Exploring the Pedagogical Meaning and Implications of the 4Cs “Super Skills” for the 21<sup>st</sup> Century through Bruner’s 5E Lenses of Knowledge Construction to Improve Pedagogies of the New Learning Paradigm

Abstract

As economies increasingly globalize and digital technologies assume ubiquitous presence and functional utility in peoples' lives outside educational contexts, there is an increasing realization among pedagogues that education designed to equip graduates of the Digital Economy requires the teaching of new skills rather than the traditional core subjects. This realization has led to the emergence of what is called the New Learning Paradigm which postulates that students now need to be taught the skills most in demand in the 21st century. Those skills are epitomized in what The Partnership for 21st Century Skills calls the Framework for 21st Century Skills. Keys among those skills are what The Partnership characterizes as the 4Cs super skills.. What are those skills? Why are they essential for successful learning, teaching, assessment, working and living in today's Digital Economy? How do they align with the full set of 21 st century skills? What are the pedagogical implications of these 4Cs super skills? This paper answers these questions in four steps. Firstly, it articulates the 4Cs super skills. Secondly, it explains the "Rainbow" framework of the full set of essential 21 st century skills as conceptualized by The Partnership for 21 st Century Skills. Thirdly, it outlines Bruner's 5E Instructional Model and explains how it provides an excellent lens through which to approach learning, teaching, assessment and curriculum development for the 4Cs super skills in Kivunja's New Learning Paradigm.

Bridging the qualitative–quantitative divide: Experiences from conducting a mixed methods evaluation in the RUCAS programme

“…Although, the 4Cs are epitomised in what 'The Partnership for 21st Century Skills' calls the 'Framework for 21st Century Skills' with which American students need to graduate with, in addition to the traditional skills (P21, 2015), the 4Cs can be explored and applied in various contexts and learning pedagogies (Kivunja, 2015;Saxena, 2015). However, in a world of rapid change and expansion of human knowledge, along with a sustainability crisis that threatens the very existence of humankind, education must extend beyond the focus on the 4Cs to what we have conceptualised as 10Cs (Makrakis & Kostoulas-Makrakis, 2014):…”

How to Write An Effective Research Proposal For Higher Degree Research in Higher Education: Lessons From Practice

“…An example of these from Australian educational contexts is the National Assessment Program in Literacy and Numeracy usually abbreviated simply as NAPLAN, which is administered to students in years 3, 5, 7 and 9. Other areas of interest in education could be policies of the Institute of Teachers, school fees paid by students enrolled at your school, professional development opportunities available at your school, the role of the principal in creating structures and cultures at your school that affect teaching and learning (Kivunja, 2006), the role of sports in child development, teaching children in mixed or streamed classes, how digital pedagogy improves pre-service higher education (Kivunja, 2013) improve learning, teaching and assessment (Kivunja, 2015a), dealing with children with disabilities in main stream, teaching children of special abilities, how the use of the Super 4Cs of the 21 st Century improves learning in a primary classroom (Kivunja, 2015b), sex education at your school, the effect of domestic abuse on children's learning, how to make assessment attractive to students (Kivunja, 20015c), teaching strategies you can use to become the best teacher you can be (Kivunja, 2015d). The topic you identify is articulated as the title for your RP and so you should make sure it describes the content and direction of your RP using key words, which attract the attention of potential supervisors for your HDR.…”

Why Students Don’t Like Assessment and How to Change Their Perceptions in 21<sup>st</sup> Century Pedagogies

“…Assessment strategies, like instructional strategies, need to reflect the knowledge and skills demanded for productive employment in the 21 st century if they are to be meaningful to students and to serve the moral purpose of education; which according to Fullan (2001) is to help graduates become productive citizens. Those skills include the Super 4Cs skills for the 21 st century, namely critical thinking and problem solving, collaboration, creativity and innovation and communication (Kivunja, 2015b). Additionally, they include skills from what Kivunja (2014) calls "the New Learning Paradigm" (p. 84).…”