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Have you heard of the 4 Cs of the 21st Century? Do you know what they are? Communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity are considered the four c's and are all skills that are needed in order to succeed in today's world.

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Key competencies can be identified on the basis that they make a measurable contribution to educational attainment, relationships, employment, and health and well-being outcomes Learning and innovation skills are increasingly recognized as those that distinguish students who are prepared for more complex life and work environments in the 21st century from those who are not. A focus on the 4C's of 21st Century Learning: essential to prepare students for the future. Critical Thinking, Communication,
Collaboration, and Creativity and Innovation are

Critical Thinking

Critical thinking in the 21st century is described as the ability to design and manage projects, solve problems, and make effective decisions using a variety of tools and resources. It highlights the challenge of designing educational experiences that address local issues and real-world problems for which there may be no clear answer. Thinking critically requires students to acquire, process, interpret, rationalize, and critically analyze large volumes of often conflicting information to the point of making an informed decision and taking action in a timely fashion.

Digital tools and resources can support the process of critical thinking, particularly when used to create authentic and relevant learning experiences that allow students to discover, create, and use new knowledge. The knowledge and digital era is demanding people with higher order thinking skills: the ability to think logically, and to solve ill-defined problems by identifying and describing the problem, critically analyzing the information available or creating the knowledge required, framing and testing various hypotheses, formulating creative solutions, and taking action.

Communication

Communication in a 21st century context refers not only to the ability to communicate effectively, orally, in writing, and with a variety of digital tools but also to listening skills. Many international frameworks include information and digital literacy in the concept of communication (e.g., the British Columbia Ministry of Education's Cross-Curricular Competencies). Other frameworks, such as P21, have distinct information, media, and technology skills. Some jurisdictions (e.g., England, Norway) include information and communications technology (ICT) skills with literacy and numeracy as foundational curriculum. Digital tools and resources represent a new realm of communications interaction in which the ability to navigate successfully is essential for success in the 21st century. Each tool has its own rhetoric (e.g., an effective blog post is different from an effective tweet or persuasive essay). The issue is not just learning to use new communication tools but mastering many forms of rhetoric - a more challenging task.

Collaboration

Collaboration in a 21st century context requires the ability to work in teams, learn from and contribute to the learning of others, use social networking skills, and demonstrate empathy in working with diverse others. Collaboration also requires students to develop collective intelligence and to co-construct meaning, becoming creators of content as well as consumers. New skills and knowledge are necessary to enable team members to collaborate digitally and contribute to the collective knowledge base, whether working remotely or in a shared physical space.

Creativity and Innovation

Many studies demonstrate the importance of creativity for social development, the ability to compete in business, and the ability to generate economic growth. PISA 2012 results note the connection between high academic achievement, problem solving, and creativity. Creativity is often described as the pursuit of new ideas, concepts, or products that meet a need in the world. Innovation contains elements of creativity and is often described as the realization of a new idea to make a useful contribution to a particular field.

Creativity includes concepts of economic and social entrepreneurialism and leadership for action. Creativity in schools gives students experiences with situations in which there is no known answer, where there are multiple solutions, where the tension of ambiguity is appreciated as fertile ground, and where imagination is honoured over rote knowledge.

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4Cs of 21st Century Learning - Edureach101

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Key competencies can be identified on the basis that they make a measurable contribution to educational attainment, relationships, employment, and health and well-being outcomes Learning and innovation skills are increasingly recognized as those that distinguish students who are prepared for more complex life and work environments in the 21st century from those who are not....

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The 4 C's of 21st Century Skills - Collaboration, Creativity, Communication, Critical Thinking

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http://bit.ly/tarversub Subscribe to join the best students on the planet!! ----Have Instagram? DM me your math problems! http://bit.ly/tarvergram Hangout with Tyler and watch EXCLUSIVE videos!! http://patreon.com/tylertarver Get Math Practice Problems by email every day of school so you can get better and prepare for the ACT!

