The 4C’s for Educators

Course description

It is anticipated that about 50% of subject knowledge acquired during the first year of a Higher Education degree will be obsolete by the time the student graduates. In the middle of the fourth industrial revolution, with the ever-growing push of artificial intelligence, Higher Education educators have the challenge to equip students with the abilities and competencies that will help them to adapt to a changing world and the rapidly evolving job market. Students need to master creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration skills, that is the 4 C’s, to successfully navigate the new challenges that lie ahead. This course provides participants with the know-how and the confidence to incorporate the 4C’s into their teachings and work environment. In a true learning-by-doing approach, course participants will tap into their own ability to create, to think critically, to communicate effectively, and to collaborate well with others.

Learning goals:

Participants to the course will:

• Gain a clear understanding of the creative process;
• Be able to apply creative problem-solving models in real-life situations;
• Have the capacity to create guiding questions for students that can fuel ongoing inquiry;
• Be able to foster communication abilities in their students;
• Have the capacity to broaden collaborative opportunities in educational settings;
• Be able to solve the most common issues when facilitating 4C’s-related activities.

Course methodology

This course consists of a total of two 2 hour-long live, instructor-led online sessions over 2 weeks. In addition to the 4 hours of online teaching, participants will receive instructions for individual practice of the 4C’s. Participants have access to a virtual platform where they can participate in a forum and engage in reflective learning logs. Additional readings and resources are provided that can be downloaded by participants for further research and future reference.

Session details

Session 1: Creativity and critical thinking

During this session, participants learn about the concept of the 4Cs and how it can be integrated into their classes. They identify various aspects of creativity. Participants analyse problems using the Osborn-Parnes model for creative problem solving. They discuss how to apply this model in their classes and compare it with other methods of fostering creativity, with a focus on imagination, innovation, and problem-solving. They explore and define critical thinking skills. Participants learn how to make complex guiding questions to guide students along an ongoing inquiry. Participants engage in evidence-based effective techniques such as debate, fishbowls, give constructive feedback, and participate in teacher-guided Socratic seminars.

Session 2: Communication and collaboration

In the second session, participants examine what is good communication and how it can be fostered among themselves and their students. They focus on oral communication, oracy, and check examples from a high-quality communication framework for oral skills in education. Participants analyze and evaluate videos of speakers with various levels of oral skills proficiency. They evaluate the use of discussions, debates, and oral presentations in their classes and how to apply them accordingly. During the second part of this session, participants investigate the idea of collaboration in education. They engage in discussions about the nature of collaboration, and how they as educators can facilitate it to boosts learning outcomes. Participants learn about different types of collaborative activities. They explore how to efficiently form teams, how to promote and maintain a respectful and safe environment, and how to solve the most common issues of group work.

Book now

Book this course for a group of up to 14 participants. Please select the starting date of your course. For courses with several weekly sessions, follow up dates will be booked automatically. Please note: no sessions will be scheduled for the time between Christmas and New Year.