Teaching the 4Cs with Technology

How do I use 21st century tools to teach 21st century skills? (ASCD Arias)

Stephanie Smith Budhai, Laura McLaughlin Taddei

• Publisher: ASCD
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN: 9781416621492
• eBook ISBN: 9781416621522
• Topic: Didattica
• Subtopic: Didattica generale

Of the 21st century skills vital for success in education and the workplace, "the 4Cs"-critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity—have been highlighted as crucial competencies. This book shows how teachers can more purposefully integrate technology into instruction to facilitate the practice and mastery of each of the 4Cs along with other learning objectives. It's packed with practical and engaging strategies that will transform the way students experience learning. Whether you want to try something new in your own classroom or discuss ideas as part of a professional learning community, you'll find lots to explore in Teaching the 4Cs with Technology: How do I use 21st century tools to teach 21st century skills?

Building 21st Century Skills Through Technology

The 4Cs—critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity—are the basic skills all students need in the 21st century (National Education Association, 2014). Additionally, technology is constantly emerging around us, and expected to be part of every student’s learning experience. This book provides practical suggestions and ideas to leverage the use of technology to guide students toward thinking critically about what they are learning, building interpersonal communication skills, working more effectively with teams, and creating and innovating new ideas, concepts, and products.

We decided to write this book because we are striving to be 21st century educators who prepare our students to live and work in a global society. We have found through trial and error how technology creates environments where students can develop critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity skills. Rosefsky Saavedra and Opfer (2012) urged:

… if we believe 21st century skills are the key to solving economic, civic, and global challenges and to engaging effectively in those spheres, then we must act upon the belief that using those skills to overhaul our education systems is possible. (p. 12)

We know the impact and transformational experience technology brings, but it is important to look at the use of technology in the classroom by asking ourselves "What do we want students to learn?", and after we have the objective, "How can technology transform the learning experience and foster the 4Cs?" Asking these questions in this way keeps the focus on learning and not on technology integration.

This book provides specific ways to meet the 4Cs through the use of technology. It is useful for teachers, teacher educators, instructional coaches, technology integration specialists, and undergraduate and graduate students. These generalized instructional best practices can be implemented in a variety of classroom settings, from preK through grade 12.

Each section includes suggestions to support best practices for each skill, examples of ways technology can be integrated, and practical tips and reflective questions to consider with teachers and administrators. The Encore section provides practical and relevant takeaways. We hope to collect stories from those who want to share their own integration of technology and how this connects to the 4Cs, so the Encore includes a link to a short survey where you can help us keep the conversation going.

We also provide specific ways to move from the substitution stage to the redefinition stage of technology integration, guided by the SAMR (Substitution-Augmentation-Modification-Redefinition) framework. The SAMR framework serves as a support for teachers and administrators as they examine their use of technology (Puentedura, 2009).

There are four stages to the SAMR framework: Substitution-Augmentation-Modification-Redefinition. During the substitution stage, technology replaces a tool to carry out the same function, but it does not change the learning environment. For example, a washing machine is a technology tool that people substitute for washing clothes by hand. The hand and washing machine serve the same function; most people substitute the washing machine for their hands to make the process more efficient. In the school setting, students use word processing programs to draft academic writing, as opposed to pencil and paper. These are both technology integration at the substitution level.

The augmentation stage occurs when technology contributes to a change in the learning environment to improve the functionality of the learning experience. Allowing students to save their documents automatically to the cloud, as opposed to manually saving them, is an example of augmentation. The functionality of saving work has changed.

The modification stage leads to the integration of technology that causes a significant change in the learning environment and allows educators to redesign learning tasks in new and meaningful ways. This is the first step of using technology to alter learning tasks and experiences. Imagine that a history assignment called for students to create a timeline of the last century, highlighting one major event each decade. Normally, students would present their work using a piece of paper and pencil by drawing the timeline and writing the events on the paper, or using a computer to type their timeline. An example of modifying this task with technology could include requiring students to create a virtual timeline using a multimedia application such as Timetoast. This task would also require them to embed a brief summary of the event in the timeline, which could be assessed by clicking the title as well as a function for peers to comment via the Internet.

The redefinition stage occurs when technology redefines learning and results in innovative teaching and learning environments that would not have been possible without the integration of technology. Learning activities at this level use multiple technology tools including the ability to work on projects and documents simultaneously with peers, collaborating with people around the world, and creating digital and tangible projects infused with technology.

Regardless of the SAMR level, the use of technology should be purposeful and enhance learning. Do not use technology because it is there. No matter how innovative technology may be, if it is not positively influencing learning goals, then it should not be used (Johnson, 2013). We mention many different tools and apps within our examples of technology integration, but the tool or app is not what determines the level of function; it is how this tool or app is used (Green, 2014). If someone chooses not to use the features of a particular app or tool, then the level of integration would remain at a basic level (Green, 2014). For this reason, many of our suggestions can be used with a variety of tools and at a variety of SAMR levels.

The resources available in this text will help teachers

• Integrate technology into a wide range of subject areas and grade levels for all types of technology set-ups.
• Identify ways students can think critically, communicate with one another, collaborate as teams, and be creative with the use of technology.
• Provide suggestions of technology ideas along the SAMR ladder beyond substitution.
• Develop a toolkit of media and virtual website resources.

Critical Thinking: Interdisciplinary Inquiry-Based Learning

The important thing is not to stop questioning.
—Albert Einstein

Critical thinking is at the crux of learning and developing 21st century skills. According to the Partnership for 21st Century Learning, while once reserved for gifted students, critical thinking and problem-solving skills are now important for all students to master (National Education Association, 2014). Critical thinking requires students to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate concepts and constructs presented in a learning unit (Bloom, 1956). This section presents ways to incorporate activities that build critical thinking skills through the use of learning technologies with an emphasis on inquiry-based learning activities.

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE, 2007) includes critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making as one of six standards for students. Students need opportunities to "plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources" (ISTE, 2007). Teachers need to find the best use of technology to help students meet these goals. Bain (n.d) provided the following advice:

Ideally, computers can help us foster the accomplishment of the highest learning objectives we have for our students: the ability to think critically and creatively, to reason, to use our disciplinary approaches to information, to learn and to want to learn independently of any formal instruction, and to work collaboratively in solving important problems.

Problem-based inquiry learning is a proven strategy to help engage students in critical thinking, "which focuses on spontaneity, collaboration, and flexible problem-solving skills" (Pi-Hsia et al., 2014, p. 316). Technology has enhanced the use of applying problem-based inquiry learning to a variety of situations and meeting the needs of diverse learners. The use of ubiquitous tools has created an environment where learning can occur outside of the classroom and continue even after the course or school day ends. When students have opportunities to think about what they are learning in a variety of contexts, this also increases their understanding. Integrating technology and asking students to demonstrate their learning through the use of technology provides alternative assessments where teachers can see how they have learned and how they are thinking about what they learned. As students become more engaged and interested in what they are learning, thinking critically will come more naturally.

Practical Tips to Meet the 21st Century Skill of Critical Thinking Using Technology

Critical thinking involves students making decisions, reasoning, and problem solving while learning. In our digital society, students have access to a plethora of information and can find out almost anything they want to know. However, building on this knowledge and expanding on what students already know requires critical thinking (MacKnight, 2000). How can teachers help students to think critically? In what ways can technology be used to foster higher-level thinking and deeper learning?

Bloom’s taxonomy can serve as a guide to teachers when planning for these higher-level thinking opportunities. To ensure their students are moving toward levels IV, V, and VI of analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating (Bloom’s Taxonomy, n.d.), teachers can intentionally create questions, assignments, and prompts that challenge students to reach each level. Teachers can also model higher-level thinking in their own responses to students by reasoning and discussing how they solve problems and how they think about their own thinking (metacognition). Explicitly telling students that you want them to think of themselves as thinkers is important. Some tools teachers currently use to encourage metacognition include pre-assessments, muddiest points, self-assessments, reflective journals, and metacognition logs (Chick, n.d.). How can technology facilitate this important 21st century skill of critical thinking? According to the Partnership for 21st Century Learning Framework, critical thinking is broken up into subskills. Our goal is to provide technology strategies for these subskills with suggestions on how to encourage our students to be critical thinkers not only when they are students, but for life.

Subskill: Reason Effectively

This subskill requires students to use various types of reasoning as appropriate to the situation. The Common Core State Standards consider students who are college and career ready to possess the ability to reason effectively (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2015). Students can demonstrate their reasoning skills by critiquing and discussing something they have read and providing evidence and sources to back up their arguments. Regarding technology, students who reason effectively can take something they have learned online and synthesize the information with something they have learned offline. When students are able to reason effectively, they also strive to understand diverse perspectives and cultures (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2015). Technology provides ways to transform or enhance instruction so students have opportunities to practice and demonstrate effective reasoning. Here are some specific strategies to use in the classroom along with the SAMR level for each strategy:

Tech strategy: Research information online (SAMR level: Augmentation). Asking students to research online provides opportunities to reason effectively because they have to decide what information to use and why. Encourage students to provide sources to support their reasoning. This evidence also supports their ability to think critically. According to the Common Core standards, as early as kindergarten, students should have opportunities to participate in shared or individual research. At this early level, the teacher may conduct research with the students about butterflies as they learn about the life cycle. As they continue on in school, these research projects can become more intense and involved. By high school, students are expected to

• "Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation" (CCSS-ELA Writing W.11-12.7).
• Choose a problem to solve. Within this assignment, they will be expected to use multiple sources, synthesize this information, and present the information to others.

Here are some other practical augmentation tech strategies to support reasoning effectively:

• Create a space online where students can view and share resources that support their ideas or views on the course topic.
• Ask open-ended and productive questions to guide the discussion on online discussion boards.
• Create a survey on Google Forms, and ask students to answer reflective questions about a classroom experience.
• Encourage the use of Google Docs so students can save work, share work, and have opportunities to take part in reviewing and providing feedback to peers.
• Provide students with digital media, videos, and notes before class to review so when they come to class, they will be more prepared to critically discuss and practice reasoning.

Tech strategy: Use teacher-created blogs (SAMR level: Modification). Blogs provide teachers with opportunities to create and write, modifying instruction and leading to a significant change in the teaching and learning environment. In fact, Richardson (2010) described the use of blogs as "a constructivist tool for learning" (p. 26). Constructivism allows learners to have hands-on experiences and opportunities to make sense of their learning. When students reason, they are also making sense of their thinking and then sharing these thoughts with others. Blogs allow the content to be shared to a larger audience through the Internet. They also provide an archive of learning among teachers and students, "facilitating all sorts of reflection and metacognitive analysis that was previously much more cumbersome" (Richardson, 2010, p. 27). Evidence of students’ abilities to reason effectively can be easily shared and stored for assessment and evaluation within this blog—providing opportunities to reflect and improve on teaching and learning.

Here are some other practical modification tech strategies to support reasoning effectively:

• Use voice-recorded technology (e.g., VoiceThread) and ask students to record their thoughts to specific instructor-created prompts, listen to their classmates’ responses, and comment on their classmates’ and teachers’ responses.
• Incorporate virtual tours and live webcams into your teaching so students can gain background knowledge and experiences in places the...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Table of Contents
• Building 21st Century Skills Through Technology
• Encore Divider
• Encore
• References
• Related Resources
• About the Author
• Copyright