Education in the 21st Century - The 4 Cs

The Four Cs of 21st century learning, also known as the Four Cs or 4 Cs, are four skills that have been identified by the United States-based Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21) as the most important skills required for 21st century education: critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity.

These 21st century skills have been identified and supported by national educational and political leaders in the United States, including President Obama. In January 2016 members of the US House of Representatives created a bipartisan Congressional 21st Century Skills Caucus. The Four Cs have been adopted and implemented into the curricula of schools, school districts, and professional development programs

Communication is about sharing thoughts, questions, ideas, and solutions. In the technological age, it’s much easier and, at the same time, harder to communicate. Technology has provided us with more convenient ways to communicate, but sometimes the various ways can become overwhelming.

Collaboration is about working together to reach a goal and putting talent, expertise, and smarts to work. Just like with communication, technology has made collaboration easier. Actually, technology takes collaboration a step farther, making types of collaboration possible that weren’t before technology.

Critical thinking is looking at problems in a new way and linking learning across subjects and disciplines. Just like with the previous two ideas, critical thinking has been an essential skill in every century and profession. However, technology has changed the critical thinking platform. The more technology makes menial tasks such as memorization null and void, the more room that gives us to spend time on more complex thinking skills.

Creativity is trying new approaches to get things done, innovation, and invention. The 21st Century is a fun time to be creative thanks to technology. Not only are the traditional ways of creativity still available, but there are tons of new possibilities made available. Instead of just painting a picture, you can animate it or arrange a piece of music on a computer without ever learning how to play an instrument.