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Lessons for 21st-Century Learners

Three ideas for fostering collaboration, critical thinking, communication, and creativity with easy-to-use apps and tools.

Collaboration, critical thinking, communication, and creativity are the 4 Cs of a 21st-century learner, according to the Partnership for 21st Century Learning . Given that technology use continues to expand in schools, it’s worthwhile to think of how that technology can function in assignments designed to develop the skills our students need.

Communication and Creativity: Personal Narrative Podcast

Stories are a powerful learning tool in the classroom. For an 11th-grade narrative unit, I asked students to analyze classic narrative essays such as George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant” and Amy Tan’s “Mother Tongue” using the traditional plot diagram and paying attention to literary narrative devices. Next, they explored contemporary personal narratives from NPR’s This I Believe series and chose three essays to read based on their interests. Then I asked them to compose their own personal narratives to share an important event in their lives.

Most of my students were not familiar with podcasts, so as a class we explored a few episodes from NPR’s This American Life series—listening to them together and then discussing oral storytelling techniques. Students then individually chose several This I Believe audio clips to further their knowledge of storytelling.

After becoming familiar with the world of podcasting, students used GarageBand to create their own podcasts, integrating elements such as sound effects and music. (I’ve given the names of the tools we used in my class, but there are a lot of others you can use with these kinds of assignments.) Some students chose to work together on interview-style podcasts, while others worked individually to create dramatic renderings of their personal events.

The stories students told were highly engaging and ranged from grieving over a lost grandmother to being surrounded by lions while in a tent on a safari to competing in a swim meet event for the first time. Through creativity and communication, students were able to share a personal event that enriched their lives, and that sharing further connected them as a classroom community.

Critical Thinking and Creativity: Visual Interpretation of Poetry

Like many teachers, I’ve found over the years that students are hesitant to explore poetry. However, doing so is an excellent way to develop critical thinking skills. For a 10th-grade poetry unit, I had students read traditional poems such as Wilfred Owen’s “Dulce et Decorum Est” and Emily Dickinson’s “Because I could not stop for Death,” and analyze the poetic devices in them.

To add a visual element, I had students watch selected contemporary poems from the Poetry Foundation’s Poem Videos  series, which we then discussed as a class. I left some time at the end of the lesson for students to explore some of the videos on their own.

They then chose a poem to use in creating a visual interpretation using iMovie or other video-making platforms of their choice. They were elated to be able to choose their poems, selecting texts that were meaningful to them. The only requirement for the video was that it should include an explicit interpretation of the theme or message of the poem.

The videos the students created were representative of their personal interpretations and varied in format from live action to photographic images to personal drawings to stop motion. Giving students agency to choose and analyze a poem resulted in engaging videos that reflected their burgeoning critical thinking and creative skills.

Collaboration: Group Research Paper

While collaborative work is a necessary skill in the 21st century, students are often hesitant to work in groups, fearful of being stuck with all of work. I addressed that fear in an 11th-grade unit on The Merchant of Venice by having students divide an assigned research question into three or four subtopics depending on the number of people in the group—each individual had his or her own responsibility as the groups explored the cultural and contextual background of the play and then wrote a collaborative research paper.

Using NoodleTools , a virtual collaboration environment, groups created a shared project accessible through their individual student accounts. They shared their projects with me, so I was able to monitor group participation and answer any questions they had right there within the project.

Each individual was responsible for creating one virtual source card and three virtual note cards on his or her subtopic. The source and note cards are individually tracked, but are compiled together by groups online, so students were able to easily share and view each other’s work in the virtual environment.

Each group then created and shared a Google Doc through NoodleTools, and students wrote individual sections on one group document. Each group wrote an introduction together and created a reference page in MLA format together. The result for each group was a single research paper with both individual and collaborative input. My students found NoodleTools incredibly easy to use, and no one reported feeling frustrated at having to submit group work that was created by only one or two individuals.

These are just some of the ways the 4 Cs can be developed through technology in the secondary classroom. The beauty of technology nowadays is that there are many variations on how it can enhance student learning and motivation.

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Communication Skills | 21st Century Skills

What Are the 4 C's of 21st Century Skills?

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March 26th, 2024 | 9 min. read

Brad Hummel

Coming from a family of educators, Brad knows both the joys and challenges of teaching well. Through his own teaching background, he’s experienced both firsthand. As a writer for iCEV, Brad’s goal is to help teachers empower their students by listening to educators’ concerns and creating content that answers their most pressing questions about career and technical education.

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As a middle or high school career readiness teacher, you likely need to teach 21st century skills as part of your curriculum.

While all twelve of those skills are necessary to teach, the "four C's" are often considered to be the most important. 

The four C’s of 21st Century skills  are:

• Critical thinking
• Collaboration
• Communication

These four skills are essential for modern students to succeed in school and the workplace.

They often make the biggest impact in terms of setting your students apart when applying for positions and starting their careers.

In this article, you'll discover what each skill entails and why they are so important to teach.

You'll also be able to download a free guide on how you can teach the 4 C's of 21st Century skills in middle or high school courses.

1. Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is the practice of solving problems, among other qualities.

In addition to working through problems , solving puzzles, and similar activities, critical thinking also includes an element of skepticism.

This is important in the 21st Century because it’s harder than ever to verify accurate information (mostly thanks to the internet).

Critical thinking empowers students to discover the truth in assertions, especially when it comes to separating fact from opinion.

