Experts seek production of 21st century compliant teachers July 2, 2013 by Segun Olugbile Provost, Michael Otedola College of Primary Education (MOCOPED), Epe, Lagos, Prof. Olu Akeusola Provost, Michael Otedola College of Primary Education (MOCOPED), Epe, Lagos, Prof. Olu Akeusola | credits: Participants at the 2013 National Conference of the School of Education, Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education, Ijanikin, Lagos, have advocated the production of 21st century compliant teachers by the nation’s tertiary institutions. Teachers that will drive the 21st century schools, they argued, must be knowledgeable, skillful, competent and result-oriented. Otherwise, they would not be able to spur learners to love learning. Participants that include deans of faculties of education, provosts of colleges of education, curriculum developers, school administrators, policy makers, lecturers and students converged on AOCOED to deliberate on the theme, “Competencies and Strategies of Teaching the 21st Century Learners.” The goal of teaching, they said, was to make students learn, stressing that any teaching that does not lead to learning is a wasteful exercise. Provost, Michael Otedola College of Primary Education (MOCOPED), Epe, Lagos, Prof. Olu Akeusola, in his keynote address, stressed that development requires that educational systems equip young people with new skills and competencies. This, he said, would allow them to benefit from the emerging new forms of socialisation and also contribute actively to economic development with knowledge-driven mindset. “These skills and competencies are often referred to as 21st century skills and competencies, which indicate that they are more related to the needs of the emerging models of economic and social development than with those of the past century, which were suited to an industrial mode of production,” Akeusola said. He said new standards for what students should be able to do are replacing the basic skill competencies and knowledge expectations of the past. Akeusola said in order to meet this new challenge, schools must be transformed in ways that would enable students to acquire the creative thinking, flexible problem solving, collaboration and innovative skills needed to succeed in the work place. “The task of meeting the needs of the 21st century teachers and learners is an enormous one. It thus requires all hands to be on deck; the government, the private sectors and the parents must collaborate and provide the infrastructural facilities to train and retrain teachers and make them absolutely competent and skilful; motivate them by paying them good salaries and fascinating welfare packages; the learners (students) should be assisted at home to take their studies seriously”, he said. Akeusola added that the teachers of 21st century would need skill and expertise to teach the same 21st century skills that they are encouraging their students to excel in. “They (teachers) will have to take conscious efforts to communicate and collaborate with each other and with students by becoming flexible with managing new classroom dynamics, be able to support and be willing to adapt their teaching styles to accommodate new pedagogical approaches to learning,” he said. The Dean, School of Education, AOCOED, Mr. Ige Nelson, had in his welcome address said the conference was aimed at advancing the frontiers of teacher education and generate issues and ideas for the development of teaching and learning. Nelson said a major consideration in planning the conference was the conception of the elements of effective teaching and learning that should guide teachers in the selection and organisation of strategies during classroom activities. “No doubt, there is a critical need for improvement in the teaching and learning processes in Nigerian schools. There is a growing concern about competence and quality of the processes of teaching and learning. The education reforms are endless, policies are inconsistent and curriculum continues to change. “It is at this crossroads in our education system that teacher education providers and associated professionals must devise strategies that produce quality learning and productiveness in our classroom”, he said. Also, a professor of Educational Technology, Lagos State University, Ojo, Lagos, Cordelia Nwaboku, in her paper titled, ‘Developing the Future Ready Educator in Nigerian Colleges of Education and Universities,’ said teachers everywhere are supposed to be change agents for the transformation and development of the society. She said for teachers to achieve this, the teacher training curriculum should be overhauled, while the admission requirements should be reviewed. The Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Education, Mr. Abdul Fatai Olukoga, who was represented by the Director of Monitoring and Investigation, Ministry of Education, Mrs. O.R Oyedele, called on teachers to help students discover their talents and interests, as well as to create a learning environment where they could deploy their gifts and passions to learn from a position of strength. “Just like parents, teachers should come to understand each student’s strengths, what their interests are and how they learn best. Good teachers have always had this capacity. One of the ways teachers gain this insight is through ongoing informal classroom assessments”, he said.
Posted on: Tue, 02 Jul 2013 06:09:19 +0000
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