Curriculum+and+Pedagogy

Curriculum and Pedagogy
As already noted, times have changed and are continuing to change. Because technology has adjusted the way we work and think, curriculum and pedagogy also needs to be changedmedia type="youtube" key="8_ehGLqzBVM" height="315" width="420" align="right" to reflect 21st Century skills and jobs, some of which do not even exist today. The video to the right takes a closer look as to why changes in curriculum are needed. The video acknowledges that based on a survey of over 400 employers in 2006, the essential skills that they are looking for in potential employees are work ethic, written and oral communication, collaboration, and critical thinking for problem solving. In that same survey, employers reported that the m ajority of the recent graduates are "deficient" in these skills.

Thus, change in education in curriculum and pedagogy is necessary to adequately prepare students for future jobs. Problem Based Learning (PBL) is a teaching approach that encourages students to communicate and collaborate with others in order to develop a solution to a complex problem. As a result, we propose that PBL become a major component of curriculum in order to equip students with 21st Century skills that employers desire. With the information overload, one mind will not be the sole expert to solve the problems, hence harnessing collective intelligence will be a feature of future classrooms.

The curriculum and pedagogy of the future will be more interactive and collaborative in 2025. Students will be more active in their learning rather than sitting passively at their desks. Web 2.0 tools provide several ways for students collaborate, connect, and share information with each other. Thus, technology will be used extensively for collaboration as well as for building networks. The role of teachers will also be different as they will be facilitators of learning rather than the bearers of knowledge and information. In addition, teachers will also be learners themselves. Because of the changes to curriculum and pedagogy, assessment will also be changed to accurately measure students' progress and ability for 21st Century skills.

In this section, we will address:
 * Problem Based Learning (what it is and why it will be a major part of the 2025 curriculum)
 * Current examples of Problem Based Learning
 * Collective Intelligence
 * Changes in assessment