With critical thinking, students don’t just learn a set of facts or figures. Instead, they learn how to discover the facts and figures for themselves.

Through asking questions, learners become engaged in the world around them. Then they can help spread their knowledge to their peers, helping others to think critically, too. Students sharing the knowledge they've mastered with others might be the most important aspect of developing critical thinking skills.

Whether they learn how to think critically from spending time online or simply asking “Why?” in everyday life, this skill prepares students for a life of independence and purposeful thought.

Still, critical thinking is just one of the four C’s in 21st Century skills.

It works just fine when students use it alone. But when students combine it with the   next   skill, the sky is the limit to what they can achieve. 

2. Creativity

Creativity is the practice of thinking outside the box.

While creativity is often treated like a you-have-it-or-you-don’t quality, students can   learn   how to be creative by solving problems, creating systems, or just trying something they haven’t tried before. 

That doesn’t mean every student will become an artist or a writer. Instead, it means they’ll be able to look at a problem from multiple perspectives — including those that others may not see.

Creativity allows students to embrace their inner strengths from big-picture planning to meticulous organization . As students learn about their creativity, they also learn how to express it in healthy and productive ways.

More importantly, they also become   motivated   to share that creativity with others. Just like with critical thinking, that makes creativity contagious.

When a student creates an interesting or innovative  solution to a problem , the next student can become inspired to try something similar.

That’s not to say every single creative endeavor will be a ringing success. Students will fail at some point, and some of their ideas simply won’t work. But that’s okay.

The point of creativity is to encourage students to think differently than convention demands. They don’t have to do things the way they’ve always been done. Instead, they can figure out a better way.

Students don’t have to embrace their creativity alone, either. In fact, creativity works best when combined with the next 21st Century skill .

3. Collaboration

Collaboration   is the practice of working together to achieve a common goal.

Collaboration   is important because whether students realize it or not, they’ll probably work with other people for the rest of their lives.

Virtually every job requires someone to work with another person at some point, even if it’s for something as simple as what to get for lunch.

Practicing collaboration and teamwork helps students understand how to address a problem, pitch solutions, and decide the best course of action.

It’s also helpful for them to learn that other people don’t always have the same ideas that they do. In fact, as students practice collaboration more and more, they’ll learn that they have almost   none   of the same ideas that others do.

This can affect students in one of two ways. First, it could discourage them since nobody seems to agree with them that often. Second, it could embolden them because they realize they’re bringing something unique to every conversation.

As a teacher, it’s crucial that you encourage students to look at themselves through that second lens. That way, students learn that they should speak up when they have an idea.

Even when their ideas aren't the best suited to the problem, speaking up and sharing their solutions can help them when collaborating with others.

4. Communication

Communication is the practice of conveying ideas quickly and clearly.

Communication   is often taken for granted in today’s society. After all, if you say something, that means you conveyed an idea, right?

But in the age of text-based communications — including texting, emails, and social media — it’s never been more important for students to learn how to convey their thoughts in a way that others can understand them.

That’s because text-based communications lack   tone , which is critical to understanding the context of someone’s words.

Still, even in situations where vocal tone is available, students need to learn how to communicate effectively. That includes minimizing tangents, speaking directly to an idea, and checking other participants to make sure they’re engaged.

Reading an audience — even if it’s just two other people in a group discussion — lets students determine whether they should keep expanding on an idea or wrap up their point. Their audience could even be their family at Thanksgiving dinner.

The point is that as students practice communication, they become better at efficiently conveying an idea without losing their point—or their audience.

When they master the art of effective communication, students can streamline their ideas and make a positive impression on those around them.

Still, it’s important to note that communication isn’t enough on its own to help students with 21st Century skills. To really succeed, students need to use all four of these skills together.

How Do the Four C’s Work Together?

The four C’s of 21st Century skills work together as a system to help students comprehensively understand subjects and navigate living and working in the 21st century.

Because each of the four C's are general skills that help students throughout their personal and professional lives, they are essential qualities that people need to succeed in a wide range of situations.

Each of the four C's cover interrelated concepts paramount to being an educated person:

• Critical thinking teaches students to question claims and seek truth.
• Creativity teaches students to think in a way that’s unique to them.
• Collaboration teaches students that groups can create something bigger and better than you can on your own.
• Communication teaches students how to efficiently convey ideas.

Combined, the four C’s empower students to be discerning people capable of expressing themselves and working with others to find insightful solutions to everyday challenges.

When working together, learners who have mastered the four C's of 21st century skills have ability to make a profound impact on both their professional workplaces and their communities.

How Do You Teach the Four C's of 21st Century Skills?

Now you know what the four C's of 21st Century skills are and why employers want new hires to have them.

So now you're probably wondering how to teach 21st Century skills in your daily middle and high school classes.

Click below to get your free guide on teaching  critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication!

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The 4Cs: Creativity, Critical Thinking, Communication and Collaboration in Schools

One-Week course in: Amsterdam , Berlin , Dublin , Florence , Nice , Prague

Description

Concept by Susan Gagliano

Long heralded as key competencies for 21st-century learners, the ” Four Cs ” ( Creativity, Critical Thinking, Communication, and Collaboration ) are often embraced in theory yet stump educators in practice.

Creativity and Critical Thinking represent inseparable attitudes and abilities for innovation which, contrary to popular belief, can be learned, taught, and implemented in any classroom.

Communication and Collaboration are fundamental life skills that students can draw from in their everyday experiences at school and shape their ability to live, connect with others, and work well in the future.

