The 6 C's Squared Version of Learning Skills for the Twenty-First Century

The (6 C’s)² of Education for the 21^st Century

The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.

                                                                                                             -Alvin Toffler -

Think Critically

Thinking Critically allows the individual to manage information. Information presented in a multitude of forms from a variety of media. Information that must be filtered and analyzed, authenticated and processed, and eventually must be synthesized in a form that will be useful to the individual. 

Characterize –

Where does the information come from? What is the validity of the information? What is the usefulness of the information?

Classify -

Where does the information fit within the parameters of previous knowledge?

Compare -

What are the positive and negative aspects of the information compared to know values?

Connect –

How can this information be related to what is known and what is necessary to understand?

Communicate -

How can this information be effectively passed on to those who can utilize the material?

Curate -

How can the information be formatted in a functional format for use today and in the future?

Work Collaboratively

Working Collaboratively engages the individual in the world they share through association. Association, that is created to benefit an organization and as a means to conduct business. Association that includes partnership and teamwork, leadership and assistance, and an alliance that serves to benefit the whole.

Collegiality –

How can varying personalities be valued and utilized for optimum outcomes?

Coordination –

How can the talents included in this collaborative effort be maximized for success.

Communication –

What are the most effective means of communication to create an inclusive collaborative effort?

Coherence –

How do the members of a collaborative effort maximize strengths and overcome weaknesses in order to maximize outcomes?

Character  -

How do respect and integrity play a role in the effectiveness of a collaboration?

Celebration –

How is the success of the collaboration measured and valued?

Communicate  Clearly

Communicating Clearly provides the means by which the individual can present information. Information presented in a multitude of means through a variety of media. Information that is clear and concise, effective and engaging. Information that must eventually be presented in a way that is meaningful to the individual as well as a global audience.

Clear –

Is the information effective for the intended audiences?

Concise –

Is the information formatted in the most efficient means available?

Concrete –

Does the information have a defined purpose and meaning?

Coherent –

Does the information provide connections to previous knowledge and intended use?

Correct –

Is the information correct and are resources available to validate?

Complete –

Is the information presented in entirety or are resources available to complete connections?

Embrace Culture

Embracing Culture encourages the individual to appreciate where we have come from, who we are now and how we can move into the future.  Culture associates the individual to all that surrounds them: art, drama, dance poetry, history, science, religion, written and unwritten language, technology and the individual themselves.

Core Values –

What are the basic beliefs and understandings of this cultural community?

Community -

How does the community function as an entity and within the realm of all other communities?

Chronicle -

How is the history and beliefs of this culture passed on to new generations?

Commitment  -

How is community committed to maintaining the values and relationships of the past, present and future of the culture?

Celebrations –

How are the milestones and values of the culture celebrated within the community?

Connection –

How are the members of the community included in understanding the past while shaping the future?

Develop Creativity

Developing Creativity provides an avenue for expression.  The structure means nothing without function.  Therefore, the individual must be capable of creating something with the knowledge that they have worked so hard to obtain.  It is in creating that the individual gains purpose.

Curiosity -

How is the desire to gain understanding cultivated to expand both knowledge and possibility?

Courage –

How does the environment reduce the fear of failure in order to maximize the possibilities for innovation an change?

Conceptualize –

How is ideation encouraged to maximize the imaginative process?

Constructive –

What are the processes involved from conceptualization to completion?

Change –

How is creativity  valued as a vehicle for change?

Cultural –

How is the process related to the cultural understandings of the community?

Utilize Connectivity

Utilizing Connectivity places the individual in touch with their world.  In today’s existence that is increasingly through the technology that is rapidly changing the way they view their world.  Understanding that connections are personal no matter what the means of contact and that humanity must remain in light of how the technology may change for each individual.

Communication -

How is technology utilized as a means of clear communication?

Curation -

How is content gathered, processed and stored for now and the future?

Coordination –

How are the aspects of  technology maximized for the community?

Connectedness -

How is technology utilized as a means of connecting to the global community?

Collaboration –

How is technology employed to create avenues of collaboration in the digital world?

Citizenship –

How is the responsibility of digital citizenship shared by all members of the community?

INFOGRAPHIC - The 6 C's of Education for the 21st Century

INFOGRAPHIC 
The 6 C's of Education for the 21st Century

The 6 Cs of Education for the 21st Century | Create Infographics

Poetry in Science - The Diamante

Poetry in Science - The Diamante 

Today's students chat with Facebook friends all over the world, play online games with  groups of people located in different states, transfer money from their savings to their checking while standing in line at a food truck, and enter movie theaters by scanning a barcode on a cyber ticket they purchased while traveling on the Metro across town.  All of these activities take place through technology that was not available less than a decade ago.

Their world shrinks with the same frequency as the technology they use. The entire world has become their neighborhood. There has never been a generation that is as interconnected as this generation. 

And yet, our educational system is based upon compartmentalization.  We spend fifty to one hundred minutes with twenty-five to thirty students in a twenty by twenty room isolating subject matter to a single topic.  We are now going to study Biology.  It is now time for Geometry.  This is History period. In a completely interconnected world, why do we spend so much time and effort disconnecting the subjects we teach? 

This system of pigeon-holing the curriculum makes it excessively more difficult for the students of today to understand the links and overlaps in the curriculum they are exposed to. As a science educator I have noticed an alarming trend in the last few years, of students being resistant to the idea that what they learn in every classroom is pertinent across the curriculum  They do not always see nor do they always understand that the math they do in algebra is the same math they will use in chemistry and physics.  The grammar rules and essay patterns in English are basically the same as those used in writing a paper in biology or environmental science.  The analysis and understanding of cause and effect in history is the same as the skills necessary to understand cause and effect concepts in any science subject.

How can we discontinue this disservice to our students and discover methods to incorporate the values and lessons of all subjects across our curriculum?

Simplicity is the key.  We must find ways to consistently integrate cross curriculular activities into our classrooms.  A very simple method I have incorporated, is the use of a poetry style called a Diamante.  Students in my science classes write diamante poetry to demonstrate the interconnections and cyclical patterns of the information we teach and learn. The diamante follows a simple 1-2-3-4-3-2-1 pattern

Noun

Adjective   Adjective

Participle   Participle   Participle

Noun           Noun             Noun           Noun

Participle   Participle   Participle

Adjective   Adjective

Noun

The diamante can be about any topic and can be written for any subject.  It provides an opportunity to integrate English poetry into science or math, history or physical education.  I ask students to take two nouns that are opposites or unrelated and create a diamante.  The middle four nouns are the link between the topics.  The completed diamante can be read from top to bottom or bottom to top and should still make sense. 

Students then write their poems on two sheets of different color construction paper with the four linking nouns written on the seam.  They then tap into their artistic side and decorate the poem and share them with their classmates.

Union

Blue    Yankee

Marching  Shooting  Charging

Father    Brother     Brother     Son

Yelling    Fighting    Attacking 

Rebel     Gray

Confederate

The idea is quite simple but offers an opportunity to create discussion points about the importance of understanding the integration of not only the different academic subjects but of all people, processes and  things. 

John Muir

"When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe."