critical thinking and creative thinking in teaching learning situations

Classroom Q&A

With larry ferlazzo.

In this EdWeek blog, an experiment in knowledge-gathering, Ferlazzo will address readers’ questions on classroom management, ELL instruction, lesson planning, and other issues facing teachers. Send your questions to [email protected]. Read more from this blog.

Integrating Critical Thinking Into the Classroom

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(This is the second post in a three-part series. You can see Part One here .)

The new question-of-the-week is:

What is critical thinking and how can we integrate it into the classroom?

Part One ‘s guests were Dara Laws Savage, Patrick Brown, Meg Riordan, Ph.D., and Dr. PJ Caposey. Dara, Patrick, and Meg were also guests on my 10-minute BAM! Radio Show . You can also find a list of, and links to, previous shows here.

Today, Dr. Kulvarn Atwal, Elena Quagliarello, Dr. Donna Wilson, and Diane Dahl share their recommendations.

‘Learning Conversations’

Dr. Kulvarn Atwal is currently the executive head teacher of two large primary schools in the London borough of Redbridge. Dr. Atwal is the author of The Thinking School: Developing a Dynamic Learning Community , published by John Catt Educational. Follow him on Twitter @Thinkingschool2 :

In many classrooms I visit, students’ primary focus is on what they are expected to do and how it will be measured. It seems that we are becoming successful at producing students who are able to jump through hoops and pass tests. But are we producing children that are positive about teaching and learning and can think critically and creatively? Consider your classroom environment and the extent to which you employ strategies that develop students’ critical-thinking skills and their self-esteem as learners.

Development of self-esteem

One of the most significant factors that impacts students’ engagement and achievement in learning in your classroom is their self-esteem. In this context, self-esteem can be viewed to be the difference between how they perceive themselves as a learner (perceived self) and what they consider to be the ideal learner (ideal self). This ideal self may reflect the child that is associated or seen to be the smartest in the class. Your aim must be to raise students’ self-esteem. To do this, you have to demonstrate that effort, not ability, leads to success. Your language and interactions in the classroom, therefore, have to be aspirational—that if children persist with something, they will achieve.

Use of evaluative praise

Ensure that when you are praising students, you are making explicit links to a child’s critical thinking and/or development. This will enable them to build their understanding of what factors are supporting them in their learning. For example, often when we give feedback to students, we may simply say, “Well done” or “Good answer.” However, are the students actually aware of what they did well or what was good about their answer? Make sure you make explicit what the student has done well and where that links to prior learning. How do you value students’ critical thinking—do you praise their thinking and demonstrate how it helps them improve their learning?

Learning conversations to encourage deeper thinking

We often feel as teachers that we have to provide feedback to every students’ response, but this can limit children’s thinking. Encourage students in your class to engage in learning conversations with each other. Give as many opportunities as possible to students to build on the responses of others. Facilitate chains of dialogue by inviting students to give feedback to each other. The teacher’s role is, therefore, to facilitate this dialogue and select each individual student to give feedback to others. It may also mean that you do not always need to respond at all to a student’s answer.

Teacher modelling own thinking

We cannot expect students to develop critical-thinking skills if we aren’t modeling those thinking skills for them. Share your creativity, imagination, and thinking skills with the students and you will nurture creative, imaginative critical thinkers. Model the language you want students to learn and think about. Share what you feel about the learning activities your students are participating in as well as the thinking you are engaging in. Your own thinking and learning will add to the discussions in the classroom and encourage students to share their own thinking.

Metacognitive questioning

Consider the extent to which your questioning encourages students to think about their thinking, and therefore, learn about learning! Through asking metacognitive questions, you will enable your students to have a better understanding of the learning process, as well as their own self-reflections as learners. Example questions may include:

• Why did you choose to do it that way?
• When you find something tricky, what helps you?
• How do you know when you have really learned something?

