4 Cs

Our world is changing and changing rapidly.  But while we often see digital natives on the covers of contemporary magazines, we have students in our classrooms from both sides of the divide.  A 21st century classroom must engage and energize both natives and non-natives, preparing all students to be active participants in our exciting global community.

Many look at this divide and cry out for a renewed focus on the 3 R’s - reading, writing, and arithmetic. But in order to fully participate in today’s global community, students must also master the 4C’s – creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration.

So often, when we talk about change in the classroom, we simply add one more thing to the list of topics we expect educators to cover. However, as you constructivists out there know, learning is activated when we help our students uncover information, not simply cover it for them.

When we think about bringing the 4 C’s into our classroom, we don’t need to “add” a thing. The best way to help students master these skills is to change HOW we teach and learn in our classrooms. It is the process of learning, not the content of learning that addresses the 4 C’s.

Technology is a perfect vehicle for facilitating this. But this isn’t about learning how to use technology or even teaching with technology tools, it is about students creating and constructing with technology. 

We can help students build creativity and critical thinking by the types of questions we ask them to respond to.  With all of the information that can easily be found online, we no longer need to have students think of things, but think about them.

Students should be building communication skills that reflect the media rich world they are surrounded by. Rather than writing an essay or a report about a subject they are learning, ask students to help solve a problem and let them share their solution using formats they see in the world around them, such as digital stories, eBooks, virtual museums, video journals, news broadcasts, and interactive games.

While you can encourage students to respond to a question in multiple ways without technology tools, multimedia authoring tools engage student’s different intelligences and interests and naturally encourage them to create products that reflect their individuality and unique ideas.

While we often think about collaboration in terms of connecting with experts or emailing experts, technology tools, like Google Docs, are allowing for collaboration on documents. The latest versions of Pixie, Frames, and Share include collaboration options that allow multiple students to work on the same project at the same time!

Collaboration

Collaborative learning entails more than just students working next to each other or even helping one another. Truly collaborative project work enhances student learning by modelling authentic work in the 21st century and helping students achieve the large-scale goals of a project in the time allotted.

The words collaborative and cooperative are often used interchangeably. During both collaborative and cooperative learning, students work together as they tackle new concepts and form new understandings. The two approaches are subtly different, but are both highly effective ways to organize classroom learning and project work.

In cooperative learning, students work together to achieve a goal or develop an end product which is usually content specific. Cooperative projects tend to be teacher-centered and teacher-directed.

In collaborative learning, students may still work toward a goal or develop an end product, but the process is characterized by self-responsibility and awareness, respect for others, and contributions from different perspectives. Collaborative projects tend to be student-centered and student-directed.

To be successful in a collaborative environment, students must learn to communicate freely and directly, support their team members, and value each member's contribution. Making collaborative groups heterogeneous helps students learn these important skills.

A heterogeneous group includes team members who:

• are different genders
• are different ethnicities
• prefer different subjects in school
• do not know each other very well
• have different “intelligences”
• have varying levels of academic proficiency
• have varying levels of technology proficiency

Grouping students by varying levels of expertise, ability, and skills helps foster positive interdependence and accountability. Various perspectives and experiences result in a richer pool of knowledge and provide benefits for both low and high achievers.

You will need to assess skills, competencies, and work styles before grouping students into successful teams. Try partnering opposites. For example, group a talkative student with a shy student, a techie with a non-techie, a risk-taker with a more cautious student. Make sure that each student sees the value of the contribution from the “opposite” and that each student moves outside of his or her comfort zone to experience the style of the other.

Rest assured, there is no perfect team and certainly no one way to group students. The key is to define your goals for the project and teach students to identify how they are interacting and then self-correct.

Creativity

Creativity is the ideation of a thought, while innovation is the realization of the idea. The Partnership for 21st Century Skills calls for creativity and innovation as one of the essential skill sets of future citizens. And, while we do not traditionally have a Creativity Room in our schools, we have a mandate to instill the skills of creative thinking to foster a never-ending stream of innovations.

There is a myth that says, we can’t exactly define creativity, but we know it when we see it. While that may be true in one sense, there are four elements often examined to identify creative ideas, products and performances.

Critical thinking

Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skilfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action. In its exemplary form, it is based on universal intellectual values that transcend subject matter divisions: clarity, accuracy, precision, consistency, relevance, sound evidence, good reasons, depth, breadth, and fairness.

Communication

Effective communication is the foundation on which companies and careers are built and a crucial component of lasting success. Whether the audience is an entire organization or a single individual, effective communication requires bringing together different points of view and relaying that information without losing clarity or focus.

Some communication skills:

Self-awareness and listening techniques: Communication is a two-way-street. Effective listening will improve your job-effectiveness and work relationships.

Presentation skills: The ability to speak well in a public forum is what separates average managers from excellent leaders..

Intervention and conflict management: Express your ideas in an honest and direct manner to take control of any conflict or situation without alienating others.

Assertive communication: Asserting your authority without being heavy-handed is a delicate issue but necessary in earning the respect of those around you.