Response to "Characteristics of the 21st Century Classroom"

Well, clearly, there are many differences between the 20th century classroom and the 21st century classroom. Chiefly, the 21st century classroom, in order to be effective, involves a torrent of ever-evolving methods of teaching. This includes, for example, the implementation of modern technology and collaborative projects among the students; both of these examples provide a so-called "student-centered" classroom. This 21st century pedagogy is a stark contrast to the 20th century classroom, which stressed the teacher-centered classroom. Additionally, the 21st century and the student-centered classroom is focused on the students' own, innate desire to learn. By using different techniques, such as hands-on learning activities (for instance, science labs) and the cooperation of teachers to use interdisciplinary methods of instruction (for instance, English teachers issuing book reports on novels historical settings and other social studies-themed material), teachers can call upon each individual students natural passion to learn, so that each student may learn how he or she is most comfortable. Again, these new methods of instruction differ from the 20th century teaching methods, in that the teaching methods of last century promoted one teacher lecturing and (possibly) pressing one specific teaching method. Furthermore, the usage of these new methods in the classroom allow students to grip information with different cognitive faculties, allowing for a more comfortable learning experience for each student; it stands to reason that a student who is more comfortable with the material presented to him or her will learn the material better and have a better understanding of it. Through the usage of these new, innovative teaching methods, one can see just how obsolete the methods of last century are.