THE TEACHING PROFESSION

CHAPTER 5
ON BECOMING A GLOBAL TEACHER

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THE TEACHING PROFESSION

CHAPTER 5
ON BECOMING A GLOBAL TEACHER

INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of the orientation the students must have:

1. Describe the global teacher
2. Compare ASEAN global teachers and teaching with other countries in the world
3. Discuss the demands of globalization on the professional teachers in the 21st Century
4. Relate the four pillars of learning to teaching and learning

LESSON 3 - THE CHANGING GLOBAL LANDSCAPE IN THE 21ST CENTURY TEACHERS

LEARNING OUTCOMES

 Identify the different changes occurring in the global teaching learning landscape.
 Identify the 21st century life and career skills for learners and teachers.
 Demonstrate understanding of the UNESCO’s four pillars of learning as this applies to the
21st century.

ACTIVITY
Instruction: Answer the following questions.

1. What do you think are the major changes between the 21st Century education and the past
era of education?

2. What are the skills and literacies that you need to have in order for you to meet the
standards of the 21st Century Education?

ANALYSIS

Instruction: Give your opinion on the following questions.

1. Do you think these changes in education necessary for the changing times? Why or why
not?

2. 21st century skills and literacies should be embodied by future teachers like you. What is
the best thing for you to do to have these? Elaborate your answer.

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ABSTRACTION
A. The Changing Global Landscape on the 21st Century Skills for Teachers
We are in an era of Borderless flat world. Barriers have been broken by new information
and communication technologies. Globalization has opened doors that lead nations to coexist and
be interdependent. However, the common future will still be more dependent on the knowledge,
skills and values of its people. Thus, glocalization can be read the response.

As future teachers of the 21st century, there is an urgent need to understand the new
landscape that is brought about the changes in leaps and bounds of the Century. Furthermore, the
development of the 21st century skills is necessary tool for teachers. Without these 21 st century
tools, no teacher can survive.
Zhou, 2006 as mentioned in SEAMEO, INNOTECH 2011, identified some key categories of
the different changes and developments in the 21st century teaching and learning. To understand
the categories, we will attempt to.

1. Describe the new learning environment.

2. Identify the new learning contents.
3. Explain the new process of learning and how these will be facilitated.
4. Describe the new type of learners.
5. Describe the new type of teachers.

The new learning environment. The idea of learning environment has broadened from
the confines of the four walls of the classroom to places and spaces that support learning. It is a
place where interactions of the learners among one another, with the teacher and the
surroundings happen. It is characterized by the following.

 Learner centered.
 New spaces and borderless.
 Enhance Opportunity for creativity and innovations.
 Use of ICT.

The new learning contents. With the new learning environment and the explosion of
knowledge, content, or subject matter of learning has been modified. From a specific discipline or
subject area, subject matter of learning has the following characteristics:

 Integrated or interdisciplinary
 Demand driven.
 Emphasis on learning tools and how to retrieve knowledge.
 Balance of scientific, technological, cultural, global, local concepts.

The new processes of learning and how these will be facilitated. With an
advancement. In the study of the mind and cognition. Various processes of learning involved with
human intervention of teachers and peers as well as non-human intervention of artificial
intelligence. AI of robots. With these advancements, different processes of learning and the
methods to facilitate these have evolved. These include the idea of multiple ways of learning
which can be mediated by the following.

 Face to face. When learners and teachers are confined in the same learning space at the
same time with a teacher facilitating learning.

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 Distance learning. When teaching, learning is mediated by traditional modules in print

or modern technology, online or offline, without the physical presence of the teacher. In a
virtual class. It can be synchronous or asynchronous.
 Blended modalities. When teaching and learning is facilitated through face to face or
distance learning which enabled to the teachers and learners to have either physical
presence or physical absence in the teaching learning process.
 Experiential and lifelong. When learners are immersed into the real life situation such
that learning becomes more authentic and meaningful.