The “Four Cs” strengthen our learners’ ability to find their place – professionally, personally, and socially – in today’s fast-changing world, while fostering other life-enhancing Cs: curiosity, confidence, caring, and cooperation .

This course aims to provide teachers with the knowledge, know-how, and confidence to incorporate these stimulating skills into their curriculum and school environment.

In a true learn-by-doing environment , course participants will gain greater knowledge about what these competencies entail and not only how to teach them, but first and foremost how to tap into their own ability to create, think critically , communicate effectively, and collaborate well with others.

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  Flexibility Guaranteed : easy changes with minimal restrictions

  360° experience : from coffee breaks to cultural visits

  Post-Course Training : 100€ voucher on 40+ online courses

Learning outcomes

The course will help the participants to:  

• Gain a clear understanding of the creative process and experience it first-hand;
• Think critically and get the most out of today’s information overload;
• Experience more effective communication abilities and techniques;
• Broaden collaborative opportunities in the classroom and encourage them in all aspects of the school community;
• Live a truly international team-building experience.

Tentative schedule

Day 1 – course introduction & setting goals, course introduction.

• Introduction to the course, the school, and the external week activities;
• Icebreaker activities using drama for trust and ensemble building.

Setting goals

• Identification of needs and goals for each participant and relevant populations;
• Introductions, lessons, and discussion about 21st-century learners, and the current situation in Europe;
• The 4Cs in the curriculum;
• Group discussion and activities;
• Presentations of the participants’ schools.

Day 2 – Classroom communication

• Lesson and discussion regarding kinds of communication used at school, verbal, written, non-verbal, digital, artistic, musical;
• How to create and promote channels of communication and listening through collaborative work and social and emotional intelligence-building activities.

Day 3 – Encouraging creative minds

• Lesson and activities about creativity, what it means, why it is important, and how to encourage it;
• Critical thinking as fundamental to the second step of the creative process.

Day 4 – Integrating the 4Cs

• Lesson about strategies and examples of successful implementation;
• How to incorporate the 4Cs into the curriculum in a meaningful way;
• Practical activities.

Day 5 – 4Cs overview

• Simulations of good communication, and group activities to generate new ideas about collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking;
• Pitfalls to avoid when implementing the 4Cs.

Day 6 – Course closure & cultural activities

• Course evaluation: round-up of acquired competencies, feedback, and discussion;
• Awarding of the course Certificate of Attendance;
• Excursion and other external cultural activities.

Dates and locations

= confirmed date

• 20-25 May 2024
• 17-22 Jun 2024
• 15-20 Jul 2024
• 19-24 Aug 2024
• 16-21 Sep 2024
• 21-26 Oct 2024
• 18-23 Nov 2024
• 16-21 Dec 2024
• 20-25 Jan 2025
• 17-22 Feb 2025
• 17-22 Mar 2025
• 21-26 Apr 2025

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Amsterdam, Netherlands

Cultural Activities

A walking tour One excursion on Saturday

• 13-18 May 2024
• 10-15 Jun 2024
• 8-13 Jul 2024
• 29 Jul - 3 Aug 2024
• 12-17 Aug 2024
• 9-14 Sep 2024
• 30 Sep - 5 Oct 2024
• 14-19 Oct 2024
• 11-16 Nov 2024
• 9-14 Dec 2024
• 13-18 Jan 2025
• 10-15 Feb 2025

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Berlin, Germany

One walking tour to Berlin’s wall

• 6-11 May 2024
• 3-8 Jun 2024
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• 5-10 Aug 2024
• 2-7 Sep 2024
• 7-12 Oct 2024
• 4-9 Nov 2024
• 2-7 Dec 2024
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• 3-8 Feb 2025
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• 7-12 Apr 2025

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Dublin, Ireland

One walking tour One full-day excursion on Saturday

• 27 May - 1 Jun 2024
• 24-29 Jun 2024
• 22-27 Jul 2024
• 26-31 Aug 2024
• 23-28 Sep 2024
• 28 Oct - 2 Nov 2024
• 25-30 Nov 2024
• 27 Jan - 1 Feb 2025
• 24 Feb - 1 Mar 2025
• 24-29 Mar 2025
• 28 Apr - 3 May 2025

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Florence, Italy

One half-day tour to Chianti

*23-28 Oct 2023: Session in French

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Nice, France

One walking tour A half-day excursion on Saturday

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Prague, Czech Republic

One walking tour One half-day excursion

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140€ discount for a two week-long course

Combine a confirmed date of this course with a confirmed date of another course and easily create a two week course by yourself. Start selecting one confirmed date of this course and see which other courses are confirmed in the same Academy the previous week and the following week.

Reviews about this course

A great experience which has given me the opportunity to meet teachers from other countries, sharing with them our previous experiences and also the idea of collaborating together in order to find the best solutions.

This was my first and I am definitely richer for one new experience. I met a lot of dear people and learned something from each of them. I have learned some new ways to encourage creativity, collaborative work and communication with my students and I will use them in my future work. I'm looking forward for some new projects and courses!

This course is the perfect way how to connect nice and useful things together. Susan is a very pleasant and professional lecturer. The lessons are perfectly developed all in a critical thinking way that is naturally applied in any step/method she uses. The course involves all we as teachers need in the education of the 21st century. It’s fun, motivating, educative, and definitely worth attending… In the end, you want it to happen again ♥️

This was the best course I have taken in my entire career. It is completely applicable in terms of contemporary education. I was given what I had expected and hoped for, new educational techniques, which will be immensely appreciated in my professional as well as my personal life. The structure of the course is fabulous, as well as its organization. Ms Susan Gagliano is simply fantastic as a lecturer and trainer.

