Survival of the Fittest: Adapting to Innovation (4IR) and Adjusting to Safety Regulations (Covid-19) while Teaching and Learning for a Better Future.

 

The concept of teaching and learning has taken a new advanced and informed structure due to the spread of Covid-19 and the introduction and implementation of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Teaching and learning can no longer be perceived as simply as it was before the times of adapting and adjusting as it has become less simplified and rather complex. Teachers are now situated to change their strategies and find efficient resources thus becoming life-long researchers themselves.

A teacher researcher is one who reflects on their own teaching to acquire more insight on their skills and knowledge and to also improve and sharpen their skills and knowledge. The task of learning is not only admissible to learners as teachers are also required to be learners in their own teaching. Teachers need to mature and expand in their profession for the sake of relevancy in times we live in. Teachers need to become learners before they teach. The extent of comprehension should evolve before it is passed onto learners.

"The need for professional development is important"- Hairon

In adapting and adjusting, teachers are required to become agents of transformation in their fields of study. Teachers are required to find creative and innovative ways so to stay informed and relevant. They need to transform their teaching so to adjust and achieve the set standard of change in their school. The change in their teaching should correlate with that in the environment. Teachers need to know how to use technology to their benefit and that of their learners as physical classes are becoming a thing of the past. Teachers of the Fourth Industrial Revolution need to shift their focus from traditional classroom resources such as the chalkboard to advanced and intelligent resources such as the smart board that can be used even in online classroom platforms. In adjusting to Covid-19, teachers need to use 4IR adaptive ways to their benefit. Teachers need to find ways to make teaching and learning productive through technology, and this can be successful through creating online classes, quizzes, projects, test and lastly followed by online monitored exams.

The main key is to be reflective so to revise on own teaching and also improve it. Relevancy is of importance as the environment we now live in is no longer as simplified as that of the past but is rather complex. Through mastering the skill of adapting (utilizing the resources of the 4IR) and adjusting (following Covid-19 regulations through adapting), teaching and learning can become greater than imagined.