The new types of learners. The new breed of learners does not have age boundaries.
Learners maybe are an informal, Formal or informal setting. The new type of learner is:

 A confident person who thinks independently and critically, and who communicates
effectively.
 Self-directed and who questions, reflects and takes responsibility for his or her own
learning.
 A concerned citizen informed about the world and local affairs has a strong sense of civic
responsibilities and participates actively in improving the lives of others.
 A member of the New Generation pop culture. Different ways of thinking, responding.
Furthermore, the new types of learners are those coming from diverse background,
multicultural and multi-generational coming from different age groups of lifelong learners. In
order for every learner to address the challenges of the century, he or she has to develop life and
career skills. Life and career skills are enhanced in schools as part of the learning outcomes.

Life and career skills include the following:

Flexibility and adaptability.

Learners adopt various roles, responsibilities and schedules, despite the complex
condition they are able to do the different tasks who at one time. Recognition of this potential will
give a signal to the teacher to provide all learners the opportunities to develop their individual
potential of being adaptable and flexible. Rigidity runs counter to the development of this skill.
Initiative and self-direction.

A self-directed learner demonstrates life and career skills. Goals are set and managed by
themselves. There is a commitment to learning as a lifelong process. Many of the young learners
are capable of doing things without being told. They take initiatives. They do not need to be given
detailed instructions. They plan and workout their plans. Like the learners, the teachers should
also possess the same skills.

Social and cross cultural skills.

This life and career skills require learners to respect cultural differences and work
effectively with others to be open minded to different ideas in order to innovate and improve
quality of work. If one understands the others culture, it will be easy to respect. Disrespect may
spring from ignorance and bias. To be able to appreciate the mores, tradition, history of others,
one needs to be open and willing to accommodate and compromise.

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Productivity and accountability.

Individuals who possess these skills are able to produce results. They respect teamwork
and cooperation. They manage time very well and can do multi task. The most tangible proof that
one has done something is the product or resolved. It can be an idea, or a material product. When
one is tasked to do something, that person has an accountability to produce results as evidence
of a job done. Better results are accomplished if done together through collaboration and
cooperation.
Leadership and responsibility.

Good leaders use interpersonal and problem solving skills with integrity and ethical
behavior to influence and guide others. Leadership and responsibility are life skills that should
be developed by all learners and teachers. Leadership is not assigned, it is earned. As the saying
goes, leaders are born, but they can also be made.

The new type of teachers. As teachers are currently preparing students for jobs and
technologies that don’t even exist yet, the challenge then is to produce the new type of teachers.
Teachers for the 21st century learners teach within the context of the new environment, new
content or knowledge and new processes of teaching and learning. The new type of teachers must
possess the following characteristics.

 Clear standards and accountability that their learners should know and be able to do at
the end of their schooling.
 Use broad pedagogies, including inquiry based learning, cooperative learning, other
pedagogies.
 Skillful in the integration of ICT in pedagogy.
 Skillful in the use of assessment guide, teaching and learning.
 Great understanding of local and global cultures.
 Skillful in action research to diagnose and solve classroom problems based on evidence.
 Practice the core values of inspiring teachers.
 Develop life and career skills for the 21st century and beyond.

B. UNESCO’s Four Pillars of Learning from Delor’s report. Learning: A Treasure from
Within.
Our common future will depend on the degree to which we all become better world
citizens. There are huge changes that take place in our world. Too much is being asked of schools
and teachers, hence there is a greater demand to cope and strike a balance between what is
unchanging. And what is changing? What is unchanging must remain, and so what is changing
should be dealt with.

Learning to know. This implies thirst for knowledge and acquisition of such knowledge.
More so it is learning how to learn throughout one’s life. After completing formal education, there
should be a great desire to gain more understanding of the world and other people. An individual
who is knowledgeable is literate. Being literate is always related to being knowledgeable. Thus,
the definition of the word literacy evolved through time. Here are some definitions made by the
UNESCO.

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How is literacy defined?

In 1958, UNESCO define literate as one who can with understanding both read and write.
A short, simple statement in his or her everyday life. However, in 1970, a functionally, literate
person is one who can engage in all the activities to use reading, writing, and calculation for their
community’s development. Further on in 2000, literacy was defined as the ability to read and
write with understanding a simple statement related to one’s daily life. However, the UNESCO
international expert meeting 2003 redefined literacy as the ability to identify, understand,
interpret, create, communicate, and compute using, printed and written materials associated with
varying contexts. Literacy involves a continuum of learning and enabling individuals to achieve
their goals, to develop their knowledge and potential, and to participate fully in their community
and wider society.
But with the changing global landscape literacy in 21st century is not limited to the
definitions given previously. Let us look at the 21st century literacies as presented by SEAMEO
Innotech in Guro 21 Module, 2011.