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Creativity and Critical Thinking

• First Online: 31 January 2022

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• Peter Ellerton 6 &
• Robert Kelly 7  

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The twenty-first century has seen a rapid growth of curriculum initiatives that consider the development of cross-curriculum competencies as a core issue, and significant for every discipline area. Both because of such cross-curriculum developments and because of the nature of STEM itself, the integration of the particular core competencies of ‘creativity’ and ‘critical thinking’ across the STEM disciplines has also grown rapidly in educational importance. Creativity and critical thinking in education are best viewed from the perspectives of both learner development and teacher expertise, with the attributes specific to each concept appropriately seen as increasing in sophistication or complexity over time. A broad examination of each of the two concepts and their interrelatedness, and the consequent implications for educational practice concerned with developing them, creates a lens through which to view the application of creativity and critical thinking across the complexity and diversity of the STEM disciplines and their integrated forms.

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Ellerton, P., Kelly, R. (2021). Creativity and Critical Thinking. In: Berry, A., Buntting, C., Corrigan, D., Gunstone, R., Jones, A. (eds) Education in the 21st Century. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85300-6_2

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Resource Library

What we know about critical thinking (4cs research series).

This research brief is one in a series of briefs and annotated bibliographies on key aspects of conceptualizing, developing, and assessing the “4Cs” (Creativity, Critical Thinking, Collaboration, and Communication). Each brief starts with an overview of key conceptual issues related to the 4Cs. They then review research on interventions designed to increase student proficiency within each area. This brief focuses on critical thinking, with information on definitions, models, and how to assess skills and performance. It concludes with major take-away points and recommendations for different education levels (classroom, school, district, state and national).

Content Comments

For those interested in information related to critical thinking, this resource provides information, examples, recommendations, and a synthesis of related research on the topic. Its succinct nature, as well as its design, add to its value and usefulness for the reader.

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• What We Know About Creativity (4Cs Research Series)

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Dilley, A., Kaufman, J. C., Kennedy, C., Plucker, J. A.

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What Are The 4 C’s of The 21st Century?

Have you heard of the 4 C’s of 21st century skills? Do you know what they are? Communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity are considered the four c’s and are all skills that are needed in order to succeed in today’s world.

Not only are these skills important to have on their own, but by combining all of these skills, students are empowered to solve their own problems, work together, and come up with solutions.

It is important to encourage development in all of these areas to help set your child up for success in school and their future workplace. So what are the four C’s and how can we teach them to our kids?

1. Communication: sharing thoughts, ideas, and questions.

Teaching children that communication can come in many ways is important. It is not just speaking verbally with someone to communicate but can also be non-verbal cues such as hand gestures and facial expressions. Now that we live in such a digital world, it is also important to teach children how to navigate digital spaces with responsibility.

2. Collaboration: working together to reach a common goal.

Most career paths require people to work together in some capacity. It is important for kids to start learning how to problem solve and tackle issues in which the bigger picture involves more than just themselves. It can be difficult for younger children to see the side or stance from someone else’s point of view. This is a skill that takes lots of time practicing.

3. Critical Thinking: looking at problems in a new way.

Part of critical thinking is problem solving, working through things like puzzles that challenge the brain, and simply asking “Why?”. But in today’s world where we can get information at the click of a button, a large part of critical thinking is being able to look at information and decide if it is credible or not.

4. Creativity: trying new approaches to solve problems.

Being creative is often thought of when students are artistic or musical, but it is so much more than that. Creativity simply just means to think outside the box and that can be in any area. Creativity can be taught and fostered by encouraging children to try new things and by creating a safe space for them to express themselves.

Why are these skills important?

The 4 C’s go hand in hand with each other and children need to be equipped with the skills in all four areas to help them succeed in their future. Hiring mangers and employers seek out candidates with these skills, so it’s important to instill them in our youth early on. That is why it is called “ 4 c’s of 21st century skills “.

At Engineering For Kids, our programs allow students to explore these concepts through any of our classes and camps. Students work together, come up with solutions to real work problems, and communicate with each other to come up with a creative solution. Learn more about our classes and camps by finding your closest location.

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The 4 Cs: Collaboration, Creativity, Communication and Critical Thinking

Since Empower Generations’ beginning, we have been committed to helping learners develop into well-rounded, lifelong learners empowered to lead in an ever-changing world. That’s why we focus on the four Cs of 21st-century learning:

• Collaboration: Learners are able to work effectively with diverse groups and exercise flexibility in making compromises to achieve common goals.
• Creativity: Learners are able to generate and improve on original ideas and also work creatively with others.
• Communication: Learners are able to communicate effectively across multiple media and for various purposes.
• Critical thinking: Learners are able to analyze, evaluate, and understand complex systems and apply strategies to solve problems.

These skills enhance the academic growth of Empower Generations’ learners and prepare them to succeed in life.

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The 6 C’s of education

It all started with these 4 C’s of 21st century education: critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and creativity. These are the skills that many teachers are familiar with and are already implementing in your classrooms. However, Brian S. Miller suggested the addition of more C’s and introduced the world to the new, augmented concept—the 6 C’s of education. He developed the concept after talking to his colleagues, listening to their suggestions, and studying the materials of education leaders of today. In this post, we’ll take a look at this concept.

