There has been a lot of talk about 21st century skills for learning which are required for

progressive
learning in modern ways. The essence of these skills includes Creativity and Innovation, Critical Thinking
and Problem Solving, Communication and Collaboration, which are often referred to as the 4Cs of
learning.

These skills help develop the qualities that the students need to possess in the 21st-century for success
in college, careers and citizenship. Today’s students are moving beyond the basics and embracing the
4Cs that are the super skills for the 21st century. The first of the 4Cs is Creativity and Innovation which
implies trying new approaches to get things done which equals innovation and invention. The second is
Critical Thinking and Problem Solving which focuses on looking at problems in new ways and linking
learning across subjects and disciplines. The third is Communication through which thoughts, questions,
ideas and solutions are shared. The last of the 4Cs is Collaboration which is a process of working
together to reach a goal by putting talent and expertise to work.

This article is first of the series of four articles about teaching the 4Cs to students, starting with
Creativity and Innovation. This part discusses about the significance of Creativity and Innovation and
how they can be taught to the students. Innovative capacity and creative spirit are increasingly
becoming the requirements for personal and professional success. Creativity expert, Sir Ken Robinson in
his famous talk about creativity has discussed its significance and asserts that creativity should be given
equal status as literacy in schools and that most schools are damaging their students’ capacity for
creative thinking. It is essential to learn by making mistakes and being wrong, for if we’re not prepared
to falter and be wrong then we can’t come up with anything original and schools should not always be
focused on being right.

Teaching creativity and innovation is not about free, open-ended and unstructured time, it is about
creating a structure that allows students to gather up as much knowledge, skills and understanding as
they can before letting them take off in their own direction. To teach students Creativity and Innovation;

The curriculum must integrate different techniques such as brainstorming, group work, etc., which
encourage creative thinking and innovation and must feature Art and other subjects where creativity is
the core element.
Student feedback must be sought in a variety of ways on a range of issues.
Students must be encouraged to assess the curriculum and provide a critique about it.