‘Adventures of Discovery’

Elena Quagliarello is the senior editor of education for Scholastic News , a current events magazine for students in grades 3–6. She graduated from Rutgers University, where she studied English and earned her master’s degree in elementary education. She is a certified K–12 teacher and previously taught middle school English/language arts for five years:

Critical thinking blasts through the surface level of a topic. It reaches beyond the who and the what and launches students on a learning journey that ultimately unlocks a deeper level of understanding. Teaching students how to think critically helps them turn information into knowledge and knowledge into wisdom. In the classroom, critical thinking teaches students how to ask and answer the questions needed to read the world. Whether it’s a story, news article, photo, video, advertisement, or another form of media, students can use the following critical-thinking strategies to dig beyond the surface and uncover a wealth of knowledge.

A Layered Learning Approach

Begin by having students read a story, article, or analyze a piece of media. Then have them excavate and explore its various layers of meaning. First, ask students to think about the literal meaning of what they just read. For example, if students read an article about the desegregation of public schools during the 1950s, they should be able to answer questions such as: Who was involved? What happened? Where did it happen? Which details are important? This is the first layer of critical thinking: reading comprehension. Do students understand the passage at its most basic level?

Ask the Tough Questions

The next layer delves deeper and starts to uncover the author’s purpose and craft. Teach students to ask the tough questions: What information is included? What or who is left out? How does word choice influence the reader? What perspective is represented? What values or people are marginalized? These questions force students to critically analyze the choices behind the final product. In today’s age of fast-paced, easily accessible information, it is essential to teach students how to critically examine the information they consume. The goal is to equip students with the mindset to ask these questions on their own.

Strike Gold

The deepest layer of critical thinking comes from having students take a step back to think about the big picture. This level of thinking is no longer focused on the text itself but rather its real-world implications. Students explore questions such as: Why does this matter? What lesson have I learned? How can this lesson be applied to other situations? Students truly engage in critical thinking when they are able to reflect on their thinking and apply their knowledge to a new situation. This step has the power to transform knowledge into wisdom.

Adventures of Discovery

There are vast ways to spark critical thinking in the classroom. Here are a few other ideas:

• Critical Expressionism: In this expanded response to reading from a critical stance, students are encouraged to respond through forms of artistic interpretations, dramatizations, singing, sketching, designing projects, or other multimodal responses. For example, students might read an article and then create a podcast about it or read a story and then act it out.
• Transmediations: This activity requires students to take an article or story and transform it into something new. For example, they might turn a news article into a cartoon or turn a story into a poem. Alternatively, students may rewrite a story by changing some of its elements, such as the setting or time period.
• Words Into Action: In this type of activity, students are encouraged to take action and bring about change. Students might read an article about endangered orangutans and the effects of habitat loss caused by deforestation and be inspired to check the labels on products for palm oil. They might then write a letter asking companies how they make sure the palm oil they use doesn’t hurt rain forests.
• Socratic Seminars: In this student-led discussion strategy, students pose thought-provoking questions to each other about a topic. They listen closely to each other’s comments and think critically about different perspectives.
• Classroom Debates: Aside from sparking a lively conversation, classroom debates naturally embed critical-thinking skills by asking students to formulate and support their own opinions and consider and respond to opposing viewpoints.

Critical thinking has the power to launch students on unforgettable learning experiences while helping them develop new habits of thought, reflection, and inquiry. Developing these skills prepares students to examine issues of power and promote transformative change in the world around them.

‘Quote Analysis’

Dr. Donna Wilson is a psychologist and the author of 20 books, including Developing Growth Mindsets , Teaching Students to Drive Their Brains , and Five Big Ideas for Effective Teaching (2 nd Edition). She is an international speaker who has worked in Asia, the Middle East, Australia, Europe, Jamaica, and throughout the U.S. and Canada. Dr. Wilson can be reached at [email protected] ; visit her website at www.brainsmart.org .