The importance of the 6 C’s of education

Before digging deep into the concept, it’s important to highlight the value of these new educational skills. The key purpose of educational institutions is to prepare children for their future jobs. However, the problem educational institutions are facing is that future of today’s children can be so unpredictable.

Jobs we can’t even imagine are created every day. Employers require creative and problem-solving skills plus the ability to adapt to changes. Those new skills and abilities kids can’t polish by solving standardized tests. That’s why teachers need to foster new skills in the classroom—skills of the 6 C’s of education.

6 C’s of Education

Critical thinking.

Critical thinking is the process of filtering, analyzing, and questioning information/content found in various media, and then synthesizing it in a form that offers value to an individual. It allows students to make sense of the presented content and apply it to their daily lives.

Collaboration

Collaboration is the skill of utilizing various personalities, talents, and knowledge in a way to create a maximum outcome. The outcome must provide a benefit to a group or the entire community. Due to synergy, the common outcome has a greater value than the sum of values of each individual outcome. Check how you can sparkle collaboration in your classroom with few easy games.

Communication

Communication is the skill of presenting information in a clear, concise, and meaningful way. It also requires careful listening and successfully articulating thoughts. Communication has various purposes : informing, instructing, motivating, and persuading.

In the 21st century, an individual must be able to create something new or create something in a new way, utilizing the knowledge they have already acquired. It does not just signify art, but also various solutions to a problem in real-life situations. In our recent blog post, we suggest a few methods for fostering creativity in the math classroom .

Citizenship/culture

This is a part where various authors point out different skills. Miller states the culture as one of the key pieces of the 6 C’s, while Michael Fullan features citizenship. When we look closer, they are not so different, and actually, go hand in hand with one another. It is important for an individual to be in touch with everything that surrounds them—both culture and community.

Character education/connectivity

According to Miller, understanding the importance of human connectivity in a world filled with technology is a necessary skill to teach children. Fullan highlights character education as the last C. It includes a school’s commitment to helping young people become responsible, caring, and contributing citizens.

How to foster the 6 C’s in your classroom?

So, how can you implement the 6C’c in your everyday curriculum? How can you inspire your students to start developing their creativity, communication, and critical skills? You can start by trying these few methods, and see how they work for you. Changing traditional teaching ways can be hard, but it’s rewarding to see how your students transform into scholars of the 21st century.

Project-based learning

Project-based learning is probably more closely associated with 21st-century learning skills than any other form of learning. According to Buck Institute for Education, project-based learning is “a teaching method in which students gain knowledge and skills by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to an authentic, engaging, and complex question, problem, or challenge.”

Within a project, students are involved with a meaningful real-life problem over a defined period of time. Students are required to find a solution to it through a process of asking questions, finding, analyzing, and applying information, as well as employing their creativity skills. Usually, the process also includes decision making, team collaboration, and reviewing for the sake of improving the final solution.

Moving through the process, students develop skills that include problem-solving, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity. It’s important to emphasize that the goal of project-based learning is not to solve the problem, but gaine the aforementioned skills throughout the process of solving the problem.

Genius hour

A Genius hour is another teaching method in the classrooms of the 21st century. The movement refers to a certain amount of time during class that teachers give students to explore their passions . Genius hour originates in Google’s practice of giving the engineers 20 percent of their time to work on any project they want. The idea was simple—give people the freedom to do what they want and their productivity will increase. Since it worked pretty well for Google, why not try it in the classroom?

The crucial part of genius hour is defining a fine line between helping students focus on the problem and letting them explore the topic on their own. While it’s fine to guide them in the beginning, at some point you’ll have to let them work at their own pace and in their own style.

Principles of genius hour

According to Teach Thought, there are six principles of genius hour . Sense of purpose refers to the purpose students find in the topic they choose to explore. Students design their own learning methodology and through inquiry and navigation, students make sense of ideas important to them.

At the end of the day, a genius hour is all about creating something out of the learning process—a new thought, idea, or project. Socialization refers to connections students make with teachers, peers, and members of a community to help them carry out their projects. Lastly, there is an 80/20 rule, which refers to a schedule of time within a curriculum divided between a traditional class and genius hour.

While it’s not important to strictly follow the 80/20 rule, be sure to define a certain amount of time when your students will freely explore their passions. They’ll develop critical thinking skills while exploring the topic, creativity while expressing their new knowledge, and communication skills while highlighting the importance of the knowledge they’ve gained. If you’re looking for genius hour ideas, there’s a Google + community discussing the topic and sharing experiences.

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Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, and Critical Thinking – The 4 C’s of Education

4 C's collaboration communication creativity critical thinking

​​The 4 C’s of Education are Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, and Critical Thinking. These four pillars are not only important in the workplace but also in education. This includes all areas of education from elementary school to continuing education to college and beyond.

But teaching today has gone far beyond teaching only in the classroom. E-learning has been on the rise for over a decade. And with the global pandemic, teaching online has become even more mainstream. Teaching has also gone beyond being only for those working in schools. Today, anyone can create an online course. This includes professionals, hobby bloggers, and companies wanting to educate and train their employees further.

In this post, we’ll look at how each of the 4 C’s can help you in creating your online course. By implementing the 4 C’s, you’ll be able to offer a course that is meaningful to your students. You will also be able to contribute skills that are relevant to aspects of their personal lives.

