Online Courses for Teachers

Students as Digital Content Creators

We have previously discussed how students live in a world where they have immediate access to information and data simply by typing a few keystrokes, often on a hand-held device. In fact, students have access to more information on their smartphones than an entire empire had thousands of years ago! As a result, this abundance of information demands new approaches and new habits of mind. If students are to thrive in the 21st century, they must be able to not only think for themselves, but they must be taught to think closely and deeply. This means that they need to be able to sift through all of the information and background material to form creative, reasonable, and logical solutions to real-world relevant problems. In order to accomplish this, teachers must center their instructional technique from simply acquiring knowledge to building students’ skills and thinking processes. Doing so propels students forward to engage in complex tasks that require many higher-order thinking skills. Enter the “Four Cs” of 21st Century Learning: Critical Thinking, Communication, Collaboration, and Creativity.

The Four Cs of 21st Century Learning

To help students gain the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in work, life, and citizenship in the 21st Century, the people at Partnership for 21st Century Learning developed the P21 Framework for 21st Century Learning with input from educators, education experts, and business leaders to define the needed skills and knowledge. Within the framework are key skills that most educators know as the “Four Cs,” including critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity. Let’s take a close look at what each of these skills means.

Critical Thinking

Thinking critically involves much more than the simple recall or mere accumulation of information. In its simplest form, critical thinking is the ability to objectively analyze evidence so that a person can make a reasoned judgment. It is a way of thinking in which the evidence is not accepted at face value, but rather the conclusions, solutions, and determinations that one arrives at have been done so in a logical, methodical, and rational manner. According to the P21 Framework, a student who possesses good critical-thinking skills should be able to do the following (Partnership for 21st Century Learning, 2019).

• 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 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

Communication

At its most basic level, communication involves the sending and receiving of messages. However, in order for a message to be accurately stated and received, students must simultaneously use several different skills in concert with one another. Though it may sound simple enough, the fact is that the message may become distorted from any number of sources, which means that the context of the message is often outside the communicator’s control. For example, Mr. Wayland may have a wonderfully prepared and relevant lesson to teach his class. However, no matter what strategies he utilizes, Lana just doesn’t seem to “get it.” What Mr. Wayland failed to take into account is that there are many outside factors which may affect the proper receipt of his message by Lana, including such factors as Lana’s past experiences, her current state of mind, and/or her ultimate interpretation of his message. Conversely, there are likely some factors that are certainly outside of Lana’s control as well. For instance, the fact that Josh decided to pick the exact time of Mr. Wayland’s poignant explanation to act up in class may have affected Lana’s receipt of his message. Or perhaps Jorge used that same opportunity to ask a pertinent question, but which also derailed the point of the message. Thus, as can be seen from these illustrations, communication is in a constant state of flux, and it requires students to use their higher-order thinking skills to read between the lines as they check for anomalies, nuances, and instances of personal bias before the message can be accepted. Additionally, strong communicators must be able to anticipate all of the potential interpretations of a message so that they can choose the most appropriate strategy for getting their message across the way that it was originally intended. And even though technology may help to ease some of these challenges, it also presents many of its own trials and tribulations as well, some of which are outlined by Erkens, Schimmer & Vagle (2019, pg. 180) as detailed below.

• E-mails can easily be misconstrued, especially if the tone is terse or discursive.
• When confronted with a disagreeable online message (e.g., in the form of a blog post or an online article), people may respond emotionally, thus effectively neutralizing the message’s intent.
• Bullying occurs over social media and text messages.
• Quotes are taken out of context and then mass-tweeted across the globe.
• Artistic expressions are shared over the Internet, often without the artist’s knowledge or consent.
• News stories are often aired without first fully investigating all of the facts.
• Digital bots have been found to be purposefully placed, resulting in the creation of fake news and swayed political outcomes.

Because of these challenges and others like it, it becomes imperative for teachers to guide their students in the art of communication so that they can successfully unravel the messages that are being sent and received. A student who possesses good communication skills should master the following (Partnership for 21st Century Learning, 2019).

• 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 a priority as well as assess their impact.
• Communicate effectively in diverse environments (including multi-lingual).

