 21st century
learners?
Your positive response to these questions will spell the difference on how you will perform your
job as a teacher. Remember, you will be developing among the learners 21st century skills so it is
necessary that you also possess such skills.
2
ISCUSSION
Part 1: What is 21 st
century education and who is the 21st century teacher?
According to Nichols (2019), at its core, the role of education is to prepare students to become
active, successful, and contributing members of society. The essence of education’s role has not
changed. However, there has been an important change that must be considered. Society has
changed. Therefore:
1. Instruction should be student-centered.
2. Education should be collaborative.
3. Learning should have context.
4. Schools should be integrated with society.
To address this change in society, there is a need to equip the students with 21st century skills.
In the Philippine educational system, the Department of Education (DepEd) tried to prepare the
students to the challenges of 21st century education by improving its curriculum. First, DepEd
introduced the K to 12 Curriculum by virtue of Republic Act 10533 or the Enhanced Basic
Education Act of 2013.
As stated in RA10533, the goals of the K to 12 Curriculum are as follows:
After going through Kindergarten, the enhanced Elementary and Junior High
curriculum, and a specialized Senior High program, every K to 12 graduate will be
ready to go into different paths – may it be further education, employment, or
entrepreneurship. Further, every graduate will be equipped with 21st century skills.
3
SEAMEO INNOTECH (2012) specified in the K to 12 Toolkit the following as the 21st century
skills and sub-skills that should be developed among the graduates of the new curriculum
([Link]
Later, DepEd introduced on January 30, 2023 the MATATAG curriculum, dubbed as Bansang
Makabata, Batang Makabansa.
This new curriculum has four main critical components
([Link]
MATATAG%20curriculum%20%282%[Link]):
4
Specifically, MATATAG aims to achieve the following aims
([Link]
In both curricula, DepEd maintains the need for Filipino students to be equipped with 21st century
skills.
Therefore, Filipino schools need teachers who also possess 21st century skills so they can develop
among the students the needed 21st century skills.
The main question now is: Who is the 21st century teacher?
The following presents a description of who this teacher is.
Low (2018) stated that “At the heart of any good teacher is the care for the learner. This has always
been, will continue to be and must never ever change. As professionals, teachers should constantly
strive to be lifelong learners to ensure that we are always relevant to our learners. We also want our
21st century teachers to have a heart for the learner, a strong sense of identity and pride as teachers,
and be committed to serving the teaching fraternity and the community.” She further stated that
“Our society needs to have people with diverse talents to thrive, and the goal of effective teaching
should thus be to nurture our young to enable them to have the best chance at succeeding in life.
Content will provide much-needed knowledge and expand one’s mind but is just one facet of
effective teaching. The other aspects include maximizing the potential of learners and nurturing
them to be effective contributors to both the local and global communities.”
According to BECTA (2010), 21st century teachers ensure teaching is enhanced through the
informed use of technology, thereby developing learners’ ICT capability.
To AIS (2017), the 21st century teacher needs to be more of a ‘guide on the side’, supporting
learners in exploring and expressing their unique competencies in order to grow and flourish as
individuals.
5
To Gianchandani (2020), a teacher’s role in the 21st century has critically changed from that of
being a pedagogue to that of being a facilitator. He added that learning happens everywhere, on the
go, and can be customized according to one’s style and preferences. Thus, teachers need to
reimagine the very concept of learning. In the words of Alvin Toffler, and he quote: ‘The illiterate
of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn,
unlearn, and relearn.’ He emphasized that the role of a teacher in the 21 century increasingly
st
emphasizes mediated learning. It needs to be all about empowering students with transferable skills
for employability, growing digital citizenships, critical thinking, and creativity as well as sustainable
learning that will hold up to a rapidly changing world and not just be limited to prescribed content
that has been chosen for its past relevance. By adopting this approach, teachers will be able to see
the change in their classrooms, schools, and in the community at large.
To Rashidah (2017), the 21st century teachers look forward to the future. They are aware of the
ever-changing trends in technology and are in tune of what the future may bring to education. A
good 21st century teacher is aware of the career opportunities that will be in the coming years for
their students, and are always advocating towards forward thinking and planning to ensure all
students will not be left behind.
