Redesigning the Future of Education in the Light of New Theories, Teaching Methods, Learning, and Research

Edited by:
Şenol Orakcı, Aksaray University

Published 2024

Learning used to be confined to a physical place. Now, it’s no longer limited by walls or daylight or location. Learning happens in spaces that transcend these boundaries. These spaces can still have physical elements, but they are no longer defined by a physical footprint and constrained by the limitations of time, space, and matter. Learning can now take place on any device, in any place, and at any time. 21st century skills are one of the concepts we use most frequently when talking about innovative education. We see that the skills, referred to as 21st century skills, include cognitive skills such as creative thinking, problem solving, as well as many different social and emotional skills such as understanding, expressing, empathy and teamwork. Many educators now agree that not only academic knowledge is sufficient, but social-emotional skills play a role as much as academic knowledge in a person's success and happiness. Another accepted fact is the phenomenon of lifelong learning: the fact that education does not start at school but does not end at school, in fact, it is a process that should continue throughout life. While accepting all this, a subject that is not discussed much; how this holistic, lifelong learning is possible in a class in the form of 40 minutes lessons and 10 minutes of break. While we are designing various kinds of education programs for children to gain all these different skill sets in the classroom, do not we actually keep these skills in the easiest way, practically away from the environments they will acquire?

In John Dewey's book, “Experience and Education” (1938), information obtained as detached from real life is depicted as wasted time and effort. Most teachers are already aware of this situation. For this reason, they try to explain math problems and literacy by linking them to children's experiences and lives as much as possible, and they do many big and small experiments in social sciences and science lessons. Can't we go one step further than this? Can't we make learning in life a part of our education system, instead of preparing small examples of real life for children? With many justified concerns such as assessment, security, teachers' pedagogical infrastructure, we miss out on the most important opportunities for education just because they are outside the walls of the school? This book aims to open new horizons in the journey of learning beyond the school walls in the world and contribute to the spread of learning in our society. In societies where constant change is the norm, schools today must prepare students to be successful in environments and contexts that may differ greatly from what we experience today. But, are we really thinking about the future?

With contributions from seven continents, this book will reveal a ‘snapshot’ of some of our best thinking for building new education futures. Diverse experiences, visions, and ideas are shared to help spark new thinking among educators and policymakers, provoke conversation, and facilitate new ideas for meeting human development needs in a rapidly transforming world.

CONTENTS
Foreword: Redesigning the Future of Education in the Light of New Theories, Teaching Methods, Learning, and Research, Şenol Orakci. Towards a New Paradigm of Education in the 21st Century, Hüseyin Çevik and Şenol Orakcı. Utilizing Constructivism Learning Theory to Enhance 21st Century Skills in Mobile Learning, Jennifer Lynne Lawlor. The Legacy of the Pandemic for Online and Blended Teaching and Learning: Extending Social Presence to Include an Emotional Dimension, Roger Austin and Franz Hoeritzauer. Using Cognitive Load Theory and Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning to Adapt Existing Face-to-Face Instructional Materials to Online Learning Environments, Chad Clark. The Importance of the Inclusion of Usability in the Design and Development of an Online Learning Resource, Ellen Bell and David Barr. Elementary Mathematics Digital Curricula and the Future of Teacher Education, Steve Rhine, Shannon O. S. Driskell, Rachel A. Harrington, and Ann Wheeler. Analysis of the Cultural Intelligence Instructors, Burak Yaba and Saadet Kuru Çetin. Growing STEM Leaders: High School Youth as Teachers and Mentors Through Teaching Physical Computing, Helen Zhang, Avneet Hira, Jaai Phatak, Mike Barnett, and Sheikh Ahmad Shah. Implementing Gamified Learning Experiences Into Core Content Areas to Drive Student-Driven Engagement, Tisha Henderson and Barbara Purdum-Cassidy. Exploring 21st-Century Skill Development Through the Digital Game-Based Learning Platform of Minecraft Education, Chelsey Madsen, Leanne Howell, and Nicholas R. Werse. Outdoor Education, Sümeyra Zeynep Et. The Future of Lifelong Learning Based on a Keyword Mining Technique From the Cases of South Korea and Taiwan, Hae Na Kim and Ya-li Wu. Brown Bag, Lifelong Learning: The Laboratory of Geography Class, Mark T. Felts. Walking and Writing: Cross-Case Analysis of Secondary Literacy Lessons Held Outside, Kristie Camp. Reimagining Research Methodologies Through a Posthuman Lens: Returning to Mattering in Science Classrooms, Sophia Jeong, Elena H. Silverman, Saralyn M. McKinnon-Crowley, and M. Nickie Coomer. Redesigning the Future of Graduate Education in the 21st Via a Cultural Humility Model: Learning a Basic Spanish language Among Graduate Level Social Work Students: Implications for Theory and Practice, David Luciano.