The current generation of children must grow up with different competencies to thrive in this highly complex and interconnected world. Amongst others, we need to equip them with twenty-first century skills that include curiosity, self-direction, creativity, innovation, and an inquiring mindset. We are short-changing our children if we teach them the way we were taught. In this era, education must emphasise discovery and facilitate inquiry and problem-solving, and learning should be self-directed and collaborative, as well as meaningful and transferable. From this perspective, teacher education cannot be about teacher training. It must be about developing professional leaders in the field of education. Drawing from Singapore’s experience of preparing teachers for the twenty-first century, this paper will touch on the four pillars of teacher education in the recent development of the Nanyang Technological University-National Institute of Education Teaching Scholars Programme, the enhanced Bachelor of Arts/Science (Education), and the 16-month Postgraduate Diploma in Education Programmes. The four pillars are deepening professionalism, strengthening practice, broadening pedagogies, and developing perspectives. In essence, the paper will focus on developing thinking professionals through (1) ownership of learning and inquiry that deepen professionalism; (2) reflective practice and focused conversations that strengthen teaching competencies and crystallise teacher identity; (3) pedagogical innovations and technology-enabled learning that develop facilitators of learning and architects of learning environment; and (4) a three-pronged approach of the ‘community as coach’, the ‘industry as partner’, and the ‘world as our classroom’ that facilitates a worldview and fosters new ways of thinking.

当代儿童必须具备不同的能力才能在这个高度复杂和相互关联的世界中茁壮成长。除其他外，我们需要让他们具备二十一世纪的技能，包括好奇心、自我导向、创造力、创新和探究的心态。如果我们以我们被教导的方式教导他们，我们就是在欺骗我们的孩子。在这个时代，教育必须强调发现，促进探究和解决问题，学习应该是自主和协作的，以及有意义和可迁移的。从这个角度来看，教师教育不能只是教师培训。它必须是关于培养教育领域的专业领导者。借鉴新加坡为二十一世纪培养教师的经验，本文将触及南洋理工大学-国立教育学院教学学者计划近期发展中教师教育的四大支柱，增强的文学/科学（教育）学士学位，以及 16 个月的教育研究生文凭课程. 四大支柱是深化专业，加强实践，拓宽教学，拓展视野。从本质上讲，本文将侧重于通过 (1) 深化专业精神的学习和探究的主人翁精神来培养具有思维能力的专业人士；(2) 强化教学能力和明确教师身份的反思性实践和重点对话；(3) 培养学习促进者和学习环境建设者的教学创新和技术支持的学习；(4) “社区作为教练”、“行业作为合作伙伴”和“世界作为我们的课堂”的三管齐下的方法，促进世界观和新思维方式的培养。