What are learning skills?

The 21st century learning skills are often called the 4 C’s: critical thinking, creative thinking,
communicating, and collaborating. These skills help students learn, and so they are vital to
success in school and beyond.

Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is focused, careful analysis of something to better understand it. When people
speak of “left brain” activity, they are usually referring to critical thinking. Here are some of the
main critical-thinking abilities:

 Analyzing is breaking something down into its parts, examining each part, and noting
how the parts fit together.
 Arguing is using a series of statements connected logically together, backed by evidence,
to reach a conclusion.
 Classifying is identifying the types or groups of something, showing how each category
is distinct from the others.
 Comparing and contrasting is pointing out the similarities and differences between two
or more subjects.
 Defining is explaining the meaning of a term using denotation, connotation, example,
etymology, synonyms, and antonyms.
 Describing is explaining the traits of something, such as size, shape, weight, color, use,
origin, value, condition, location, and so on.
 Evaluating is deciding on the worth of something by comparing it against an accepted
standard of value.
 Explaining is telling what something is or how it works so that others can understand it.
 Problem solving is analyzing the causes and effects of a problem and finding a way to
stop the causes or the effects.
 Tracking cause and effect is determining why something is happening and what results
from it.
 Creative Thinking

Creative thinking is expansive, open-ended invention and discovery of possibilities. When

people speak of “right brain” activity, they most often mean creative thinking. Here are some of
the more common creative thinking abilities:

 Brainstorming ideas involves asking a question and rapidly listing all answers, even
those that are far-fetched, impractical, or impossible.
 Creating something requires forming it by combining materials, perhaps according to a
plan or perhaps based on the impulse of the moment.
 Designing something means finding the conjunction between form and function and
shaping materials for a specific purpose.
 Entertaining others involves telling stories, making jokes, singing songs, playing games,
acting out parts, and making conversation.
 Imagining ideas involves reaching into the unknown and impossible, perhaps idly or
with great focus, as Einstein did with his thought experiments.
 Improvising a solution involves using something in a novel way to solve a problem.
 Innovating is creating something that hasn’t existed before, whether an object, a
procedure, or an idea.
 Overturning something means flipping it to get a new perspective, perhaps by redefining
givens, reversing cause and effect, or looking at something in a brand new way.
 Problem solving requires using many of the creative abilities listed here to figure out
possible solutions and putting one or more of them into action.
 Questioning actively reaches into what is unknown to make it known, seeking
information or a new way to do something.

Communicating

 Analyzing the situation means thinking about the subject, purpose, sender, receiver,
medium, and context of a message.
 Choosing a medium involves deciding the most appropriate way to deliver a message,
ranging from a face-to-face chat to a 400-page report.
 Evaluating messages means deciding whether they are correct, complete, reliable,
authoritative, and up-to-date.
 Following conventions means communicating using the expected norms for the medium
chosen.
 Listening actively requires carefully paying attention, taking notes, asking questions, and
otherwise engaging in the ideas being communicated.
 Reading is decoding written words and images in order to understand what their
originator is trying to communicate.
 Speaking involves using spoken words, tone of voice, body language, gestures, facial
expressions, and visual aids in order to convey ideas.
 Turn taking means effectively switching from receiving ideas to providing ideas, back
and forth between those in the communication situation.
 Using technology requires understanding the abilities and limitations of any
technological communication, from phone calls to e-mails to instant messages.
 Writing involves encoding messages into words, sentences, and paragraphs for the
purpose of communicating to a person who is removed by distance, time, or both.

Collaborating

 Allocating resources and responsibilities ensures that all members of a team can work
optimally.
 Brainstorming ideas in a group involves rapidly suggesting and writing down ideas
without pausing to critique them.
 Decision-making requires sorting through the many options provided to the group and
arriving at a single option to move forward.
 Delegating means assigning duties to members of the group and expecting them to fulfill
their parts of the task.
 Evaluating the products, processes, and members of the group provides a clear sense of
what is working well and what improvements could be made.
 Goal setting requires the group to analyze the situation, decide what outcome is desired,
and clearly state an achievable objective.
 Leading a group means creating an environment in which all members can contribute
according to their abilities.
 Managing time involves matching up a list of tasks to a schedule and tracking the
progress toward goals.
 Resolving conflicts occurs from using one of the following strategies: asserting,
cooperating, compromising, competing, or deferring.
 Team building means cooperatively working over time to achieve a common goal.
    