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When thinking of a traditional classroom, you probably envision one teacher working alone with a group of students. While educators often work alone in the classroom, they do not - and should not - operate independently. Throughout my career, I've always found that the best way to improve an educational experience is to work together.

Here are some of the advantages of a collaborative educational environment - not only for your students, but for yourself:

Collaboration Helps Brainstorm Creative Ideas

It may seem like a no brainer, but a true brainstorm is not possible without collaboration. Collaboration provides a safety net; it helps you catapult your thinking and develop ideas that may seem crazy at first.

Working with a small group of trusted teachers gave me the opportunity to turn what I thought was a silly idea at the time into a unique and creative lesson plan. When it was time for my class to study Elizabethan England, I had the idea to have my students rewrite Shakespeare into different time periods that we had already studied. I was hesitant to bring this idea to a large group - it seemed so out there! But after developing the idea with my peers, I had a new and creative lesson plan that my students would love. Peer-to-peer collaboration can turn a small idea into the seeds for something fabulous.

Professional Collaboration Teaches You About Yourself

The process of becoming a National Board certified teacher was the most important of my career. The experience -particularly working with other professionals - made me turn inside-out and think about things from a new perspective. Learning and working with others made me dig deeper and explore who I was as a learner and a teacher. Equally important, it made me explore who my kids could be as learners.

In our educational culture today, it's extremely important to join professional learning communities and pursue professional learning opportunities to ensure ongoing growth for our students and for ourselves.

Learning Collaboratively Helps Students

The collaboration shouldn't end among the teachers - it should be used during the school day among students, as well! Plan activities that give students the opportunity to work and collaborate together to learn and grow from each other.

Collaborative learning has been shown to not only develop higher-level thinking skills in students, but boost their confidence and self-esteem as well. Group projects can maximize educational experience by demonstrating the material, while improving social and interpersonal skills. Students learn how to work with various types of learners and develop their leadership skills.

When we work together, we create a better learning experience. Teacher collaboration positively impacts student achievement, and allows us as educators to explore new territory.

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When educators work together, we create a better learning experience.

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A Global Community Making Learners Into Leaders - Nobel Explorers

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Communication with others is an essential part of every aspect of our entire life experience - our development, our personal lives, and in education. That's why it's important to teach children from an early age to communicate well, and for all of us to practice communicating with each other more effectively.

In this article, we'll explore some of the ways in which the communication process - personal and professional - can affect our learning and teaching processes. Teaching is, at its core, communication, so building good soft skills is vital to the transfer of knowledge. Learning, on the other hand, i nvolves listening and accepting information well.

In order to understand how to attain the most effective communication in the learning and teaching process, we'll first explore the meaning of communication itself. We'll do so using the simplified model and terms of Claude Shannon [1].

In the picture, we see a few components. The first one is the Sender, aka the information source - the person sending the message. If you're the one teaching, you are the one sending the message and this is you.

The second one is the . This is the physical system that is sending the signal or the message. What are you using to send the information? A picture or a film? A presentation? Are you talking and using body language? These mediums of communication are your channel, and you should use the best ones possible to transfer the information.

The Destination is the person receiving the message - student, child, partner. That is the one being taught (student) or the one in the process of learning. It is in the mutual interest of everyone involved in the process to get the best message possible.

Noise is the element which interferes with the communication, be it on the physical or psychological level. Noise impacts the message - changing it or erasing it. If you're using video for teaching, maybe the quality isn't the best, so the student's learning process has been negatively impacted.

Maybe the student is from a different background and will translate the message into something different than the Sender intended. For example, in the field of STEM studies, stereotypes are the noise which distracts women from becoming involved in STEM careers.

Finally, is the process the communicators use to make sure the messages sent and received are as close in meaning to each other as is possible.

Whether you're a teacher, an educator, or a parent helping your child with homework, your most important communication skill is the manner in which you present the material. For the child to understand and process a topic, it needs to be presented in an orderly fashion at a moderate pace. This gives the child time to hear and comprehend the material as it's presented.

