Prof. Nevzat Tarhan: "Right criticism is a gift..."

Pointing out that the right criticism is a gift presented to the person, Psychiatrist Prof. Nevzat Tarhan emphasized the importance of teamwork. Tarhan stated that "Teamwork, which is one of the skills of the 21st century, also requires social and emotional skills. Now, group genius is important instead of individual genius. Success is achieved through collaboration and teamwork. This is made possible by people developing their collaboration skills."

Pointing out that there is a balance of opposites in nature, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan stated that "What is darkness? It means that there is no light. That is the law of entropy... To act in accordance with this law of entropy. An important skill emerges here. Reinforcing the positive instead of fighting the negative... As we continuously increase the positive, the negative decreases by itself."

President of Üsküdar University, Psychiatrist Prof. Nevzat Tarhan discussed the subject of adaptation to the 21st century and new century skills.

Social and emotional skills come to the fore

Noting that the skills of the 21st century can be defined as new learning and innovation skills, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan stated that "In the 21st century, the learning model has changed, and innovations have developed rapidly. The skills developed to adapt to the change of this learning model and rapid transformation go beyond both academic and technical skills. Now, social and emotional skills are also coming to the fore. If academic and technical skills are not supported by social and emotional skills, people will not catch up with the age and will miss it. In a world where digital transformation is accelerating, digital technologies have begun to take over academic and technical tasks to a large extent. However, those who develop their skills in these areas will catch up with the requirements of the 21st century and make a difference since digital technologies cannot realize innovations in the social and emotional fields."

Significant developments are taking place in artificial intelligence

Noting that neuroscience and brain-based learning led to significant changes in social and emotional skills in the early 2000s, Prof. Tarhan explained that brain-based learning gained great momentum in 2018 and that there were important developments in artificial intelligence in the same period, and that artificial intelligence, which was founded in the 1950s, was revived with the advancement of brain-based learning and neural networks.

Stating that this situation also affects the education system and accelerates the transition from traditional learning models to learning by experiencing, Prof. Tarhan expressed that "The traditional teaching style is a style in which the teacher tells while the student listens. It has been replaced by new models that are open to experience and initiatives and change problem solving methods."

One of the skills of the 21st century is teamwork

Stating that in this age, economic size and the power of the country are measured not by land and population, but by economic success and innovative start-ups, Prof. Tarhan said that "Wealth is now evaluated by the number of patents and innovations rather than mineral reserves. Teamwork, which is one of the skills of the 21st century, also requires social and emotional skills. Now, group genius is important instead of individual genius. Success is achieved through collaboration and teamwork. This is made possible by people developing their collaboration skills."

Qualified techno-entrepreneurship has become important

Explaining that a new skill called connectivism has come to the fore and that the wider the network of people, the more visible and effective their work becomes, Prof. Tarhan said that the power of social influence has gained importance in terms of innovation and entrepreneurship and that it is no longer enough to be innovative and entrepreneurial. Tarhan also noted that these innovations should be explained to the society and create a social impact. In this context, Tarhan noted that qualified techno-entrepreneurship is important.

Medium and long-term thinking is one of the skills of the 21st century

Stating that objectivism and sustainability have become important concepts in the 21st century, Prof. Tarhan continued his remarks as follows: "Success is no longer considered as individual success, but as team success, and sustainable success is targeted. For example, sustainability is a 21st century skill. In other words, will you be able to produce the same quality product in 5 years? A student is happy and successful now, but will they be successful when they graduate from their school? One has academic success, but will they be a life success? Medium and long-term thinking is one of the skills of the 21st century. To be able to look holistically and to be able to act by seeing the whole forest, not just a tree... Because in nature there is a balance of opposites. What is darkness? In fact, it means that there is no light. That is the law of entropy... It is to act in accordance with this law of entropy. An important skill emerges here. Reinforcing the positive instead of fighting the negative... As you constantly increase the positive, the negative decreases by itself."

Individuals with 21st century skills stand out as managers of innovation

Drawing attention to behavioral entropy, Prof. Tarhan stated that people, who are psychological beings, invest in the things they love and where they feel a sense of trust.

Noting that 21st century skills have an important role for success and effectiveness in today's society, Prof. Tarhan stated that "Digital literacy forms the basis of these skills. In this way, individuals can keep up with rapid changes, follow new developments and adapt. However, it is important not only to follow the innovations, but also to be able to use these innovations effectively for their own purposes. In this context, individuals with 21st century skills stand out as the managers of innovation, and they are considered as people who can make directive and effective decisions rather than being victims of innovation."

