The Four C's of Education

Governor Mifflin Middle School believes that collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking are essential skills for the 21st century learner. People who are proficient in the Four C's are better at working with others, sharing thoughts and ideas, looking at problems in new ways, and trying new approaches to solving them.

There has been quite a bit of discussion in recent years surrounding the Four C's and 21st century learning. While the skills required to be college and career ready have changed throughout the years, research shows that collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking are key contributing factors for success, regardless of a chosen academic or career path. In fact, with ever-changing technology and automation of some jobs and careers, we are likely preparing many children today for jobs that do not even exist yet. According to a U.S. Department of Labor report, 65% of students will be working in jobs that do not currently exist. This brings even great importance to the acquisition of these 21st century skills that contribute to success in most academic and career paths. 

One thing this year has taught us is that we need to be prepared to work and demonstrate the Four C skills digitally, as many people continue to work remotely.  In addition, with increasing technology and growing global collaboration, these skills become even more important to accomplish tasks that used to be done in person. The video below discusses the Four C's as they relate to digital citizenship. 


Developing the Four C's certainly takes time and intentional effort. We can help children develop these skills by practicing some of the suggestions below.

Collaboration - According to the Edutopia article, 5 Strategies to Deepen Student Collaboration, you can try these 5 things to encourage the development collaboration skills.
    * Prepare kids to be part of a team
    * Minimize opportunities for free riding
    * Build in opportunities for discussion and consensus
    * Focus on strengthening and stretching expertise
    * Create learning activities that are complex

Communication - This article, 10 Ways to Improve Your Grade-Schooler’s Communication Skills, provides some suggestions to promote communication skills in children,
    * Talk regularly with your child
    * Describe the day
    * Listen to and reflect what your child says
    * Have practice conversations with your child
    * Point out body language
    * Start fun conversations with your child
    * Read with your child
    * Teach your child how to play conversational “catch”
    * Ask your child’s opinion
    * Encourage your child to keep a journal

Creativity - The following article, 7 Ways to Foster Creativity in Your Kids, offers some suggestions to foster creative thinking in children.
    * Provide the resources they need for creative expression
    * Make your home a Petri dish for creativity
    * Allow kids the freedom and autonomy to explore their ideas and do what they want
    * Encourage children to read for pleasure and participate in the arts
    * Give children the opportunity to express divergent thought
    * Don't reward children for exhibiting creativity - incentives interfere with the creative process
    * Try to stop caring what your kids achieve - focus on process

Critical Thinking - In another Edutopia article, A Focus on Critical Thinking, they offer some suggestions on promoting critical thinking skills, as listed below.
    * Ask a lot of questions
    * Start with a prompt and help them unpack it
    * Provide tools for entering the conversation
    * Model your expectations
    * Encourage constructive controversy and productive struggle
    * Choose content students will invest in
    * Have Socratic discussions
    * Step back and allow them to figure out problems with little assistance 

Raising 21st century learners can be a challenge, but following some of the aforementioned suggestions will help support their development of these skills, giving them a better foundation for success in school, work, and life.


Additional resources and what's on the horizon for flex period!

Additional Resources

Flex Period Schedule
Days 1 & 4 - SSR - Silent Sustained Reading - Learn More Here
Days 2 & 5 - iReady - Family Resource Page
Days 3 & 6 - SEL - Social Emotional Learning Schedule
* 4/9 - Academic Advisement and Quarter 4 Goal Setting
* 4/14 - Restorative Circle

As always, thank you for your continued support and partnership in education!

Sincerely,

Chris Killinger
GMMS Associate Principal

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