E - Buletin Gaharu Volume 1 Nomor 2 Tahun 2016

14
ENGLISH CORNER
TRAINING IN THE
21 ST CENTURY
Aji Prasetio Putranto, S.Pd., M.A. Widyaiswara Pertama pada Pusdiklat Kemensetneg
The notion of the 21 st century
learning as the replacement
of the traditional learning
has been an interesting
topic to discuss forthese
past few years. Despite
the popularity of
the term “21 st century
learning”, some trainers
in training and development
centers have not
applied the method because
of some reasons,
and one of them is lack of
knowledge in Information
and Communication Technology
(ICT) skills. Indeed, it is
undeniable that the correlation
between the term of 21 st century
and technology cannot be separated.
What are the characteristics of the 21 st century
learning? Does it only deal with the technology?
In the case of the development of civil servants,
Training and Development Centers are responsible
to become initiators in promoting the 21 st century
learning. Training and Development Centers
should create a curriculum which blends thinking
and innovation skills, modern learning technologies,
and life skills (Sternberg and Subotnik, 2006).
Trainees are expected to be innovative in the classroom,
and they can use multiple sources, including
technology to find and gather the information
they need. Text books or modules are no longer
the major source of information. The focus is no
longer on learning by memorizing and recalling
information, but on learning how to learn.
In order to meet the needs of the 21st century
learner,the curricula for the trainings should adopt
a 21 st century curriculum that contains thinking
and innovation skills, modern learning technologies,
and life skills. Wagner and Keegan (2006) recommends
a curriculum built on a different set of
“3 R’s” that is Rigor, Relevance and Respect. Rigor
does not mean content that is difficult for trainees
to master, rather it concerns what trainees are able
to do as a result of their learning. Relevance means
helping students understand how their learning
connects to their work settings.
Respect means promoting
respectful relationships
among trainers
and trainees.
When we talk about
the design of curriculum
in the government’s
Training and
Development Centers
in Indonesia, we have
to refer to The Institution
of State’s Administration
(LAN). Normally,
they have their own standard
to design the curricula
of the Civil Servant’s trainings,
especially the compulsory trainings
for the civil servants in Indonesia,
for example the Leadership Trainings for the
echelons. Training and Development Centers in
Indonesia have to obey their curricula and even
the way the trainers deliver the lesson are already
set in the curricula. The government have to make
sure that the curricula are designed to meet the
21 st century’s criteria as mentioned previously.
If they did not make the curricula based on the
frameworks of 21 st century learning, obviously the
trainers and the trainees will not make the best result
on learning and facilitating.
According to Shear (2014) interacting with digital
learning environment that support the development
of deeper learning skills such as problem
solving, critical thinking, and inquiry is very crucial.
Trainers are expected to ask questions about
the effectiveness of technology-based learning
system to promote 21 st century training. Furthermore,
trainers should be one step ahead from
their trainees in term of mastering the technology
as learning tools. In my training session in
Malaysia a month ago, the trainees were trained
to use google docs to teach writing courses, so
everyone (including the trainer) could monitor the
development of the collaborative learning in writing
course. The use of google docs are very handy
both for the trainers and the trainees per se, so
in this case the use of technology is quite effec-