Now that I’ve completed the series of provocations for the Sustainable Development Goals, I am moving on to a new mini series! This time will be the 4 C’s of 21st century education:
- critical thinking
- communication
- collaboration
- creativity
The National Education Association started out with more like 18 standards for 21st century learning in a longer framework, but they quickly realized that it was too complicated. In their words,
“To resolve this issue, we interviewed leaders of all kinds to determine which of the 21st century skills were the most important for K-12 education. There was near unanimity that four specific skills were the most important. They became known as the “Four Cs.””
An Educator’s Guide to the Four C’s
Here are some resources to help introduce your students to the 4 C’s, and to provoke inquiry.
Resource #1: The Adaptable Mind
Resource #2: Afternoon Class by Seoro Oh
Resource #3: MIT Media Lab Knotty Objects: Phones by m ss ng p eces
Resource #4: Connected Learning by Connected Learning Alliance
Resource #5: Picture books, The North Star by Peter H. Reynolds & They All Saw A Cat by Brendan Wenzel
Provocation Questions:
- What is education like today? How is it different than the last century?
- What modern innovations allow us to approach education differently today?
- How might critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity impact an individual in our modern society?
- What is our responsibility to approach learning differently today?
- What other “C’s” or qualities do you find important for the modern learner?
featured image: DeathToTheStockPhoto
