The 4 Cs

Increasingly it is recognized that American education should focus on those skills required to be successful in the 21st century.  Most important of all will be the ability to deal with change, learn new things, and preserve one’s mental balance in unfamiliar situations.(see Yuval Noah Harari, “21 Lessons for the 21st Century,” p. 266).

Experts in the field of education and the sciences suggest the focus of education should be on the “four Cs”: collaboration, communication, critical thinking and creativity.  Clearly we recognize that when students are taught to “collaborate“, they learn to  work within teams that enhance knowledge utilization and dissemination.  The intellect of the team far outstrips the intellect of the individual.  Learning to “communicate” through writing, speaking, the arts, text and computers will lead to broader abilities to engage with local, national and international communities.  “Critical thinking” is one of the most important skills students can learn.  It involves analysis and evaluation of facts, data, evidence, arguments and observation to form and inform judgments.  “Creativity” is the synthesis of ideas and thought that enables the act of turning new and imaginative concepts into reality. It is characterized by finding new ways to find hidden patterns, to make connections, to form new products, expressions and to solve problems.  It is considered to be the highest level on Benjamin Bloom’s Taxonomy used to classify educational learning.