To Cox (2019), 21st century teaching means teaching as teachers have always taught but with today's
tools and technology. It means utilizing everything that is important in today's world so that
students will be able to live and prosper in today's economy, as well as having the ability to guide
students and to prepare them for the future.
With all these insights on how the 21st century teacher should teach and consider the students,
what characteristics and skills should 21st century teachers possess?
From the different resources that were consulted, the 21st century teachers should possess the
following characteristics and skills (Cox, 2019; Rashidah, 2017; Palmer, 2015, Gianchandani, 2020;
AIS, 2017):
1. Adaptable
2. Advocates of the profession
3. Creative
4. Being lifelong learners
5. Being tech-savvy or a master of technology in the classroom
6. Can create learner-centered classrooms
7. Can generate project-based learning
8. Collaborative
9. Forward thinker
6
The K to 12 teachers are also expected to possess certain skills that are aligned with the
characteristics and skills of 21st century teachers, as stated in the SEAMEO-INNOTECH K to 12
Toolkit:
7
It might also be beneficial for future teachers to be aware of the general areas of competencies of
teachers for the 21st century as revealed in the research conducted by SEAMEO-INNOTECH
(Pawilen, 2019).
1. Facilitating the development of learners’ life and career skills
2. Creating a conducive learning environment
3. Facilitating learning
4. Preparing appropriate lesson plans in line with the school vision-mission
5. Developing higher order thinking skills (HOTS)
6. Developing and utilizing teaching and learning resources
7. Enhancing ethical and moral values
8. Assessing and evaluating learner performance
9. Engaging in professional development
10. Networking with stakeholders, especially with parents
11. Managing student welfare and other tasks
The following pedagogical skills were also revealed in the research conducted by SEAMEO-
INNOTECH (Pawilen, 2019):
8
1. Selects/states long-term goals and short-term measurable objectives based on a prescribed
national/ school curriculum
2. Uses creative and innovative instructional strategies that are appropriate to a lesson’s objectives
and students’ abilities, interests and learning styles
3. Selects and uses appropriate resources and available technologies when teaching to suit
students’ abilities, interests, and learning styles
4. Provides guided practice as necessary and reviews at appropriate time intervals
5. Uses up-to-date lessons
6. Sets learning objectives and outcomes that match the students’ real-life situations
7. Sequentially and attractively teaches lessons while taking account of students’ learning
8. Provides students with learning opportunities during and outside school hours
9. Uses the appropriate medium of instruction
10. Encourages self-study
11. Demonstrates understanding of the educational context of the classroom and the school
community
12. Assesses students’ learning outcomes
These four essential competencies of teachers are also emphasized by SEAMEO in their
Competency Framework for Teachers in South East Asia
([Link]
1. Knowing and understanding what to teach – ability to deepen and broaden knowledge on
what to teach, understand education trends, policies and curricula, and be updated on
local, national, regional, and global developments
2. Helping students to learn – ability to know students, use the most effective teaching and
learning strategies, assess and give feedback on how students learn
3. Engaging the community – ability to partner with parents and caregivers, involve the
community to help students learn, and encourage respect and diversity
4. Becoming a better teacher everyday – ability to know oneself and others, practice human
goodness, and then master the teaching practice
The 4 essential competencies consist of 12 general competencies, 31 enabling competencies, and
136 success descriptors. The enabling competencies are a set of performance criteria while success
descriptors explain the observable behaviors expected of a high performing teacher.
Southeast Asia
Teachers
Competency
Framework
[Link]
[Link]/wp-
content/uploads/2019/04/S
EA-TCF_Nov2017.pdf
9
Part 2: What are the contexts of 21 st
century education?
According to De Leon (2020), the following are the contexts of 21st century education:
The 21st century schools are characterized as follows:
10
What are the implications of these to the teachers? According to De Laon (2020), teachers
1. Must discover student interest by helping them see what and how they are learning to prepare
them for life in the real world
2. Must instill curiosity, which is fundamental to lifelong learning
3. Must be flexible in how they teach
4. Must excite learners to become more resourceful so that they will continue to learn outside
formal school
The 21st century curriculum and instruction, on the other hand, should be interdisciplinary,
project-based, and research-driven. They should also possess the following descriptions:
In terms of the learning environment, it should allow the following:
1. Students collaborate with peers.
2. Students exchange insights.
3. Students coach and mentor one another.
4. Students share talents and skills with other students.
A 21st century learning environment is characterized by:
1. Cooperative learning (Cooperation more than competition)
2. Collaborative learning (Collaboration more than isolation)
3. Presence of technologies (Internet systems and other platforms)
11
A 21st century learning environment is known as:
1. Environmentally friendly
2. Energy efficient
3. Green
It is an environment:
1. With spaces for conducting investigations and projects
2. With plenty of spaces for displaying student work
3. With spaces where parents and the community can gather to watch student performances and
for other discussions
In terms of technology:
How about the learners?
