Cynthia Luna Scott (2015) challenges traditional notions of education by emphasizing that in today’s world students need to be innovative, creative thinkers who can use higher-order thinking skills to overcome and adapt. 
Long gone are the days of rote learning, in this day and age students need to
understand how to manipulate technology, find answers to complex questions and be able to implement strategies to create a positive outcome.
To be successful in giving our students the best start in this, 21st
Century teachers need to adapt their teaching to incorporate lower and higher order thinking to encourage understanding in different contexts, make learning relevant to the ‘big picture’ [Big Picture Learning is where students are encouraged to explore their interests through deeper learning—this approach develops the students’ communications, collaboration, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills and their ability to engage in self-directed learning] (Learning Policy Institute, 2019)
and to encourage students to transfer their learning to other disciplines, be taught metacognition
(the art of learning to learn), promote teamwork and collaboration, to foster creativity and give them the opportunity to exploit technology to support their learning.
At present, schools are finding the transition to 21st Century learning a difficult and challenging change. I have noticed that many older teachers are unfamiliar with technology and find it difficult to navigate with any amount of confidence, whereas for the newer teacher’s technology is less challenging. But in saying this schools have yet to embrace technology in all its forms and are still unwilling to use it to its fullest. This is partly due to cost, technology is costly and not all schools or families can afford it. So, to encourage the use of technology it needs to become affordable, and teachers need to be given every opportunity to be taught how to use it to its fullest potential.
Reference
Learning Policy Institute. (2019). Big Picture Learning: Spreading Relationships, Relevance, and Rigor One Student at a Time.
Scott, C. (2015). The Futures of Learning 3: What kind of pedagogies for the 21st Century?. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000243126
Big Picture Education Australia. (2017, May 3). Big Picture Promo 2015 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.bigpicture.org.au/media-gallery/lightbox/582/1848
