In developing the Education 2030 Agenda, it became clear that education systems require solutions to help prepare students for the challenges of today’s world. The two-hour session, centralized on the theme “The Art of Teaching- Implementing ESD Approach’‘. It was organized for educators from different parts of the country in order to provide them with guidance to develop teaching skills in the 21st century. The session started with the introduction of the facilitator; Mr. Parshuram Sharma Niraula (Director/Educator, Smart Minds) including participants.
The session delivered the following learnings;
Skills you have learned
- Growth Mindset
- Teaching Skills
- Sustainability
Introduction to Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)
Mr.Sharma introduced the general concept of teaching & Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) empowers learners of all ages with the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes to address the interconnected global challenges we are facing, including climate change, environmental degradation, loss of biodiversity, poverty and inequality.
ESD is setting a new direction for education and learning for all. It promotes quality education and is inclusive of all people. It is based on values, principles and practices necessary to respond effectively to current and future challenges. It is critical for the development of new economic thinking. ESD contributes to creating resilient, healthy and sustainable societies through a systemic and integrated approach. It brings new relevance, quality, meaning and purpose to education and training systems. It involves formal, non-formal and informal education contexts and all sectors of society in a lifelong learning process.
ESD emphasizes creative and critical approaches, long-term thinking, innovation and empowerment for dealing with uncertainty, and for solving complex problems. ESD highlights the interdependence of environment, economy, society, and cultural diversity from local to global levels, and takes account of past, present and future.
ESD highlights the interdependence of environment, economy, society, and cultural diversity from local to global levels, and takes account of past, present and future. Linked to different needs and the concrete living conditions of people, ESD provides the skills to find solutions and draws on practices and knowledge embedded in local cultures as well as in new ideas and technologies.
Developing Teaching Skills in the 21st century
21st-Century Educator
21st-century educators should be flexible and friendly and also aware of their student’s needs for future career development. Educators have to be able to develop and enhance students’ capability to tolerate and adjust in any field and to make a positive thinker and also develop humanity and moral values. 
Some of the characteristics of a 21st-century teacher and educator are listed below;
- The Adaptor
- The Communicator
- The Learner
- The Visionary
- The Leader
- The Model
- The Collaborator
- The Risk Taker
A Diagram Of 21st Century Teaching Pedagogy
Overall, the diagram provides a useful framework for understanding the concept of 21st-century pedagogy by focusing on several key aspects of modern learning: metacognition (reflection), critical thinking, technology, and problem and project-based learning. Also, Mr.Sharma compared the teaching pedagogy of the 21st century with the 19th century and explained the progress.
CREATICAL THINKING
He also shared that to be a 21st-century teacher, one needs strategy & a mixture of critical thinking and creativity i.e “CREATICAL THINKING”. Creatical thinking is the bridge between creative reason and critical thinking. Dr. Jason Ohler, a Media Psychology professor, coined the term, asserting that “a critical act without a creative act, and vice versa” is impossible.
Main Four Core Skills
- Observation
- Documentation
- Analysis
- Dissemination
Connecting Five Essential competencies and Pedagogical Approaches for Sustainability
- Systems thinking competence
The ability to see, understand and relate the different parts in a system – and how these parts together connect issues to come up with a whole picture.
- Anticipatory competence
The ability to critically analyse and evaluate current situations in view of predicting and envisioning future scenarios and their possible outcomes.
- Normative competence
The ability to collectively demonstrate an understanding of values and principles in view of negotiating and integrating these in your vision and practice of sustainability.
- Strategic competence
The ability to collectively design and implement interventions, and to enable and manage change processes towards sustainability issues.
- Interpersonal competence
The ability to create an environment that enables people to learn from and with each other. The ability to motivate, enable and facilitate collaborative and participatory learning processes regarding sustainability issues.
“The only person who is educated is the one who has learned how to learn and change,” he said at the end of the session, quoting Carl Rogers. Overall, the session covered some important skills required for a 21st Century teacher from making their social media presence stronger to applying integrated teaching in their classrooms.