It's important to remember is that communication is not only talking. Optimal communication always uses both verbal and visual communication tools. We don't only mean using pictures and videos in class - although, this is always a good way to get the message across - but also non-verbal communication.

Your body language is a language in itself. The more dynamic it is, the better the effect. It's been proven that educators who walk around and talk, and not just sit and read from the text, get better feedback from students. The best option is to combine dynamic, non-verbal presentation with expressive speech patterns, using repetition and emphasis in one's voice to make important concepts stand out.

The key is finding the best possible way to communicate the message you want to get across. You'll know if you're doing a good job by getting feedback - it can be from the child themselves so the sender is confident they understood the message, or it can be from someone from outside, whom you asked to monitor your presentation and give you tips [2].

In order to have the message transmitted in the way you intended, you have to learn the most effective method of communication. This is a skill that can be learned and improved upon over time, and there are a few steps you can follow in order to practice and master it. In the teaching process, it's incredibly important to send the message in the most effective and accurate way possible.

So, what counts as effective communication in the learning environment? No matter if it's educator-student communication or communication between two students working on a project, what is needed for effective communication is the same [4]:

Listening to others - In order for a two-way conversation to happen, one party must listen to what others have to say, processing information and understanding it

Maintaining eye contact with speakers - Eye contact not only helps to keep focus and heighten the feeling of personal conversation, but is vital for keeping the communication flow going.

Seeking opinions from others - Getting feedback is one of the best ways to see if the information has really been understood in the best way possible. This is especially important if you want to see if your partner, student, or child understands the message as clearly as you intend it.

Accepting ideas from others - This is vital, particularly if you're working in a group - your partner's ideas are as important as yours. Even educators need to remember this. Your student has ideas they can offer on how to make the learning process better. Be sure to listen to them and, if their idea is a good one, accept it.

Clear explanations - Things should be explained in an understandable manner in every form of communication involved in the learning process.

As teaching is basically communication, it's important to incorporate all aspects of the communication process (seen on the scheme above) in an environment with as little distracting noise as possible. Also, the teaching/communication process will work best when you have good general communication rapport with a child or student.

For this to happen, the child must know you're taking them seriously and that they can also tell you what they think and need. Power dynamics should be as felt as little as possible, so the communication can be open and frank. This also helps in getting good feedback from a child, in case the message isn't getting across well.

In her Ted Talk, Kris Prochaska explains how to have good communication with children and why it's important. She relates her real-life experience about how giving mindless answers to children gets no results, and doesn't benefit anyone. On the contrary, when she explained reasonably to her child the options of when to do their homework - now, or at recess with the teacher - the child herself made the decision to do the homework. In this simple example, Prochaska shows how having a good, reasonable conversation with a child can benefit their school performance [5].

Your communication as an educator is not the only communication process that the child can benefit from while learning. It's been shown that children communicating with other children can enhance their success in school.

Children's earliest communication is usually developed within the family. These first contacts become the model for the later ones they'll pick up during their school days. It has been noted that during the preschool period, a child becomes increasingly focused on interaction with other children, learning what they say and do with more interest.

This is why, in this phase of development, children acquire their first 'social status' - learning how to adapt and integrate into a group. If a child has a communication problem during this stage, it's likely they will develop an adaptation problem later on, which, naturally, will affect their personal life, as well as their education [3].

A child who is not at ease in their environment or with their friends will have a hard time focusing in school. Therefore, they will achieve less than desirable results. So, as you communicate with children, remember it's also important for them to learn to communicate with each other as well. You might even need to give them some guidance in this area.

Remember that when teaching a child, it is not only important to get the message across. It's important to be there for the child generally, and help them develop many crucial life skills. That's why understanding that collaborative learning improves critical thinking is so important [6].