We’ll go over why the 4 C’s are so important, what they mean, and how you can put them in place in your online course.

Communication

What is communication in teaching.

When you give students are a voice in their education, they work better. Students who feel listened to want to contribute more to their own learning. Also, communicating with students can build a stronger bond between you and them. It also creates an open environment where your students feel like they belong. When people feel at home in a learning environment they are more likely to be willing to try new things and engage with their learning.

One of the biggest parts of communication is making it clear what you expect of your students. Often, students don’t know what you expect of them in an online classroom. Without being clear, students may not understand their responsibility to their learning. They may not understand what they can expect to learn or how they will be taught.

When it comes to teaching online, this can be a disaster. Especially if you’re selling an online course. You need to clearly communicate from the outset what students can expect from the course. Students also need to be told how they will learn. For example, through videos, reading guides, or other activities. Knowing how they will learn will help measure students’ expectations. In turn, this can mean that students won’t complain if the course is not delivered in the way in which they were expecting.

Essentially, teaching is a conversation. And it involves both you as the teacher and your students. So, make sure that all your messages are clearly delivered to avoid confusion.

Implementing good communication in your online course

Communication in an online course is different to when you are teaching in a classroom.

When you teach online, there can be many obstacles to communication, including:

• Online activities are not being taught ‘live.’ That is, your student is learning in their own time.
• Due to a range of reasons, even in live classes, you might not be able to read your students’ reactions. They may have their webcams turned off, or you may not be able to see everyone on your screen at any one time.

Ensuring good communication is vital to your students’ success when taking your course. Some ways to foster good communication with your students include:

• Creating an online community. In this community your students can discuss points of the course with each other and with you. Podia and LearnWorlds are both online course platforms that offer this feature. Both platforms offer the ability for you to create a community for your students. Personal experience has shown that students like being able to interact with others. Particularly if they are learning independently a home.
• Create a Facebook community. If you’re using a platform where you can’t create a community, turn to Facebook. In your group, your students can ask, and you can answer their questions. You can check out my Facebook community which I have created for the students of my online course over at Bloggers Creating Courses .
• Utilise a messaging system. LearnWorlds has a messaging system whereby students can contact each other and their teacher from inside the online school. Such messaging systems enable your students to message you on the platform. This is great for students to send a quick message whilst their issue is on their minds. There is no need for them to go to their email and contact you or other students from a different platform.

Collaboration

What is collaborative teaching.

Whether you have an online course yet or not, collaboration is a useful skill to develop.

Teamwork teaches you how to rely on other people for different skills that you might lack. Demonstrating collaboration has many perks. These include demonstrating to your students that not everyone has all the information needed to teach every aspect of a topic. Such a realisation is important for students and teachers to note. Think about it, you can’t possibly know everything about a single topic!

Collaboration and collaborative working are important skills for everyday life. It allows you to combine ideas together with others. The product? Quite often collaboration leads to innovative solutions which may have never occurred otherwise. Collaboration also allows you to see issues from a different perspective and introduce a creative way of solving them.

Collaborating with experts in other fields

In Stupid Simple SEO , the course author Mike Futia has collaborated with a number of experts to offer bonus lessons in his course. He has identified that there are others who could teach the content of those bonus lessons better than himself. So, his collaborative approach has meant that he can offer more course content to his students.

Collaborating with students

Another way to collaborate when teaching online is to collaborate with your students. Evaluation forms are a vital source of information. They enable you to see how your course is being received. Also, by asking students for feedback, you can put in place changes to your course. This type of collaboration means that you can improve your students for future students, which in turn can lead to more course sales!

You can also collaborate with potential students by putting out a survey to see what students might want from a potential course idea. You could survey previous students, or, if this is your first course, put a survey out on your social media for people to answer. By surveying your potential audience, you will be delivering a course based on students’ needs and not what you think they need.

Why does teaching need to be creative?

Creativity is a mental process that involves combining or transforming existing elements to create something new. These new creations or ideas result from your own imagination or inspiration rather than from direct imitation.

Creativity is, therefore, a key characteristic for anyone who is teaching online. This is because it is vital for students to learn how to think in original ways.

Teaching creatively – ideas for your online classroom

There are many ways for you to encourage creativity in your students. Such methods include teaching them skills such as problem-solving, critical thinking and teamwork.

When you have an online classroom, teaching creatively is made easier with technology. You can use simple applications to help spur your student’s creativity and brainstorming within group activities.

Here are some ideas:

• Jamboard – an application available through Google. Students can use Jamboard to brainstorm ideas onto the same board.
• YouTube – students can create videos and upload them for other students to view.

Critical Thinking

What are critical thinking skills.

Critical thinking is the ability to think about situations in an analytical manner instead of just having a gut reaction. It involves questioning what we take for granted, especially ideas that seem obvious or normal.

In education, critical thinking is one way to help us analyze what we are being told, and not just take things at face value.

How to integrate critical thinking skills into your online teaching

You might not need to overhaul your entire online classroom management system or curriculum. But, you can add a few simple lessons on how you can promote critical thinking skills.

When you show students a process for completing a task, explain that this is not the only way of doing something. Explain that they may need to adapt the method to best suit their needs.

Equally, if you use examples in your teaching, ask your students about what the example isn’t telling them. A blog article about a blogger who made 5-figures through their blog in the first 2 months of their website going live is a fantastic story to share with students on your course about setting up a blog. But, it’s important to point out that this individual may have had months of planning their blog, plus working with a team of professionals to launch their blog. Applying critical thinking skills will help students have realistic expectations of their learning.