Diane Dahl has been a teacher for 13 years, having taught grades 2-4 throughout her career. Mrs. Dahl currently teaches 3rd and 4th grade GT-ELAR/SS in Lovejoy ISD in Fairview, Texas. Follow her on Twitter at @DahlD, and visit her website at www.fortheloveofteaching.net :

A growing body of research over the past several decades indicates that teaching students how to be better thinkers is a great way to support them to be more successful at school and beyond. In the book, Teaching Students to Drive Their Brains , Dr. Wilson shares research and many motivational strategies, activities, and lesson ideas that assist students to think at higher levels. Five key strategies from the book are as follows:

• Facilitate conversation about why it is important to think critically at school and in other contexts of life. Ideally, every student will have a contribution to make to the discussion over time.
• Begin teaching thinking skills early in the school year and as a daily part of class.
• As this instruction begins, introduce students to the concept of brain plasticity and how their brilliant brains change during thinking and learning. This can be highly motivational for students who do not yet believe they are good thinkers!
• Explicitly teach students how to use the thinking skills.
• Facilitate student understanding of how the thinking skills they are learning relate to their lives at school and in other contexts.

Below are two lessons that support critical thinking, which can be defined as the objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form a judgment.

Mrs. Dahl prepares her 3rd and 4th grade classes for a year of critical thinking using quote analysis .

During Native American studies, her 4 th grade analyzes a Tuscarora quote: “Man has responsibility, not power.” Since students already know how the Native Americans’ land had been stolen, it doesn’t take much for them to make the logical leaps. Critical-thought prompts take their thinking even deeper, especially at the beginning of the year when many need scaffolding. Some prompts include:

• … from the point of view of the Native Americans?
• … from the point of view of the settlers?
• How do you think your life might change over time as a result?
• Can you relate this quote to anything else in history?

Analyzing a topic from occupational points of view is an incredibly powerful critical-thinking tool. After learning about the Mexican-American War, Mrs. Dahl’s students worked in groups to choose an occupation with which to analyze the war. The chosen occupations were: anthropologist, mathematician, historian, archaeologist, cartographer, and economist. Then each individual within each group chose a different critical-thinking skill to focus on. Finally, they worked together to decide how their occupation would view the war using each skill.

For example, here is what each student in the economist group wrote:

• When U.S.A. invaded Mexico for land and won, Mexico ended up losing income from the settlements of Jose de Escandon. The U.S.A. thought that they were gaining possible tradable land, while Mexico thought that they were losing precious land and resources.
• Whenever Texas joined the states, their GDP skyrocketed. Then they went to war and spent money on supplies. When the war was resolving, Texas sold some of their land to New Mexico for $10 million. This allowed Texas to pay off their debt to the U.S., improving their relationship.
• A detail that converged into the Mexican-American War was that Mexico and the U.S. disagreed on the Texas border. With the resulting treaty, Texas ended up gaining more land and economic resources.
• Texas gained land from Mexico since both countries disagreed on borders. Texas sold land to New Mexico, which made Texas more economically structured and allowed them to pay off their debt.

This was the first time that students had ever used the occupations technique. Mrs. Dahl was astonished at how many times the kids used these critical skills in other areas moving forward.

Thanks to Dr. Auwal, Elena, Dr. Wilson, and Diane for their contributions!

Please feel free to leave a comment with your reactions to the topic or directly to anything that has been said in this post.

Consider contributing a question to be answered in a future post. You can send one to me at [email protected] . When you send it in, let me know if I can use your real name if it’s selected or if you’d prefer remaining anonymous and have a pseudonym in mind.

You can also contact me on Twitter at @Larryferlazzo .

Education Week has published a collection of posts from this blog, along with new material, in an e-book form. It’s titled Classroom Management Q&As: Expert Strategies for Teaching .