Helping a child or a student develop critical thinking is one of the most useful things you can do for them. This way children can develop the skills necessary to judge on their own. They will judge about what is important, what is right or wrong, what is adequate, etc. This will help in their personal lives to judge what's best for them and for their environment. It's also a crucial skill to master so as to get the best out of their education. A child who can think critically can discern the important components of a text to learn, decide the best way to learn it, and accurately reproduce the knowledge they've gained. This is important in studying for a test, as well as later for a job or in life.

[1] https://www.businesstopia.net/communication/shannon-and-weaver-model-communication
[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1705977/
[3] Nærland, T. and Martinsen, H. 2011, Child-child interactions and positive social focus among preschool children. Early Child Development and Care, 181 (3): 361-370,
[4] Hurley, E. A, Allen, B. A. and Boykin, A. W. 2009. Culture and the Interaction of Student Ethnicity with Reward Structure in Group Learning. Cognition and Instruction. 27 (2): 121-146.
[5] How to Get Your Kids to Listen and Engage - Kris Prochaska
[6] Gokhale, A. A.1995. Collaborative Learning Enhances Critical Thinking. Journal of Technology Education. 7 (1): 22-31 .

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Benefits of communication on the learning process - A Global Community Making Learners Into Leaders - Nobel Explorers

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Communication with others is an essential part of every aspect of our entire life experience - our development, our personal lives, and in education. That's why it's important to teach children from an early age to communicate well, and for all of us to practice communicating with each other more effectively.

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Carly Daff, Director of Product for Canva for Education shares her thoughts on the importance of fostering creativity in the classroom.
Looking back 10 years, no one could have predicted the sheer pace of change and the extraordinary circumstances that we'd be facing in today's world - from adapting to the learning needs in the wake of a global pandemic to empowering and building a digital generation capable of starting billion-dollar companies overnight; creativity and abstract thinking have become prerequisites in a student's repertoire of skills needed for the future of society. The last decade alone has seen entire industries completely transformed as a result of globalization and the digital revolution, access to technology and the potential for innovation has never been as accessible as it is today and educators in both physical, and now digital classrooms, play a vital role in fostering and encouraging this creativity.

Creativity in itself is quite a broad subject. While it's easy to look at creativity as a particular skill and assume if you can draw or sing, you must be creative, the reality is far more nuanced. It's fair to say creativity has been the driving force behind the most groundbreaking innovations of our time. When you look around, we're surrounded by innovation that would not have happened were it not for incredibly creative and determined people embracing ambiguity, challenging the status quo, not taking no for an answer and discovering new ways to solve all kinds of problems.
So, what does the next decade hold with creativity at the crux of innovation?
We're living proof that it's nearly impossible to predict the advancements and technologies of tomorrow - from having instant access to the internet from the palm of our hands or having people all around the globe remain connected with a simple click of a button, love it or loathe it, the advancements we've made in technology affect almost everything we do today. It also influences most of our plans for the future, and yet what we take for granted today - TV streaming, GPS in our cars, libraries of content from all over the globe and online shopping - were not the norm, or so seamlessly integrated into our everyday life a decade ago.

While there are certainly inherent benefits of traditional rote learning and using standardized testing as a measure of performance, we know the next generation will need far more abstract and interchangeable skills; from fighting climate change to keeping up with the global digital revolution, the future generation of problem solvers will need to overcome some of the world's toughest obstacles by thinking in new and creative ways with bold ideas and the determination to challenge the impossible.

Even those in more rigid STEM-based careers have benefited from this kind of out-of-the-box thinking. Elon Musk is building underground tunnel systems with car elevators and making space travel more accessible as a way to pioneer solutions for the environmental challenges we're facing on Earth. While these examples require determination, specific expertise and a lot (!) of money, this type of innovation wouldn't be possible without creativity.

How do we empower the next generation to deliver the not-yet imagined?

A brainstorm highlighting the importance of creativity.

To find out more about the importance of nurturing creativity in the classroom, I spoke with Amber Kemp-Gerstel, a clinical child psychologist come modern day 'Art Attack', content creative and TV personality with more than a decade of experience in creative therapy. Our conversation shed some light on the role and importance of creativity in a classroom, with Amber explaining a classroom environment is one of the most important places to start encouraging and nurturing creativity in young people.

