21st Century Learning Design: A Model of Professional Learning

Abstract

We live in a globalised world which is changing at a rapid pace and is increasingly characterised by environmental and economic uncertainty. To be successful in work and life beyond school, students need a set of cross-functional capabilities that will enable them to adapt to the changing society in which they live. The present research examines the relationship between the 21st Century Learning Design (21CLD) program as a model for professional learning and its impact on innovative teaching practice. Six participating registered teachers in Victoria and Western Australia undertook a survey pertaining to the frequency of innovative teaching practice, the way in which they design learning activities, and their experiences of undertaking the professional learning (21CLD). Overall, results indicated that the 21CLD program led to significantly greater innovative teaching practices. Therefore, the hypotheses for this research was that participants would have greater opportunity to engage in professional learning, increased their frequency of practice supporting innovative teaching, and were more likely to design learning activities around 21st century capabilities. It was concluded that the 21CLD program had a positive impact on the innovative teaching practice of the participants. Future research should focus on the effectiveness of the 21CLD program on a larger sample so that the results can be generalised.