PREPARING TEACHERS FOR THE FUTURE: INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGY AND PEDAGOGY IN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

The skills that students must have to succeed in facing the development of the 21st century are learning skills (creative thinking, critical thinking, collaboration, and communication), literacy skills (information literacy, media literacy, and technology literacy), and life skills (flexibility, leadership, initiative, productivity, and social skills). To equip students with these skills, teachers need to be well prepared. Teachers need to be prepared to master these skills so that they can be transferred to students. In connection with these demands, teachers need to be prepared to be able to meet challenges and opportunities by developing the skills needed by students to be able to succeed in the future. This article will present the integration of technology in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of instruction and efforts that can be made to prepare teachers to meet the challenges faced and the opportunities available through teacher participation in professional development programs. Through the integration of technology into instruction, teachers should be proficient in using various digital devices and platforms to improve the quality of instruction. This is related to the level of digital literacy. In addition, teachers should be able to integrate technology into lesson plans to create student engagement in learning and develop meaningful learning experiences. Teachers also need to teach students how to use technology to solve problems and think critically. Through continuous professional development, teachers are encouraged to always update their insights by always following the latest trends and research in the field of Education. In addition, teachers need to receive professional guidance to be able to convince them that the changes they make are in accordance with the expected demands. In addition, teachers also need to be given the opportunity to participate in professional communities with colleagues where they can share ideas and best practices. This theoretical study is expected to be the basis for determining indicators for measuring teacher digital literacy and efforts that can be made to develop and improve these skills through professional development programs.