As adults, it can be easy to get caught up in the day-to-day and let the guardrails of society stunt our ability to think abstractly and pursue bold ideas that contradict the 'norm'. Conversely, children are best-positioned to develop their ways of thinking and solving problems as they are naturally inquisitive, open to learning, imaginative and they do not often feel embarrassed by novelty, since everything is new and consequently nothing is really abnormal. Generally speaking, with some teachers spending over 10,000 hours in a child's life as they progress from kinder to high school, it's crucial they nurture this behaviour and near limitless thinking, further support and encourage it as it plays an important role in developing the soft skills needed in life outside of the classroom.

In addition, the late Sir Ken Robinson was also vocal on the importance of interweaving creativity into the education system, stating education "takes us into a future we can't grasp", and thus creativity is imperative to overcoming blockers or challenges in the future. Research also suggests creativity thrives when it is socially-engaged, which makes the classroom the perfect breeding ground for innovative and creative teaching.

Key findings about the importance of creativity in the classroom from 1000 educators of K-12 across the US.

We recently conducted a survey in the US of 1000 educators teaching kindergarten to year 12 and asked them what they thought were the benefits of creativity in the classroom (whether online or physical), their findings were as follows:

Embracing creativity in the classroom is a great way to challenge the notion of static learning: the idea that there's merely one correct way to solve a problem or come to a solution. Whilst one plus one will always equal two, there are a multitude of ways to teach that concept. The advent of the internet and the omnipresence of connected devices has opened up new opportunities for people of all ages to have instant access to new information and different ways of thinking and doing things.

Amber also explained the additional benefits of creativity in the classroom when it comes to encouraging students to think independently and problem solving autonomously. By empowering students to push the boundaries, question the norm and think outside the box, educators are able to build and encourage confidence and self esteem in students. We know not everything always goes to plan the first time around, so it's critical to encourage young people to acknowledge this and find alternative and unique solutions to the challenges at hand, meanwhile building resilience and confidence in their ability.

Amber Kemp-Gerstel's top tips for educators on how to nurture creativity in the classroom.
Encourage multiple ways to solve problems
All in all, creativity has become a prerequisite for innovation and will be an increasingly in-demand skill for jobs of the future. Creativity doesn't need to be a subject of its own, instead, it should be weaved into absolutely every aspect of learning and teaching.
Create meaningful assignments that allow students to play to their strengths
Flexibility is crucial when it comes to encouraging creativity. It's about fostering the ability to come up with different solutions and unique ideas - by encouraging students to continue on their journey to discovery when their first idea doesn't work, investigate alternatives, try, try and try again until you succeed. This results in students being more resilient and having more confidence when it comes to independent problem solving.
Build a safe and open space where failure is embraced and celebrated
No two people are the same, and therefore no two students should need to learn in an identical way. Create tasks that play to the unique strengths of each student - whether it's a topic they're interested in or through the format or approach, it's easier to encourage genuine creativity when you can create interest and engagement in the challenge.
Weave creativity into every subject area
The role of creativity in a classroom, from my perspective, is about creating a safe and welcoming environment where ideas can flow freely and students can try and test their own creative solutions, without the pressure of 'having to get it right'. Sometimes classrooms can feel there's only one answer or a rigid answer; it's important we allow students to explore different solutions to grow and flourish.
Adapt activities and methods of learning to cater to individual students
Every subject can be creative! Creativity doesn't mean the entire curriculum needs to be rewritten, instead, it could be something as simple as using clay to create shapes or playing word-search bingo as a spelling activity. Even the more defined and structured topics like maths and science have areas where creativity can be embedded into the topic to encourage a greater depth of understanding with students.
Challenge yourself with the perspective of the adult in the room
Perhaps because we often align creativity to artistic abilities, we may assume a child who draws and loves painting is creative, though this can be shortsighted. Creativity and the ability to have a vested interest in learning comes in all forms and will mean something different to every child. Educators need to be cognizant of the differences and apply their teaching accordingly. For example, some students may be visual learners, others might prefer learning by doing/tactically, or watching or listening to absorb information.
Embrace group projects
Creating an engaging and creative classroom can be challenging, especially in a remote learning environment where you're teaching children through a screen. One of the best things I'd encourage educators to do is to embrace creativity yourself. How would you teach your class if you couldn't talk? Would you draw? Would you use symbols? Would you write a secret message using emojis and have your students figure it out? Would you play charades? If we challenge ourselves as adults, encouraging creativity, we have no choice but to be creative in the way we teach.
Make use of free digital tools
Group projects are fantastic for encouraging collaboration and problem solving as a group. Working as a team encourages students to reckon with other people's ideas and ways of working; when you're put in a room with diverse opinions and different thoughts, you have no choice but to be creative in your approach to solving the problem.

