Infusing 21st Century Skills in a Smart Learning Environment for Secondary Mathematics Classrooms

Abstract

The main objective of this chapter is to demonstrate how an instructional model, 2T2C, was used to infuse 21st century skills in the teaching of secondary school mathematics using a smart learning environment (SLE). It was imperative that cooperative and collaborating learning methodologies were included in the teaching model to ensure peer/teacher interaction to enhance student communication, the infusion of high-order thinking skills to guarantee that students can solve real-world problems and think at higher cognitive levels, the introduction of self-efficacy sessions to ensure that all students have the confidence and self-esteem to believe and have the self-assurance to solve mathematical real-world problems and take responsibility for their own learning, and the infusion of technology as a resource in the teaching and learning process: hence, 2T2C (thinking, technology, communication, and confidence). The scenarios presented highlighted the need for communication, high-level cognitive objectives, multiple evaluation practices, and thinking as key to the learning process.