Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, emphasizing that constructive criticism is a gift to the individual, highlighted the importance of teamwork. Tarhan stated, “Teamwork, one of the 21st-century skills, also requires social and emotional skills. Group genius is now gaining importance over individual genius. Success is achieved through collaboration and teamwork. This is possible by people developing their cooperation skills.”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, pointing to the balance of opposites in nature, used the expressions, “What is darkness? It actually means the absence of light. This is the law of entropy… Acting in accordance with this law of entropy. An important skill emerges here: strengthening the positive instead of fighting the negative… As you continuously increase the positive, the negative naturally diminishes.”
Üsküdar Üniversitesi Founding Rector, Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, addressed the topic of adaptation to the 21st century and new century skills.
Social and emotional skills come to the fore
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan noted that 21st-century skills can be defined especially as new learning and innovation skills, stating, “In the 21st century, the learning model has changed, and innovations have rapidly developed. The skills developed to adapt to this changing learning model and rapid transformation go beyond both academic and technical skills. Now, social and emotional skills are also coming to the forefront. If academic and technical skills are not supported by social and emotional skills, individuals cannot keep up with the era; they will miss out. In a world where digital transformation is accelerating, digital technologies have largely begun to take on academic and technical tasks. However, since digital technologies cannot realize innovations in the social and emotional realm, those who develop their skills in these areas will have met the requirements of the 21st century and made a difference.”
Significant developments are taking place in artificial intelligence
Prof. Dr. Tarhan noted that in the early 2000s, neuroscience and brain-based learning led to significant changes in social and emotional skills, explaining that brain-based learning gained significant momentum in 2018, and at the same time, important developments occurred in artificial intelligence. He added that artificial intelligence, whose foundations were laid in the 1950s, was revived with the advancement of brain-based learning and neural networks.
Prof. Dr. Tarhan stated that this situation also affected the education system, accelerating the transition from traditional learning models to experiential learning. He said, “The traditional teaching style, where the teacher explains and the student listens, has been replaced by new models that are open to experience and initiatives, and change problem-solving methods.”
Teamwork is also one of the 21st-century skills
Prof. Dr. Tarhan also stated that in this era, the economic size and power of a country are measured not by land and population, but by economic success and innovative start-ups. He said, “Wealth is now assessed by the number of patents and innovations rather than mineral reserves. Teamwork, one of the 21st-century skills, also requires social and emotional skills. Group genius is now gaining importance over individual genius. Success is achieved through collaboration and teamwork. This is possible by people developing their cooperation skills.”
Qualified techno-entrepreneurship has become important
Prof. Dr. Tarhan explained that a new skill called connectivism has also come to the fore, and the wider people's networks (connections) are, the more visible and effective their work becomes. He noted that social impact power has gained importance in terms of innovation and entrepreneurship, and that being innovative and entrepreneurial is no longer sufficient; these innovations also need to be communicated to society and create social impact, emphasizing the importance of qualified techno-entrepreneurship in this context.
Mid and long-term thinking is also one of the 21st-century skills…
Prof. Dr. Tarhan stated that objectivism and sustainability have become important concepts in the 21st century, continuing as follows:
“Success is no longer individual; it is evaluated as team success, and sustainable success is targeted. For example, sustainability is also a 21st-century skill. That is, will you be able to produce products of the same quality in 5 years? A student is happy and successful now, but will they be successful after finishing school? They have academic success, but will they have life success? Mid and long-term thinking is also one of the 21st-century skills. Being able to look holistically, to act by seeing the whole forest, not just one tree… Because there is a balance of opposites in nature. What is darkness? It actually means the absence of light. This is the law of entropy… Acting in accordance with this law of entropy. An important skill emerges here: strengthening the positive instead of fighting the negative… As you continuously increase the positive, the negative naturally diminishes.”
Individuals with 21st-century skills stand out as managers of innovation
Prof. Dr. Tarhan also drew attention to behavioral entropy, stating that people, as psychological beings, invest in what they love and where they feel a sense of trust.
Prof. Dr. Tarhan noted that 21st-century skills have an important role for success and effectiveness in today's society, stating, “Digital literacy forms the foundation of these skills; through it, individuals can keep up with rapid changes, follow new developments, and adapt. However, it is not just about following innovations, but also being able to effectively use these innovations for their own purposes. In this context, individuals with 21st-century skills stand out as managers of innovation, considered as people who can make guiding and effective decisions rather than being victims of innovation.”