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The 21st Century Literacies

21st Century Literacies Brief Descriptions

Creativity and innovation are 21st century skills, thus solving problems
The Arts and Creativity
and creating artworks are part of this literacy.
Acquisition of knowledge About climate change, pollution, loss of
Eco-literacy natural habitats and biodiversity. Solutions, and how these
environmental problems could be addressed must be practiced.
Cyber Literacy or Digital Being In the rapid changes in the use of technology for teaching and
Literacy (information learning teachers and learners need to develop and enhance the use of
and ICT knowledge) digital gadgets, whether online or offline.
Basic knowledge about the basic of Economics and financial
management. This is necessary for every learner and teacher to be able
Financial Literacy
to handle income, expenses and investments to be economically
secure.
Teachers and learners must learn how to discern about any
Media literacy
information which are transmitted via various forms and media.

Knowledge about social dimensions and social skills that are

Social or emotional
appropriate in the context of society. Emotional intelligence must also
literacy
be developed to be able to effectively manage the stress is due to the
changing environments of the 21st Century Society.
Globalization and If you respect multicultural diversity, aware of the global trends,
multicultural literacy. acknowledge differences and similarities, respect each other’s dignity.
Then you are multicultural, literate.

Learning to do. How can the knowledge and the methods to be incorporated and
enhanced towards the development of skills? To apply knowledge, one must have the 21 st century
skills qualifications now is equated to skills and not to knowledge alone. Can the knowledge
gained be translated to application learning by doing? Is pragmatists view of life knowledge
acquired is nothing unless applied in daily life.

Learning to be. One of the most difficult things to do among the pillars is learning to be.
It implies developing the potentials of which individual continuing education must improve self-
knowledge and self-esteem. How would you like to be? Answer to this question will require self-
analysis, reflection, social skills, creativity and personal discovery. At this point in time, have you
decided that you should really become a teacher? Do you have no other skills that enable you to
become one?

Learning to live together. This refers to the relationships among people. It is bringing in
together a community to work harmoniously to live in peace and prosperity and to show respect
and concern for others. It also refers to interpersonal skills that will enable people to live side-by-
side with others at home in school in the community and the whole world.

All the pillars are interrelated with each other as basic principles. One pillar will not
function if it stands alone. There is a need to connect in order to address the 21 st century demands
for teaching and learning.

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APPLICATION

LEARNING TASK NO. 1

Write down specific observations for each of the Pillars of Learning that were being
practiced in your school campus when you still had your face to face classes. Place in the matrix
below.

Pillars of Learning Observed Practices in the School

1. Learning to know
2. Learning to do
3. Learning to be
4. Learning to live together

LEARNING TASK NO. 2

Reflection: The global learning village has changed and will keep on changing. As you prepare to
become the Teacher of the 21st Century, how will you prepare for these rapid changes?

CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING

Instruction: Write only the letter of the correct answer.

1. As a future teacher, one should be mindful that the learners in the 21 st century are
characterized by _____________.
a. Rigidity of thinking
b. Initiative and self-direction
c. Control and single mindedness
d. Individualism

2. The new global landscape of the 21st century shows the following EXCEPT one. Which one
is not?
a. Teachers are ICT equipped
b. Learners are attuned to rote memorization
c. Learning environment can be any place
d. There are multiple ways of teaching

3. Which of the Pillars of Learning is being described by the phrase “unity in diversity”?
a. Learning to know c. Learning to live together
b. Learning to do d. Learning to be

4. The teacher who spends more than what is earned, thus becoming vulnerable to loan
sharks lacks ________________.
a. Eco-literacy c. Cyber-literacy
b. Financial literacy d. Media literacy

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5. To be ready to teach in the 21st century, a teacher should develop life and career skills
which should also be nurtured among the learners. Which of these career skills enables a
person to quickly respond to the changes in the modern times?
a. Leadership and responsibility
b. Flexibility and adaptability
c. Productivity and accountability
d. Social and cross-cultural skills

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