Parents from the 20th century are preparing their children for the 21st century

Pointing out that parents from the 20th century should prepare their children for the 21st century, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan expressed that "A mental transformation is required here. When parents are raising their children, they say, 'It was not like that in my time. That is how my parents behaved. That is not how we treat our children.' This is actually something that happens in Egyptian papyrus and tablets. In other words, the generational conflict also exists in Socrates. Two things have never changed: 'One is generational conflict, and the other is the mother-in-law issue.' In this age, if information used to become obsolete every 30 years, now it becomes obsolete in 3 years. The generational debate is now louder. For this reason, parents and educators need to keep up with this."

Student-centered education is not about "pampering students"

Stating that student-centeredness has become an important concept in education, Prof. Tarhan noted that this concept is often misunderstood and interpreted as "pampering students", whereas student-centered education does not mean saying 'yes' to everything the student says, and that student-oriented education is an educational approach tailored to the needs of the student, their interests and individual learning speed.

Stating that with this approach, students will take on their own learning responsibilities by actively participating in the learning process, Prof. Tarhan said that "The following saying of Ali summarizes this issue very well: 'Raise your children not according to the age they live in, but according to the age they will live in.' We need to think in the medium and long term and raise technologically enriched individuals. There is such a learning environment. This is revealed by reading the needs of the society.”

Each child has unique abilities and learning styles

Explaining that individualized learning and multiple intelligence-oriented approaches come to the fore in education today, Prof. Tarhan stated that "Every child has unique abilities and learning styles. Therefore, it is necessary to use different methods in education according to the strengths and weaknesses of each child. Children with high musical intelligence learn better by using musical elements. For these children, activities and tools related to music should be included in the educational process. Children with high social intelligence learn more efficiently through social interactions and group work. Active learning environments should be created for these children, and social activities should be encouraged."

One of the most important skills of the 21st century is critical thinking

Stating that project-oriented schools have emerged in the education system that have reached this awareness and that these schools provide education according to the individual abilities of the students, Prof. Tarhan also noted that meta-cognitive methods are used to improve reading comprehension and questioning skills, and that these methods enable students to understand and control the learning process and encourage critical thinking and the search for meaning.

Stating that one of the most important skills of the 21st century is critical thinking, Prof. Tarhan said that traditional education systems adopt the approach of "do not ask, do not think, and just obey", but modern education systems encourage children to progress in the form of "ask, think, be convinced and obey if you believe".

Generation Z, they are really eager, they are cute, and they want to learn...

Pointing out the importance of raising children as individuals who question, think critically and progress by persuasion, Prof. Tarhan said that "Student-oriented is a relationship made by gaining the love and trust of the student. Students are Gen Z right now. They are genuinely eager, cute, willing to learn, and there is a serious search for innocence in them. There is a search for justice. They are very disturbed by injustice. That is a good thing and let us not spoil that. We see all over the world in the events in Gaza, and young people have not been insensitive. All political systems have acted self-interestedly, but young people can act objectively. Why is there no reaction in young people in Eastern cultures? Because eastern cultures are oppressive cultures. They are authoritarian cultures. In such cultures, people suppress their emotions. When authority is removed, they become anarchists or learn lies and hypocrisy. There are different types of people who speak differently at every table."

We will see students who criticize as a gift to criticize...

Noting that the education system by pressure and intimidation is not the traditional education system of this age, Prof. Tarhan stated that the right criticism should be considered as a gift offered to the person. Tarhan said that "Since we are here in the 21st century. We will not be bothered by students who question and criticize. We will see students who criticize as a gift of criticism. Parents should also research and let us look together, if I know, I will tell you, if I do not know, let us learn together. Let the parents be companions with the child. Thus, they learn together. One of the skills of the 21st century is the philosophy of the learning organization. In other words, the mother will learn, the father will learn, and the child will learn. In school, the teacher will learn, and the student will learn. It is very easy to access information now. In other words, to be a learning organism, everyone must have a desire to learn, a goal, and a desire to renew themselves. Technology is changing very fast. Those who catch up with technology and digital literacy gain the greatest skill in 21st century skills, problem-solving skills."

 

Üsküdar News Agency (ÜNA)