The Four C's

  • The 4 C's of Education: Communication, Critical Thinking, Creativity, Collaboration Preparing students for the real world includes breaking down the silos of subject matter to find the application of knowledge. 

    The four skills of this century (the four C's) provide a key element in all of the teaching and learning at Fremont Elementary.

     

Creativity and Innovation

  • Think Creatively

    • Use a wide range of idea creation techniques (such as brainstorming)
    • Create new and worthwhile ideas (both incremental and radical concepts)
    • Elaborate, refine, analyze and evaluate their own ideas in order to improve and maximize creative efforts

     Work Creatively with Others

    • Develop, implement and communicate new ideas to others effectively
    • Be open and responsive to new and diverse perspectives; incorporate group input and feedback into the work
    • Demonstrate originality and inventiveness in work and understand the real world limits to adopting new ideas
    • View failure as an opportunity to learn; understand that creativity and innovation is a long-term, cyclical process of small successes and frequent mistakes

     Implement Innovations

    • Act on creative ideas to make a tangible and useful contribution to the field in which the innovation will occur

Communication

  • Communicate Clearly

    • Articulate thoughts and ideas effectively using oral, written and nonverbal communication skills in a variety of forms and contexts
    • Listen effectively to decipher meaning, including knowledge, values, attitudes and intentions
    • Use communication for a range of purposes (e.g. to inform, instruct, motivate and persuade)
    • Utilize multiple media and technologies, and know how to judge their effectiveness as well as assess their impact
    • Communicate effectively in diverse environments (including multi-lingual)

     

Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

  • Reason Effectively

    • Use various types of reasoning (inductive, deductive, etc.) as appropriate to the situation

     Use Systems Thinking

    • Analyze how parts of a whole interact with each other to produce overall outcomes in complex systems

     Make Judgments and Decisions

    • Effectively analyze and evaluate evidence, arguments, claims and beliefs
    • Analyze and evaluate major alternative points of view
    • Synthesize and make connections between information and arguments
    • Interpret information and draw conclusions based on the best analysis
    • Reflect critically on learning experiences and processes

     Solve Problems

    • Solve different kinds of non-familiar problems in both conventional and innovative ways
    • Identify and ask significant questions that clarify various points of view and lead to better solutions

Collaboration

  • Collaborate with Others

    • Demonstrate ability to work effectively and respectfully with diverse teams
    • Exercise flexibility and willingness to be helpful in making necessary compromises to accomplish a common goal
    • Assume shared responsibility for collaborative work, and value the individual contributions made by each team member