Towards learner-centric pedagogies: Technology-enhanced teaching and learning in the 21st century classroom

Abstract

Effective professional development contributes to improved teacher knowledge and practice as well as deep and meaningful student learning. Despite professional development being cited by the South African Department of Basic Education as a priority goal, teacher professional development activities have been inadequate. In this article, we use a socio-cultural perspective to investigate the pedagogical affordances of digitalisation and technology integration. This study is part of a larger mixed methods study but for the purpose of this article we focus solely on its qualitative results. The aim of the study was to understand teachers' best practices with digital technologies and how these technologies are being used to inform the 21st century classroom and encourage a learner-centric environment. The findings reveal weaknesses in the professional development activities regarding digital technologies and learner-centric pedagogies that are generally episodic, one-size-fits-all events focused largely on technical knowledge. The chief impediment towards learner-centric pedagogies and the implementation of technology-enhanced teaching and learning is the misalignment between teachers' digital abilities and the demands of the 21st century technology-equipped classrooms. Our recommendation is the continual situated professional development of teachers, including the creation of professional learning communities and the harnessing of digital technologies to provide an effective blended approach to teacher learning and instructional delivery in the 21st century.