The "Four Cs"

I reflected on the NEA article I read called An Educator’s Guide to the “Four Cs.” Feel free to check it out here!

The “Four Cs”
     -Critical Thinking

     -Communicating
     -Creating
     -Collaborating

To better prepare my students for the challenges of 21^st century citizenship, it will be important to integrate the “Four Cs” into the everyday functioning of my classroom. I can do this by being intentional in setting up my classroom, in my teaching style, and the activities I prepare for my students to accomplish. The “Four Cs” should also be embedded in a cross-curricular fashion in order to reach its full potential and purpose. The “Four Cs” should also not function separately but rather be intertwined and used together to help students reach their full potential.

Being intentional about incorporating the “Four Cs” is crucial to its success. To help my students become critical thinkers, I will present opportunities that allow them to reason effectively, use systems thinking and analyzing, make judgments and decisions, and solve problems. The other Cs connect well to critical thinking and should often be used while thinking critically. Likewise, being able to communicate is crucial to being able to collaborate. Communication refers to oral and written articulation as well as listening. Creativity pushes students to their fullest potential and truly makes their minds work. 

All of the “Four Cs” are incorporated intentionally through modeling, creating a classroom environment that pushes for “Four C” thinking, asking questions to push my students to think and act this way, and creating activities that allow my students to put the “Four Cs” to work, so it becomes second nature for them. The “Four Cs” advocate for higher level thinking in all content areas, taking my students’ learning to that next level. Activities that are project-based and problem solving by nature will allow the “Four Cs” to come about naturally.

Collaborating creates more holistic results, and modeling this for our students will encourage them to collaborate effectively with their peers. Working collaboratively with other educators will also improve students’ performance of the “Four Cs” when teacher teams and leaders within the district are behind this movement. Students’ performance will improve when educators are given the resources to help them to embed the “Four Cs” in the curriculum, instruction, professional development, and even assessment. Using technology through social media, professional learning networks, etc. to see how other educators are successfully implementing the “Four Cs” is also a wonderful collaboration tool.

Technology presents itself as a wonderful opportunity to put the “Four Cs” into action, as each of these Cs often come about when technology is used effectively. Students can think critically while coding, can communicate through social media, can collaborate through project-based tools, and can create using creator apps. These are just a few examples off the top of my head while the possibilities are endless. I plan to be a “Four Cs” educator.