Collaboration

In 2011, the National Research Council (NRC) outlined a couple of justifications for including collaboration as a key 21st century skill. First, they argued that the demands of the new century have placed a growing emphasis on project and inquiry-based learning, both of which require students to have a solid foundation in collaboration. There have been a number of researchers who have confirmed that collaborative practices have an influential effect on student learning and knowledge retention (Fall, Webb & Chudowsky, 1997; Rojas-Drummond & Mercer, 2003; Kirschner, Paas & Kirschner, 2009; Yew & Goh, 2016). Thus, once students have an understanding of the collaborative skills needed during project and inquiry-based learning, they are more easily able to transfer these practices into their future learning, as well as into the workplace. By working collaboratively, students are able to divide the workload effectively while generating ideas from multiple sources (people). This, in turn, sparks creativity and enhances students’ social-emotional skills (e.g., self-esteem, cooperation, conflict resolution, etc.). Secondly, the NRC argued that the 21st century continues to emphasize the importance of being able to apply one’s knowledge and problem-solving skills in a social setting. Thus, when faced with the need to find creative and innovative solutions, like schools, companies continue to use collaboration to tap into their employees’ expertise and potential. The P21 Framework has identified the following outcomes a student who possesses good collaboration skills should master (Partnership for 21st Century Learning, 2019).

• Demonstrate the 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.

Creativity

A 2010 survey conducted by IBM, the multi-national technology giant, found that over 1,500 CEOs from 60 countries and 33 industries worldwide ranked creativity as the most crucial business skill in the modern world (IBM, 2010). The survey concluded that in order to successfully navigate an increasingly complex world, creativity was more important to future success than rigor, management discipline, integrity, or even vision. In the 21st century workplace, where rote tasks are automated and information can easily be found with one click of a keystroke, the students of today need to be ready to creatively problem solve and innovate if they are to be successful. Thus, it is of paramount importance for schools to teach the skills needed for creativity, both now and in the future.

Most experts agree that there are three significant features of creativity (Erkens, Schimmer & Vagle, 2019).

1. Contrary to popular opinion, creativity is not something which just “happens.” Instead, it is an inventive and imaginative process that involves rigor and strategy.
2. The process of creativity results in something which is new, fresh, or unique in response to a problem or situation that needs solving or addressing.
3. In order for a solution to be deemed creative, it must first have value and/or be useful to something or someone. In other words, even though someone might have a novel approach to a problem or situation, it cannot be labeled as “creative” unless and until some person(s) defines it as being useful. For example, Vincent Van Gogh is celebrated as one of history’s most creative artists. However, he was ostracized by his own contemporaries because his artistic style was considered too far from the norm at the time. Thus, while his style of painting was indeed novel, at the time, it was not creative.

The P21 Framework defines a student who possesses good creative skills as one who not only thinks creatively, but also works creatively with others and implements innovative solutions. A student with good creative skills can do the following (Partnership for 21st Century Learning, 2019).

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

Together, the Four Cs of 21st Century Learning – critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication – shape students into being productive and authentic learners.

From Consumers to Creators

Students must consume information in order to gain knowledge. However, creating knowledge is just as important as consuming. After all, creativity is one of the Four Cs of 21st century learning that helps shape students into productive learners. The act of creating requires students to take existing knowledge and apply it in novel ways to produce a valuable product or solution. If the role of education is to prepare students for the future, then students must be given more opportunities to create in the classroom. Fortunately, technology provides students with powerful tools to apply their learning in a way that allows them to create knowledge and share their content.

Classroom projects, before educational technology platforms existed, were limited in time, space, materials, creativity, and the type of products students could create. For example. students working in groups could only work during class time and likely had to communicate via e-mails back and forth when they were at home. But with educational technology apps and resources being invented more and more each year, students are now only limited by their imagination. The process of brainstorming, outlining, researching, scripting, storyboarding, and presenting information has not changed in the digital world. However, what has changed is the medium in which students have to create the projects. Digital content students can create include the following.

• Interactive Presentations – Student presentations are one of the more traditional ways to have students create digital content. Creating a Google Slides presentation, for example, allows students to demonstrate their learning. New technology, like Nearpod, has permitted students to take it a step further and create interactive presentations using multimedia, games, and even virtual reality images.
• Digital stories – An important component of creating content is storytelling, and there are various technology tools that encourage students to create digital stories. From ebooks and infographics to making movies, technology exists to help students show the world what they’ve learned without bulky and expensive equipment.
• Screencasts/Tutorials – One of the best ways for students to learn is to have them teach a concept to others. Screencasts allow students to do just that. Technology like Screencastify and Explain Everything makes it easy to create a screencast and teach a concept they have mastered using multiple senses.
• Websites – Remember assigning students to keep a physical portfolio showcasing their best work? Now, students can create a multi-page website to showcase their work. Text, images, videos, and physical projects can all be hosted on a website. In addition to portfolios, students can create a website to demonstrate their mastery to include various subjects and topics.
• Apps – Anyone can create an app these days, and that means your students can too. Students learning about computer science and coding can create an app to demonstrate their skills. For students or teachers with no computer science experience, there are technology platforms allowing users to create an app using a simple drag-and-drop system or by uploading a spreadsheet! As there are many apps on various topics, students can create an app to demonstrate mastery of any topic they wish.