Parents from the 20th century are preparing their children for the 21st century
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan also pointed to the issue of parents from the 20th century preparing their children for the 21st century, stating, “A mental transformation is needed here. When parents raise their children, they think, 'It wasn't like that in my time. My parents behaved this way. Our children don't behave like this.' This is actually something found in Egyptian papyri and tablets. That is, generation conflict also existed with Socrates. Two things have never changed; ‘One is generational conflict, and the other is mother-in-law issues.’ In this era, if knowledge previously became obsolete every 30 years, now it becomes obsolete every 3 years. Generational debate is now experienced more noisily. For this, both parents and educators need to adapt.”
Student-centered education is not "spoiling the student"
Prof. Dr. Tarhan stated that student-centeredness has become an important concept in education, but this concept is often misunderstood and interpreted as "spoiling the student." However, he noted that student-centeredness does not mean saying 'yes' to everything the student says; rather, student-centered education is an educational approach organized according to the student's needs, interests, and individual learning pace.
Prof. Dr. Tarhan stated that with this approach, students will actively participate in the learning process and take on their own learning responsibilities, saying, “The words of Hz. Ali summarize this topic very well: ‘Raise your children not according to the era they live in, but according to the era they will live in.’.” By thinking long-term and mid-term, we need to raise technologically enriched individuals. Such a learning environment exists. This emerges by reading the needs of society.”
Every child has unique talents and learning styles
Prof. Dr. Tarhan also explained that individualized learning and multiple intelligence-focused approaches are prominent in education today, stating, “Every child has unique talents and learning styles. Therefore, in education, it is necessary to use different methods according to each child's strengths and weaknesses. Children with high musical intelligence learn better using musical elements. For these children, music-related activities and tools 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.”
Critical thinking is also one of the most important skills of the 21st century
Prof. Dr. Tarhan stated that project-oriented schools, which have reached this awareness in the education system, have emerged, and these schools provide education according to students' individual talents. He also noted that metacognitive methods are particularly used to develop reading comprehension and questioning abilities, and these methods enable students to understand and control their learning process, encouraging critical thinking and the search for meaning.
Prof. Dr. Tarhan stated that critical thinking is also one of the most important skills of the 21st century, explaining that traditional education systems adopted the "ask not, think not, obey" approach. However, he said that modern education systems encourage children to progress by "ask, think, be convinced, and obey if you believe."
Generation Z: truly eager, amiable, they want to learn…
Prof. Dr. Tarhan emphasized the importance of raising children as questioning, critical-thinking individuals who progress by being convinced, stating, “Student-centered means a relationship built by gaining the student's love and trust. Students are currently Generation Z. They are truly eager, amiable, they want to learn, and they have a serious search for innocence. They seek justice. They are very bothered by injustice. This is a good thing; let's not spoil it. We see in the Gaza events worldwide that young people have not remained insensitive. All political systems acted selfishly, but young people can act objectively. Why is there no reaction from young people in Eastern cultures? Because Eastern cultures are oppressive cultures. Authoritarian cultures. In such cultures, people suppress their emotions. When authority is removed, they become anarchists or learn lies and hypocrisy. Different types of people who speak differently at every table emerge.”
We will see critical students, criticism, as a gift…
Prof. Dr. Tarhan noted that an education system based on pressure and intimidation, a traditional education system, is not the method for this era, stating that constructive criticism should be regarded as a gift offered to the individual. Tarhan concluded his speech by saying, “Since we are in the 21st century, we will not be bothered by questioning students, by critical students. We will see critical students, criticism, as a gift. Parents should also research together and say, 'Let's look together, if I know, I'll tell you; if I don't, let's learn together.' Parents should be companions with their children. Thus, they learn together. One of the 21st-century skills is the philosophy of a learning organization. That is, the mother will learn, the father will learn, and the child will learn. In school, the teacher will learn, and the student will learn. Accessing information is very easy now. So, for it to be a learning organism, everyone must have a desire to learn, a goal, a desire to renew themselves. Technology is changing very rapidly. Those who grasp technology and digital literacy acquire the greatest skill among 21st-century skills: problem-solving ability.”