What are the implications of having such students to the teachers?
1. They should prepare and assist students to become media literates.
2. They should guide students to function in an online collaborative research-based environment.
3. They should support the students in researching, analyzing, synthesizing, critiquing, evaluating, and
creating new knowledge.
12
The 21st century education has its own skills outcome which tries to address the demands in the job
market.
13
The 21st century skills outcome are deemed important to address the skills demanded in the job
market which include:
1. Knowing a trade
2. Following directions
3. Getting along with others
4. Working hard
5. Being professional, efficient, prompt, honest, and fair
To adapt to these demands, students need to:
1. Think deeply about issues
2. Solve problems creatively
3. Work in teams
4. Communicate clearly in many media
5. Learn ever-changing technologies
6. Deal with the influx of information
7. Be flexible
8. Take the initiative
9. Lead when necessary
10. Create something new and useful
What are the learning implications of such?
1. Teachers should practice teaching cross-disciplinary skill by:
14
a. Integrating research methods in various disciplines.
b. Articulating technical scientific concepts in verbal, written, and graphic forms.
c. Use emerging technologies, software programs, and multi-media applications as an
extension of an assigned project.
2. The teachers should use assessment tools that allow the application of 21 century and multi-
st
disciplinary skills.
3. Students and teachers should use a variety of applied skills, multiple technologies, and new
ways of analyzing and processing information.
4. Schools should allow students to pursue alternatives through apprenticeship, internship or
volunteer experience.
In summary, De Leon (2020) mentioned the following attributes of 21st century education:
1. Integrated and interdisciplinary
2. Use of technologies and multi-media
3. Creating/adapting to constant personal and social change and lifelong learning
4. Creates global classrooms
5. Student-centered
6. Develops 21st century skills
7. Project-based and research-driven
8. Relevant, rigorous, and real world
In order to ensure that the 21st century education will bring about the desired 21st century skills
outcome for the students, De Leon (2020) reiterated the following attributes of the 21st century
teachers (as enumerated in the K to 12 toolkit by SEAMEO-INNOTECH):
1. Multi-literate
2. Multi-specialist
3. Multi-skilled
4. Self-directed
5. Lifelong learner
6. Flexible
7. Creative problem solver
8. Critical thinker
9. Has passion for excellent teaching
10. With high emotional quotient
15
REFERENCES
Ahmedabad International School (AIS) (2017). Top 5 characteristics of a 21st century educator.
[Link]
BECTA (2010). 21st century teacher.
[Link]
Cox, J. (2019, July 19). Characteristics of a 21st-Century Teacher.
[Link]
De Leon, E. B. (2020). Building and enhancing new literacies across the curriculum. Quezon City: Lorimar
Publishing, Inc.
Gianchandani, S. (2020, October 19). The changing role of a 21st century educator.
[Link]
Low E. L. (2018 September). The BIG Idea: Being a 21st century educator. SingTeach Issue 66.
[Link]
Nichols, J. R. (2019, June8). 4 Essential rules of 21st-century learning. [Link]
essential-rules-of-21st-century-learning/
Palmer, T. (2015, June 20). 15 Characteristics of a 21st-Century Teacher
[Link]
Pawilen, G. T. (2019). Teaching profession: Passion and mission (2nd ed.). Manila. Rex Book Store.
Rashidah (2017, July 24). Who is a 21st century teacher? [Link]
SEAMEO INNOTECH (2012). K to 12 toolkit: Resource guide for teacher educators, school
administrators and teachers. [Link]
[Link]
[Link]
MATATAG%20curriculum%20%282%[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
[Link] (Kto12)
[Link]
[Link]
16