 Critical thinking, communication, creative thinking, and collaboration are vital in the
workplace, at home, and in virtually every interaction your students will have. Yet
today’s teaching styles consistently fail to help students master these “four Cs.” The
right curriculum can overcome this deficit, helping your students prepare for the real
world while still meeting or exceeding curriculum goals.
 Why the Four Cs Matter
 In the midst of pressure to exceed district standards, to please parents, and to entertain
students, it’s easy to lose sight of the real purpose of education. A good education is
about preparing students to enter the world. Students should leave your classroom with a
cornucopia of skills they can use no matter what direction their life’s path takes.
 Critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and creative thinking serve students all
day, every day. That’s even truer when they hit adulthood. Consider a common dilemma:
a fight with a spouse. A person who can think critically about their own behavior, engage
in creative problem-solving, communicate well, and collaborate to find solutions will be
better equipped to resolve the problem and have a happy relationship.
 Here’s another common dilemma students might face: dealing with a medical bill they
don’t think they owe. Critical thinking skills help students research the bill and synthesize
the information. Collaboration and communication are vital for working with a
medical office. Creative thinking can help devise a number of plans for paying the bill—
or for disputing it if the medical office isn’t responsive.
 How Typical Teaching Styles Fail to Teach Critical Thinking and Other Vital Skills
 Parents, professionals, friends, relatives, and everyone else must master the four Cs.
Sadly, traditional teaching methods fail to teach them.
 Much of the way educators teach is about asking students to passively accept
information. That’s anathema to critical thinking. Students who spend long days sitting at
desks rarely get a chance to collaborate with others. They may spend all day only as
inactive recipients of a teacher’s words. Creative thinking—such as thinking creatively
about how to manage their own boredom—may even land them in trouble.

How to Incorporate the Four Cs Into Life doesn’t offer students separate critical thinking or
collaboration moments. Instead, students must constantly use these basic skills. Therefore, the
best lesson plans are those that incorporate the four Cs into the daily curriculum—not those that
 segregate them as separate parts of the day. How can teachers do this? Here are some simple
strategies.

Creative Thinking

 Encourage students to ask questions about what they learn and even to say they disagree
with their teachers.
 Present students with complex problems that require creative solutions, not simple
questions that demand rote memorization.
 Allow students to move around during the day and encourage them to use a variety of
methods to learn. For example, spend time outside when discussing biology, or use baseball and
basketball to demonstrate simple physics.
 Rather than giving students worksheets, give them projects. To whatever extent possible,
encourage them to develop their own projects.

Critical Thinking

 Begin your lessons with a question, and explain to students how your lesson will solve
that question.
 Encourage students to disagree with you as long as they are respectful.
 When students disagree with you or are frustrated, urge them to document their own
opinions. A student who wants longer recess time might do a project researching the scientific
benefits of research.
 Incorporate information relevant to students’ lives into your lesson plan. You might talk
about climate change, encourage students to debate an upcoming election, or help students find
reliable sources for researching a proposed school policy change.

Collaboration

 Give students plenty of opportunities to work together on their own terms. Group work is
great, but self-selected group projects are better.
 Encourage students to work through conflicts on their own, but give them the support and
resources they need to accomplish this goal. Offer them tips, questions, and a safe place to
discuss their disagreements.
 Urge students to collaborate outside of the classroom. Can they interview an expert for a
paper? Work with a sibling to solve a family challenge? Negotiate with mom and dad for a small
change in family rules? Encourage these endeavors, and talk to parents and caregivers about how
they can encourage them, too

ommunication

 Don’t rely solely on group work and conflict management to teach students
communication skills. Communication strategies such as negotiation, apologies, and effective
 advocacy must be taught. Students must experiment through trial and error. Provide a safe space
for them to do this by allowing friendly conflict.
 Encourage students to get involved in community issues. They might write an op-ed,
lobby a politician, or author a persuasive blog entry. When appropriate, encourage students to go
to school board meetings and share their views, or to attend state legislative days.
 Don’t demand silence during the day. It’s reasonable to expect students to be orderly and
to avoid interrupting, butshooting down their questions or penalizing them for excitedly sharing
ideas shuts down communication. Instead, teach them the appropriate way to communicate by
telling them not to interrupt, to be friendly and succinct, and to avoid talking over others.

