Instructional Strategies in the 21st Century

Describe the importance of the using a variety of instructional strategies and the value they add to education of students in the 21st century.  Evaluate the role technology plays in the implementation of various instructional strategies.  How will this impact your teaching of students in the 21^st century? 

            The importance of the using a variety of instructional strategies in a technology enriched classroom is to ensure you provide various strategies to meet the needs of the learner. It is important to understand that instructional strategies consist of a range from direct teacher-centered presentation to independent student-center problem-solving. When using instructional strategies it is essential to recognize that there are several components to address that include both content and learning outcomes, the instructional experiences, technology and media, a learning environment, and students.  Well-planned instructional strategies incorporate technology and media promote learning regardless of the subject matter, the learners, or the learning environment. There are several ways to ensure students are provided with instructional strategies in the classroom. The instructional strategies are as follows:  presentation, demonstration, drill-and-practice, tutorial, discussion, cooperative learning, games, stimulation, discovery, and problem solving. Therefore, when planning your strategies there are some essential factors you need to consider before teaching students in a 21^st century environment. Before selecting the appropriate strategies for effective instruction the teacher must consider the following aspects to help guide the teacher in the right direction. Assessing student’s prior knowledge, consider individual differences in learning, state the objectives for you and the students, develop meta-cognitive skills to make them lifelong learners

The role technology plays in the implementation of various instructional strategies is based on the selective strategies and the assignment assigned by the teacher and the group of learners. When instruction is teacher-centered, technology is used to support the presentation of instruction.  For example when the teacher wants to introduce the students to a new mathematic skill she could use the Promethean board and a flip chart about Geometric shapes and angles. On the other hand, when instruction is student centered, students are the primary users of technology. For example after the teacher has introduced the class to lesson and presented the task. The students will work in small groups at the computer center engaging in a math skills and activities in a virtual learning environment where students can practice and receive instant feedback to support learning.

            Teachers have a significant impact on their students learning as 21^st century citizen. This is done by creating an appropriate learning environment and selecting the appropriate instructional strategies to meet the needs of all the learners in the classroom. As a result of selecting effective instructional strategies to help implement learning in their classroom influence the learning outcome. Therefore it is imperative that the teacher to be selective in the choices of instructional strategies that will be used during learning and teaching. Also the role of the teacher changes to facilitator of knowledge acquisition to ensure your students gain new knowledge and skills.