When the topic of 21st century learning comes up, the conversation seems to inevitably turn to technology.  There is no doubt that the information technology advances of the past 40 years have substantively changed the nature of education, business and human interaction.  However, it is sometimes easy to forget that information technology is a human creation, driven by human wants and needs.  It is in our nature to crave connections with other human beings.  We are social animals, and our success as a species has depended on cooperation first and technology second.  21st century learning can be seen as the manifestation of human needs embodied and modified by technological mediums--the tribal council in the digital age.  Contemporary understandings of the brain are reminding us of our nature as primates at the same time our technologies give us the god-like power of beaming stories and images, or deploying weapons of mass destruction, around the planet with the touch of a button.  Citizens of the future would be best served by knowing themselves as creatures that stand at the crossroads of apes and gods--as human beings.

It would appear that the earliest human cultures were largely egalitarian in nature.  Authority stemmed from ability; individuals became leaders in areas in which they excelled and became followers in endeavors where a peer was more knowledgeable.  The communal spirit was embodied by totem spirits which symbolized the collective power of the tribe or group.  As agriculture replaced hunting and gathering, and then as industry largely overshadowed agriculture, culture and education moved more and more to a totalitarian model, with single leaders and monotheistic gods.  These cultures produced citizens in factory-like classrooms which strove to hammer diverse students into the single mold of the "A" student.  (Grade "A" originally being a top quality of cut in mass-produced meat.)  This model, however, went (and goes) contrary to our natures, which evolved in egalitarian communities.  With the evolution of democracy and the explosion of networked communications, humans have taken steps to reclaim their nature as communal beings who work in teams formed for specific purposes under leaders who lead out of ability and practicality, and not merely from a sense of inherited privilege, military/material power, or exclusive access to divine revelation.

Our approach to education needs to change to keep pace with this cultural shift.  The teacher, once the "sage on the stage," must now become a leader with the ability to organize the strengths and weaknesses of the class into mutually supportive roles.  This teacher needs to be aware of the his students not only as individuals, but as human creatures with deep needs for status, certainty, autonomy, relatedness, and fairness (Rock), who have a strong urge to work with their peers.  At the same time, the 21st century teacher needs to familiarize students with the technology that not only is the driving force behind today's professions and industries, but has also been one of the forces that humans have harnessed to enable them to enhance their lives in ways that are fundamentally effective and satisfying to their natures.

Copyright Ned Bates 2010