21st Century Classroom

The 21st century skills are a set of abilities that students need to develop in order to succeed in the information age. The Partnership for 21st Century Skills lists three types:

Learning Skills:	Literacy Skills:	Life Skills:
Critical Thinking Creative Thinking Collaborating Communicating	Information Literacy Media Literacy Technology Literacy	Flexibility Initiative Social Skills Productivity Leadership

Computing devices have become essential tools for 21st century students and greatly assist in teaching and learning to make them more engaging and effective. Therefore, beside the 4Cs, an additional C - Connect was suggested for the learning skills,

Components of 21st Century Classroom

Characteristics of a 21st Century Classroom

• Students take responsibility of their learning
• Teacher as facilitator
• Collaborative environment
• Technology Integration
• Inquiry based approach
• Writing for reflection
• Use of a problem solving methodology
• Hands-on learning
• Performance-based assessments
• Active learning
• Justification for answers
• Adaptive learning

21st Century Learning Space
When talking about learning space, the obvious words are: space, flexibility, versatility, connectedness, freedom, innovative, comfortable.

According to Thornburg (2004), learning takes place in four spaces: campfires (information), watering holes (conversation), caves (concept), and life (context).

• Campfire: a place to learn from experts or storytellers. A place for whole-group discussions.
• Watering Hole: a space for small group discourse, sharing and collaboration. 
• Cave: a space for individual study, reflection, quiet reading and creative flow.

Below are sample of 21st century classroom setting:

References:

Goertz, P. (2015) 10 Signs of a 21st Century Classroom. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/discussion/10-signs-21st-century-classroom on 11th Nov. 2015

Pearlman, B. (2010) Designing New Learning Environments to Support 21st Century Skills. Retrieved from http://www.bobpearlman.org/Learning21/New%20Learning%20Environments%20for%2021st%20Century%20Skills.PDF on 11th Nov. 2015

Saxena, S. (2013) Top 10 Characteristics of a 21st Century Classroom. Retrieved from http://edtechreview.in/news/862-top-10-characteristics-of-a-21st-century-classroom on 11th Nov. 2015

Thornburg, D. (2004). Campfires in Cyberspace: primordial Metaphors for Learning in the 21st Century. International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning, Vol.1. No.10. Retrieved from http://homepages.dcc.ufmg.br/~angelo/webquests/metaforas_imagens/Campifires.pdf on 11th Nov. 2015

Thoughtful Learning. (2015). What are 21st century skills. Retrieved from https://k12.thoughtfullearning.com/FAQ/what-are-21st-century-skills on 11th Nov. 2015

A climb to Gunung Angsi, Negeri Sembilan @ 29 Oct 2015

Gunung Angsi located in Ulu Bendul Recreational Park, about 20 km from Seremban, the state capital of Negeri Sembilan. It is one of Malaysia's relatively minor mountains with a height of 824 meter. You need to register at the park ranger's office before starting your ascent and pay a nominal fee of RM5.00 per person.

Climbing Gunung Angsi takes most people up to 3 hours to go up and somewhat less coming down making it a do-able half day excursion. The trail is quite relaxing except there is a long, steep and tiring section along a ridge of the hill. No worry, the path is well defined most of the way.

There are 45 of us and all made it to the summit. Hooray!

permit RM5.00 per entry

Briefing from the Ranger

warming up...

the climb starts...

the long and steep path...

fungus

for a break

root in red...

having tea during weekends

the entrance...

 

the summit...

Here I am...

smilE...

Bukit Broga Hike

Bukit Broga hike on 27th Oct 2015 was one of the activity under the Healthy Lifestyle and Fitness Programme for Institut Aminuddin Baki's staff. We started our hike at around 9.30 a.m. and end at around 1.00 p.m.

Bukit Broga, also known as 'Bukit Lalang' - after the local species of grass that grows abundantly here, is a hill in Semenyih, at 400 meters high and 40 minutes away from Kuala Lumpur on the trunk road to Broga. It can be reached a short distance later after University of Nottingham, where the entrance starts at left from an oil palm estate opposite a rabbit park. Famed for its incredibly panoramic views (especially at dawn) along with easy accessibility on foot, the hill is a popular tourist attraction among locals; the estate owner cashes on the glut of visitors during weekends and public holidays by charging MYR2 per vehicle that parks on his grounds.

From the peak, visitors get a spacious view of the plains, coated by a mixture of rainforest, oil palm plantations, villages and towns, along with distant mountains. At dawn, mist rising from the ground from the warmth of the sun envelops the landscape in a carpet of white, evoking a surreal atmosphere. The hike while steep is relatively easy, taking anywhere between 20 and 45 minutes to reach the highest peak depending on one's fitness level, or photo stops. There are three peaks in total, each one ascends above the other through a clear path fringed by tall grass at each side. From the summit, a proper jungle trail leads through primary rainforest to Gunung Tok Wan (675 meters), a roughly one and a half hour hike on meandering slopes

(source: http://www.naturemalaysia.com/broga-hill.htm)

breakfast...

briefing...

warming up....

 

Yeah...!!

my group

Yeah...!!