Communication

First steps into …the ‘Four Cs’

By DanielBarber, BrianBennet

Communication, creativity, collaboration and critical thinking. Daniel Barber introduces the ‘super skills’ that 21st century students can’t do without.

Source: svetikd, Getty Images

The ‘Four Cs’

Are the skills students need to learn today the same as they’ve always been? Fifty years ago literacy and numeracy made up education’s core skills. They were commonly known as ‘the three Rs’ (Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic). It is widely acknowledged that these basic skills are not enough to succeed in the 21st century, which presents education, and the world, with unique demands.

Think about it

Read the following statements about recent changes in society. What skills do you think are necessary in the 21st century?

· We live in a globalized society, one where most of the population is connected geographically, economically and politically.

· Society is ’hyperconnected’ by the digital media.

· Together we face some of the biggest problems we have ever experienced, such as the threat of climate change.

· Society and technology are changing faster than at any other time in history.

What are the ‘Four Cs’?

Communication. Creativity. Collaboration. Critical thinking. These are the four ‘super skills’ that the National Education Association – the United States’ largest teachers’ organization, and founding partners of the Partnership for 21st Century Learning movement – identified as key skills that citizens of the 21st century could not do without:

Life today is … more complicated … than it was 50 years ago … With a host of challenges … along with instant connectivity to a global society, civic literacy couldn’t be more relevant … in our schools. Global warming, immigration reform, pandemic diseases, and financial meltdowns … today’s students must be prepared to solve these challenges. In addition, workforce skills and demands have changed dramatically in the last 20 years … There has been a rapid increase in jobs involving non-routine, analytic, and interactive communication skills. Today’s job market requires … critical thinking and the ability to interact with people from many linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

– An Educator’s Guide to the ‘Four Cs’

The ‘Four Cs’ are broad sets of skills which are easier to understand when broken down into their subskills:

Communication

This includes the abilities to:

· articulate your ideas effectively in spoken, written and nonverbal forms in a variety of contexts.

· listen effectively, to understand meaning, attitudes and intentions.

· communicate effectively in multilingual and multicultural environments.

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