TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY LEARNING AND TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION NEXUS

Abstract

The new Knowledge (or Conceptual) Age of this millennium is creating a globalised economy that requires a much more diverse range of skills and dispositions yet many countries’ education systems still promote an outdated Industrial Age model of teaching and learning. In New Zealand, as in many other countries, there has recently been an emphasis on raising the level of qualification and success of students in school. ‘No child left behind’ philosophies feature in many countries and much money has been spent on trying to raise the levels of achievement of underperforming groups and keeping students in schools longer. Industrial Age schools screened, sorted and disciplined students for work and life in society (Bolstad & Gilbert, 2008). This has been done through traditional learning disciplines where study has been largely content and assessment driven. A 21st century curriculum will develop in students a generic capacity and aspiration to learn (Claxton 2007). Recent research has identified the twenty-first century skills people will require for successful integration into a wider range of communities. The writers will introduce two perspectives developed to address twenty-first century learning and highlight how the Technology Education curriculum and Guided Inquiry are ideally suited for delivering this skill set. Technology Education and Guided Inquiry (Kuhlthau, Maniotes & Caspari 2007) pedagogy engage students in meaningful and successful 21st century learning. The first perspective is the Framework for 21st Century Learning (Partnership for 21st Century Skills 2009) and the other, the New Zealand Curriculum (Ministry of Education 2007). Key words: guided inquiry, life-long learning, technology education, twenty first century learning.