The Education Ministry and the Parliamentary Secretariat for EU Funds published a statement today describing the importance of modern teaching techniques in classrooms.

They described classroom environment as an important factor both for students and for teachers. “Traditional classes with rows of tables after each other was a convetional system to train children in the military. The system required students to focus, all the time, on what the teacher was preaching and did not allow room for students to speak, discuss and collaborate with their friends – which are also needs of todays world. Students have to be at the centre of learning, by being given the chance to show what they know, be creative and reseach to learn more,”

The 21st century, they said, offers new challenfes in education, like diversity, inclusion, changes in society and continuously advancing technology.

This, they said, needs to show in classrooms and teaching methods. Modern classes, they added, must give space so that students be given the chance to move from one place ot another depending on the needs of the lesson. “In modern classes, this could be done in different areas through modern digital equipment, with teachning methods which promote digital literacy, where skills and competencies of the 21st century like collaboration, critical thinking and cmputational thinking are practiced.”

The Directorate of Digital Literacy and the Education Faculty within the  University of Malta have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for tablets financed by the EU to be given to the Faculty for research, and training for students aspiring to be teachers.

The tablets are part of the one tablet per child project. Through this agreement, students in the Faculty can train on how best tablets can be used as an educational tool.  

University students, they said, also entered a new class in the Directorate for Literacy, which was inaugurated by Minister Bartolo and Parliamentary Secretary Aaron Farrugia. “The class has different spaces, so that the teacher would have space to discuss and work on projects.”