In conclusion, the 4 C’s of education are all transferable to the online classroom. When creating your online course, ensuring that you keep these skills in mind will only enhance what you offer your students. You will enhance your students’ learning by integrating these four areas of teaching. This in turn can lead to your students recommending your course to others.

You might not be able to integrate all the 4 C’s into your online course, and that’s ok. If you can’t focus on all 4, I would recommend focussing on communication and creativity as a minimum. Students like to feel listened to and are reassured when they are able to connect with you as the course teacher. The online course market is becoming more and more competitive and so being creative in your content delivery will help your course stand out from the crowd.

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Creativity and the Brain: How to Be a Creative Thinker

What do we know from research on brain activity involved in creative thought.

Posted April 30, 2024 | Reviewed by Michelle Quirk

• The book "The Creative Act" argues that creativity is a skill we can all use daily.
• Creativity is complex and involves multiple brain regions.
• Research shows that there are several ways to improve our creative thinking.

This post is part 2 of a series.

In my previous post, I wrote that, after being inspired by Rick Rubin’s book, The Creative Act: A Way of Being, I decided to find out what is going on in the human brain that results in creativity. It turned out to be a very complex and complicated subject. That is mainly because it is difficult to clearly define creativity, and there are many different kinds of creative processes, such as visual art, music, creative thinking , etc.

Coming from the field of cognitive processes, I decided that I would concentrate on research related to brain activity involved in creative thought processes. Most of the time, cognitive creativity involves testing the person’s divergent thinking (generating possible solutions to the problem) or convergent thinking (finding a single, correct solution to the problem).

The review of research papers indicated that creative thinking (convergent and divergent thinking) requires the coordination of multiple brain regions, mainly the executive control network (simply speaking involves planning, organizing, problem-solving, and decision-making ), default mode network (areas of the brain that are activated when we are letting our minds wander at rest), and salience network (a network that is involved in the awareness of the feelings associated with rewards). But, obviously, other parts of the brain are also involved, and this depends on the specific goal/outcome that we want to achieve.

I also promised my readers that I would try to find answers to the question of how to be a creative thinker. There are many suggestions on the internet, but let’s see what the research says.

You can learn how to meditate and practice it daily.

It may come as a surprise to many people, but the majority of the research papers in that area point to the daily practice of meditation as a way to improve creative thinking. It is not a surprise to me because I am a believer in meditation and do it daily. I also encourage all my patients to try to do it daily.

In a Chinese study (Ding, X. et al. 2014), 40 Chinese undergraduate students were assigned to three groups, a meditation group (30 minutes daily for 7 days), a relaxation training group, and a control group. Creativity performance was assessed by the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT). The results indicated that the subjects in the meditation group improved their creativity performance on the divergent thinking tasks.

Research studies on meditation also indicate that it helps improve attention/ concentration skills and emotional regulation and reduces stress and anxiety , so it looks like a good daily habit to start.

You can read aloud and do arithmetic calculations.

In a Taiwan study (Lin, WL. et al. 2018), 50 junior high students were divided into a training group or a control group. The training group was reading aloud and performing arithmetic calculations for 20 sessions. The control group played the game Tetris (a puzzle video game). The results indicated that the participants in the training group outperformed the control group in thinking and creative abilities.

You can do neurofeedback.

Neurofeedback is a computer-guided, noninvasive brain-function training based on electroencephalography (EEG) feedback. Neurofeedback is also called neurotherapy, neurobiofeedback, or EEG biofeedback, and it helps control involuntary processes such as muscle tension and heart rate. Usually, the person is responding to a computer display of her/his own electrical activity of the brain, but it may also simply be a sound stimulation. The most important factor is that neurofeedback focuses on helping a person train himself/herself to regulate brain functions.

In an Italian study (Agnoli, S. et al. 2018), 80 female students from the University of Bologna got three neurofeedback training sessions. The researchers also measured the participants’ lifetime creative achievement by using the Creative Activity and Accomplishment Checklist. The results were measured with the divergent thinking tasks (producing original and effective ideas). The results indicated an increase in both originality and fluency. The increase was particularly evident in participants with an initial low creative achievement level.

This is good news for people who believe that they are not that creative. You may get better with neurofeedback training sessions. Artists and athletes do this nowadays to enhance their performance.

You can do overinclusive thinking training.

Overinclusive thinking can be described as increased generalization and/or considering concepts that most people consider unrelated to certain categories, which provides an increased number of options. In a Taiwan study (Chiu, F.C. 2015), the researcher examined the effect of overinclusive thinking on creativity. Four experiments were designed, and the subjects were undergraduate students who were randomly assigned to an overinclusive thinking training group or a control group. The training group did better on the overinclusive thinking that is related to creativity. The fluency and originality performance were higher than in the control group and the insight problem-solving was also better than in the control group.

So, if you would like to be a creative thinker, you can try some of the ideas described above. Good luck on the road to creativity!

Rick Rubin. The Creative Act: A Way of Being . Penguin Press, NY 2023.

Ding, X. et al. “Improving creativity performance by short-term meditation” Behavioral and Brain Functions. Vol. 10, 2014.

Lin, WL. et al. “ Improving junior high students’ thinking and creative abilities with an executive function training program” Thinking Skills and Creativity . Vol. 29, Sept. 2018.