The medium for student projects has expanded and changed, and that means who has access to the projects has also changed. Traditionally, a student’s project is only seen by the teacher, some classmates, and parents. Now in the world of social media, the range of people who can access a student’s project can literally be global. Imagine a group of students in Australia discussing a well-researched podcast created by a group of students in your classroom. The potential for students’ creations to be seen by eyes outside the classroom makes a project more authentic and can be a great motivator for students to produce their best work.

In addition to giving students options for creating content, technology also allows students to practice the Four Cs of 21st century learning. For example, communication and collaboration platforms enable students to communicate with each other at any time, and anywhere they wish. Furthermore, many platforms store files in the cloud, allowing students to work on a single file simultaneously without the need to be in the same physical space. Putting students into situations where they have to communicate and collaborate through technology as early as possible can give them the technical skills and interpersonal skills they need for the rest of their careers.

Backwards is Better

Stage One: Identify the Desired Results

Here, it is the teacher’s responsibility to determine what students should know, understand, and/or be able to do by the end of instruction. This consists of the big ideas (principles, theories, concepts, skills, points of view, or themes) which are directly stated in the state standard under investigation. According to Wiggins and McTighe (2005), the big ideas are the core concepts, principles, or theories that are selected because they contain value beyond the classroom. In this stage, the goals for the unit/lesson/investigation/project are front and center.

Stage Two: Determine Acceptable Evidence

The lessons, units, investigations, and projects that come out of this process are deliberately tailored to ensure that any collected evidence and/or assessments conform to the big ideas, which were laid out in the first stage. In addition to considering different culminating assessment tasks, teachers need to make a determination as to the acceptable range of assessment options (e.g., observations, tests, projects, portfolios, etc.). How will students be assessed to ensure their understanding? What is considered acceptable evidence in terms of student understanding?

Stage Three: Plan Learning Experiences and Instruction

Once the end results have been identified and the acceptable evidence has been determined, it is time to move into the third and final stage — planning the instructional activities to meet the desired results. Which standards pertain to the overall big idea? What is the best way to present the information? Do the experiences and instructions match the performance expectations? What knowledge and skills will students need to achieve the desired results? As teachers work through this final stage, they must determine how to initiate and maintain student engagement while always keeping in mind the desired results and acceptable evidence that is needed to prove the learning outcome(s).

It is no coincidence that the UbDTM model is called backwards design. When following “traditional” curriculum planning, the teacher first selects the content to be taught. In backwards design, the teacher begins by creating goals and assessments, and then finally creates a lesson plan. Supporters of the backwards design model liken the design to a “road map” (McTighe & Thomas, 2003). In the case of backwards design, the destination is chosen first, and then the road map is used to plan the trip. In contrast, there is no formal destination at the outset when traditional curriculum planning is used. Teaching lessons via the backwards design approach helps keep the standards coherent, focused, and integrated. By following the backwards design model, teachers directly engage students with quality, hands-on, age-appropriate, interesting, and meaningful activities. Since teachers begin the process with the end result in mind, they can more readily focus the learning experiences and activities in a more relevant and appropriate manner. Instruction is specifically designed with the needs of the students in mind. By keeping their “eyes on the prize,” teachers can more easily adapt and adjust their instruction to better meet the intended learning outcomes. The following example illustrates how the backwards design process can be used to design a middle school science lesson with a culminating project that assesses learning while also aligning with content standards. Please note that the example includes direct references to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). This is for illustrative purposes only. The backwards design process can be used with any content area and/or any state standards.

It’s Here

The digital age is here to stay, and as you can see, the sky is the limit when it comes to digital content creation. You can make your classroom a safe place for students to put their critical and creative minds to work, producing digital content that showcases their knowledge for all the world to see.

Are you curious? Want to take a deep dive on this topic?

To learn more about designing dynamic, content-focused technology projects that engage and inspire students, visit the course details page for Digital Projects that Inspire and Support Student Learning (K-12) to view the topical outline and download the syllabus.

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