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Monday, August 12, 2013

The 7 Habits of 21st Century Teachers



1. Facilitate. Teachers today aren’t dispensers of knowledge as in the past. 21st century teachers must help students find the answers. Teachers must question students, challenge them to dig deeper, and motivate them to persist. All of these actions facilitate learning.

2. Collaborate. Students need to learn how to collaborate with each other. In today’s connected world, students may work with other students across the globe as well as in their own hometown.  In the future, they may work with live or virtual teams, and they need to know how to do it successfully.

3. Design. Designers design objects for better function. 21st century teachers design lessons that keep students at the center of the design. Teachers brainstorm, create, and test their ideas and ask for feedback. 21st century teachers don’t ask, “How can I teach this?” Instead, they ask, “How will my students best learn this?”

4. Listen. Students want to be heard. Their voice is important. Find ways for students to have choice, give feedback, and share input. Students become an active part of the design process and classroom decision-making, thus increasing ownership in their learning.

5. Relate. Strong relationships are the key to successful teaching and learning. 21st century teachers get to know students on a personal level – their likes, dislikes, interests, etc. More than ever, students want to learn lessons that are relevant. Students also want to know that a teacher cares… more about them as a person than the teachers cares about the content he/she is teaching.

6. Share. With today’s technology, it’s extremely easy to share ideas and information. 21st century teachers seek out ways to get new ideas and share their own. Sharing with others creates vulnerability, and it raises the stakes of what happens in a classroom, even more so if the sharing takes place online. Teachers willing to learn from others are usually teachers who truly care about students and will do what is best for their students’ learning.

7. Innovate. Technology has increased the rate of change dramatically for how teaching and learning occurs today. 21st century teachers embrace this change and find ways to innovate through the use of technology. From flipped classrooms to twitter chats to Google hangouts… 21st century teachers are finding new ways to connect with others and transform the classroom.


What about you? Do you agree with this list? What would you have included that is not listed?

7 comments:

  1. Great blog Jennifer, since I have #tlap on my brain, I would put Passion in the list.

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  2. That's a great one, Hal! Thanks for your input!

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  3. Thank you Jennifer for inspiring me to inspire others.

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  4. empathy, which is briefly outlined under "Relate", teachers need to be understanding of different situations that learners encounter. It makes the learner at ease, ready to learn as they understand that they are cared for and eager to breakthrough their current circumstances.

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  5. Great blog, very informative.

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  6. good blog .Jennifer thank you for such inspiring content that will led to us being future teachers

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