Agnoli, S. et al. “Enhancing creative cognition with a rapid right-parietal neurofeedback procedure.” Neuropsychologia, Vol. 118, Part A Sept. 2018.

Chiu, F.C. “ Improving your creative potential without awareness: Overinclusive thinking training.” Thinking Skills and Creativity . Vol 15. March 2015.

Barbara Koltuska-Haskin, Ph.D., is a neuropsychologist in Albuquerque, New Mexico and the author of How My Brain Works.

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Strategies for Developing Teachers’ Communication, Collaboration, Creativity and Critical Thinking Skills in Improving the Quality of Learning Services at Yuppentek 1 High School, Tangerang City

This research aims to determine strategies for developing 4C teacher skills in improving the quality of learning services at SMA Yuppentek 1 Kota Tangerang. This research uses a qualitative approach with a descriptive method. Data collection was carried out through interviews, observations, and documentation studies. The data that has been collected is analyzed through data reduction, data presentation, and drawing conclusions. To test the validity of the data used credibility of the data by triangulation of sources, techniques, sources, transferability, dependability, and confirmability. The results of the research show that (1) Planning is carried out by analyzing needs based on school resources, setting teacher qualifications and competency standards, maximizing competence or excellence possessed, and distributing human resources; (2) Strategy implementation is carried out by carrying out several activities consisting of IHT (In House Training), Community of Practitioners, MGMP, workshops, and comparative studies; (3) Factors supporting the implementation of the strategy are the school’s status as a driving school, the availability of adequate facilities and infrastructure, and having teachers who have the potential to improve school quality. The inhibiting factor is that it is difficult to change the mindset of senior teachers due to a lack of understanding of the 4C skills.

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6 crucial soft skills every student needs to master in the 21st century

T hriving in this ever-changing world not only requires a breadth of skills rooted in academic competencies for children but also abilities like teamwork, critical thinking, communication, persistence, and creativity amongst others. These skills are in fact interconnected.

We live in an era when students require these diverse sets of skills to survive and be successful. It is no longer enough to rely on conventional skill sets like the power of memory and recall, rote, and repetition.

Schools are aware of the evolution of society and the economy and hence are equipping teachers in terms of upskilling and adapting curriculum to ensure conceptual understanding, development of competencies, and growth in character, to ensure that students are nurtured, challenged, and empowered to achieve their academic and personal goals.

What skills then would be useful to students who have to shape their lives in tune with the rapidly changing world?

Here are six crucial soft skills every student needs to master in the 21 st century as listed by Shweta Sastri, Managing Director, Canadian International School, Bangalore:

1. ADAPTABILITY AND CREATIVITY

In the digital age, things are changing very rapidly. By the time students learn one set of skills, a newer version is already emerging.

Students will need to adapt to changing conditions and learn things quickly and efficiently and mentors will have to ensure that students are aware of the best methods to learn new things. Learning how to learn is an important skill that cannot be overemphasised!

2. COLLABORATION SKILLS ARE VITAL

It's quite possible that traditional classrooms may encourage competition and independence compared to collaboration and teamwork. Schools have to keep pace with changing scenarios and bring in a culture of collaboration which are crucial to achieving collective goals.

Every professional today works collaboratively with others in some capacity.  From engineers to artists, learning how to work in a group setting or leading a team that needs motivation requires practice.  What better way to foster these lifelong skills than in a classroom?

3. COMMUNICATION SKILLS

In the new digital age, there is great emphasis on the ability to communicate; hence, students have to be familiar with emerging technologies used in communication. In the current era, technology is omnipresent and schools need to adapt to new communication changes.

In addition to conceptual understanding, students should have the opportunity to grow in character to become well-rounded global citizens who have the confidence to impact a remarkable and sustainable future.

4. CRITICAL THINKING AND PROBLEM-SOLVING

Creating an environment that focuses on conceptual understanding and application of that knowledge to real-world skills leads to lifelong learning and retention of knowledge. 

Building an environment that fosters critical thinking, risk-taking, creativity, and the courage to make mistakes and move beyond them should be a priority.  

Focusing on learning to understand rather than learning to test should be a high priority for educators.

The ability to think critically is not easy and needs instruction and support. However once this skill is mastered, it will help develop analytical capabilities that will help students be competitive in an ever-changing global market.

5. CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING

Growing and learning in a multicultural environment gives children a greater understanding of others' beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours. As globalisation continues to bring cultures together, it is imperative to equip students with the continued experience to be citizens of a global future.

These experiences come from an education model that includes diverse narratives, qualities, and viewpoints, which facilitate an understanding of social pluralism. Multiculturalism promotes principles of inclusion, democracy, and a sense of togetherness, among many other positive traits.

6. UPSKILLING AND ALWAYS BEING AT THE CUTTING EDGE IN TECH 

Technology has shaped human history over the years and will undoubtedly continue to do so. Today, the digital revolution is spreading across the globe, creating connections never before thought of and students will have to have a breadth of broad technological skills.

Whether it is called the Second Machine Age, the Digital Revolution, or the 4th Industrial Revolution, technologists, economists and academics are all concerned with recent rapid technological advances and their implications for the future.

The world is constantly changing and the pace at which the economy is progressing makes agility a great value and in the modern world, there is no one better placed than those who can multitask in a quick time.

Recognising the nature of these changes is vital in understanding the current context in which we live, and the changes to be expected in the future. This, in turn, helps us determine how we view education and the need for the breadth of skills approach.

It is now central that we explore how to align these aspirations in the context of the educational environment.

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