There are so many amazing digital tools out there that can make traditional tasks even more creative. From the digital worksheets and presentations available in Canva to YouTube videos and downloadable teaching resources.

One of the many resources developed to amplify and stimulate creativity in the classroom. Created in collaboration with Amber Kemp-Gerstel exclusively for educators.
How to best utilize Worksheet 1 - the Imagination Workout, according to Amber:
We had the privilege of working with Amber and the loveable Care Bears characters to develop two creative resources exclusively for educators within our Canva for Education community. The purpose of these resources is to empower educators, regardless of whether they're teaching remotely or in the classroom, to further encourage creativity in the classroom.

Over 95% of educators believe creativity is a crucial to a student's future. This template has been created in collaboration with Amber Kemp-Gerstel exclusively for educators.
How to best utilize Worksheet 2 - the "Five Ways Too..." Creativity Warm-up, according to Amber:

"Abstract thinking is a great way to flex those creativity muscles. Providing children with prompts that don't have a particular form, purpose or shape is an awesome activity for introducing creative thinking.

This particular activity is great for ANY age - from kindergarten all the way through to college!

Want to make it more challenging? After the students complete one worksheet, give them another and ask them to come up with a completely different set of drawings.

By encouraging flexible thinking in the classroom, students build their own confidence to participate and engage with their environment, peers and teachers."

"Classroom curriculums are often centered around rote memorization of facts. Creative thinking often flourishes when we toss aside reason and embrace flexible thinking.

The "Five Ways" Creativity Workout encourages children to devise multiple solutions to a simple problem. Their first solutions may be practical but their later ideas may be silly but also innovative and inventive.

Additionally, by encouraging and praising innovative thinking in the classroom, students can build confidence."

Set time aside for journaling

Participate in five minutes of mindfulness each day

Build brainstorming sessions

Use gamification to encourage participation

Encourage risk taking

Leave the classroom more often

Allow students to teach

Use visual aids

Encourage questions

Other ways to teach and encourage creativity in the classroom include:

Read more about these ideas here; in addition you can check out Canva's other innovative classroom ideas to promote creativity here.

The rate at which our world is changing will only continue to exponentially increase over the next decade. Today's students will be taking on careers that we've not yet imagined as we work to solve some of the world's greatest problems, from climate change to inequality and large scale conflict, through to advancing technologies across every possible industry. With that in mind, we owe it to the next generation to empower creative thinking and problem-solving in all walks of life - and whilst it doesn't necessarily start when a student reaches school, it is during this critical time where it needs to be nurtured and encouraged.

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The importance of fostering creativity in the classroom

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Carly Daff, Director of Product for Canva for Education shares her thoughts on the importance of fostering creativity in the classroom. Looking back 10 years, no one could have predicted the sheer...

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Calvin Taylor’s Model of Critical and Creative Thinking

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Children can learn how to think creatively with Calvin Taylor’s model of creative thinking and critical thinking, which describes five talent areas.