Teaching the 4 Cs

Project-based learning (PBL) lesson plans incorporate learning into students’ daily lives. These
lesson plans are built upon a strong four Cs foundation. Some strategies for PBL learning
include:

 Getting students involved in a community project. For example, you might ask students
to plan a volunteer project, write about why that project is a good idea, and then work together to
get the community involved.
 Helping students lobby for an issue they care about by writing their legislator, attending
local meetings, or penning an op-ed.
 Asking students to collaboratively develop a list of potential class projects, then doing
their favorites from the list.

No matter what your students do with their lives, they will need to think critically and creatively.
They’ll need to work with others and effectively communicate. Project-based learning is one of
the most effective ways to help your students master these skills. This pedagogical style teaches
students in a real-world context, rather than forcing them to memorize information divorced from
their real lives. It’s fun. It works. It can be adapted to any educational goals. It might even
reignite your students’ love of learning and your passion for teaching.

COMMUNICATION
Students must be able to communicate not just with text or speech, but in multiple multimedia formats. They

must be able to communicate visually through video and imagery as effectively  as they do with text and

speech.

Why it’s important: Communication is a broad term that incorporates multi-faceted

levels of interaction and sharing information. Students love to communicate using
technology. This is an essential part of Media Fluency. But it’s more than just being able
to effectively use digital media. It’s about personal interactions as well.

We must remind our students that responsible communication practice puts forth their best representation

of who they y are as individuals in every relationship and alliance they make in their lives.

Whether talking face-to-face, blogging, texting, or creating a visual product, their values
and beliefs are defined by how well they communicate with others. Encouraging them to
develop and hone every aspect of their communication skills will serve them well in both
their personal and professional lives.

Collaboration

Students must possess the ability to collaborate seamlessly in both physical and virtual spaces, with real and

virtual partners globally.

Why it’s important: Students of the digital age are social by nature. They text, post,
update, share, chat, and constantly co-create in technological environments with each
other. When they are unable to do this in school, they become disengaged and
unattached t
 When they are unable to do this in school, they become disengaged and unattached to
their learning.

Connection and collaboration with others are essential not only to their learning but their mental and

emotional health.

It is a skill that educators must exercise with them regularly, and

understanding Collaboration Fluency will assist with this.

Problem-solving is a skill that comes naturally to learners and this can be advanced

profoundly with the proper engagement in their learning.
The work forces of the future (and even our present day) are globalizing due to the
Internet. It is now the norm to communicate and market for global demographics
instantaneously and effectively. An organization’s business artners are now halfway
across the world, and yet they meet and work with each other every day. The ability to
collaborate and communicate in these situations is essential.

This kind of interaction goes hand-in-hand with the mindset of global awareness that is
part of Global Digital Citizenship. Simply put, better collaborators make better students
—and better citizens.

. Creativity

Students need to be able to think and work creatively in both digital and nondigital environments to develop

unique and useful solutions.

Why it’s important: Our digital students are in a constant state of stimulation and
neural development with technology use. They are natural producers and consumers,
or prosumers, of information. Problem-solving is a skill that comes naturally to them
and this can be advanced profoundly with the proper engagement in their learning. This
comes from doing rewarding projects and meaningful tasks that give them challenges to
overcome in imaginative ways.
 Ask any student about what they like to create and you’ll get a myriad of different
answers. They are constantly searching for ways to express themselves and their
uniqueness. Through social media, they display this creative edge and are given constant
and instantaneous feedback from their peers. This same level of creative power is used
as they face interesting challenges and figure out how to meet them with ingenuity and
vision. This is why Creativity Fluency is one of the Essential Fluency skills.

Creativity is a vital  outlet that inspires students to see who they are and what they can do, and to realize

what they can accomplish

It is fundamental that this side of any student is allowed to shine forth in their learning.

3. Analytic Thinking

Students need the ability to think analytically, which includes proficiency with comparing, contrasting,

evaluating, synthesizing

Why it’s important: Analytic thinking means being able to use the higher end of
Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy or higher-order thinking skills (HOTS).

Tasks that require linear thinking and routine cognitive work are being outsourced more
and more. So it’s essential to guide students towards being able to perform
analytic thinking. It is crucial to their ability to succeed in life after the classroom.
Analytic thinking is a significant part of what makes up Information Fluency.

Analytical thinkers see data and information in many different dimensions, and from
multiple angles. They are adept at conceptualization, organization and classification,
and knowledge synthesis. These types of skills are invaluable because they allow
students to deal practically with problems of a social, mathematical, and scientific
nature. It empowers them to make effective and level-headed decisions in their lives and
relationships. It’s easy to see why critical and analytical thinking skills are important to
success beyond school.