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• Digital Technologies and ICT Digital Technologies comprises two related strands: Digital Technologies knowledge and understanding – the information system components of data, and digital systems (hardware, software and networks) Computational thinking is the thought processes involved in formulating a problem and expressing its solution(s) in such a way that a computer – human or machine – can effectively carry out. Informally, computational thinking describes the mental activity in formulating a problem to admit a computational solution.  The solution can be carried out by a human or machine. This latter point is important.  First, humans compute.  Second, people can learn computational thinking without a machine.
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• Business Services - VET The course is designed to provide students with appropriate learning opportunities that will enable them to acquire a range of technical, personal and interpersonal skills specifically related to business services but applicable to other service industries and careers. Business services focuses on sectors including, but not exclusive to management and administration; human resource management; sales marketing and advertising; and accounting and finance. 
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• Hospitality - VET The Hospitality Curriculum Framework is based on qualifications and units of competency contained in the nationally endorsed SIT Tourism, Travel and Hospitality Training Package. The AQF VET qualifications available in the Hospitality Curriculum Framework are: SIT20316 Certificate II in Hospitality SIT20416 Certificate II in Kitchen Operations SIT30816 Certificate III in Commercial Cookery – Statement of Attainment only SIT30916 Certificate III in Catering Operations – Statement of Attainment only.
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• Other - VET Electrotechnology is an informative and practical vocational education and training (VET) subject that introduces students to the exciting world of electrical and electronic systems. This subject provides students with hands-on experiences and essential skills in the field of electrotechnology, preparing them for a variety of career pathways in the electrical industry. In Electrotechnology, students explore the principles and applications of electrical and electronic systems. They learn about circuits, electrical components, wiring regulations, electrical safety, and the principles of energy conversion. Through practical activities, students develop skills in electrical installation, maintenance, troubleshooting, and repair. The study of Electrotechnology equips students with the technical knowledge and practical skills required for entry-level positions in the electrical industry. Students learn to interpret electrical diagrams, use electrical tools and equipment, and apply electrical theories to solve real-world problems. They gain an understanding of the importance of electrical safety practices and regulations, preparing them for safe and responsible work practices in the industry. Electrotechnology also emphasises the integration of technology and sustainability. Students explore renewable energy systems, energy efficiency, and the impact of electrical systems on the environment. They develop an understanding of emerging technologies and the role of electrotechnology in building a sustainable future. Electrotechnology…
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Home » Blog » Encouraging Critical Thinking in the Classroom: An Essential Guide for Australian Educators

• May 27, 2024
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Encouraging Critical Thinking in the Classroom: An Essential Guide for Australian Educators

Shashank Dubey

In today’s rapidly changing world, the ability to think critically is more important than ever. For Australian educators, fostering critical thinking in the classroom is not just a goal but a necessity. This skill empowers students to analyze information, solve complex problems, and make informed decisions. This comprehensive guide explores the importance of critical thinking, its benefits, and practical strategies to encourage it in Australian classrooms.

Understanding Critical Thinking

What is critical thinking.

Critical thinking involves analyzing, evaluating, and synthesizing information to make reasoned judgments. It goes beyond mere memorization and recall of facts, requiring students to engage deeply with content, question assumptions, and consider multiple perspectives.

Importance of Critical Thinking

In Australia, where the education system aims to prepare students for a dynamic and interconnected world, critical thinking is crucial. It enables students to navigate the vast amount of information available in the digital age, make informed decisions, and contribute meaningfully to society.

Benefits of Critical Thinking

• Enhanced Problem-Solving Skills: Critical thinking equips students with the ability to approach problems systematically and creatively.
• Improved Academic Performance: Students who think critically often perform better academically as they can understand and apply concepts more effectively.
• Better Decision-Making: Critical thinkers can weigh evidence, consider alternatives, and make decisions that are logical and well-informed.
• Greater Independence: These skills foster independence, as students become more confident in their ability to reason and make decisions on their own.
• Preparation for Future Challenges: In an increasingly complex world, the ability to think critically prepares students for challenges in higher education and their future careers.

The Australian Context

Educational frameworks.

Australia’s educational frameworks, such as the Australian Curriculum, emphasize the development of critical and creative thinking. The curriculum aims to foster these skills across all subject areas, recognizing their importance in student learning and development.

National Initiatives

Various national initiatives support the integration of critical thinking in education. Programs like the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) and the Critical and Creative Thinking Capability provide resources and guidelines to help educators embed these skills into their teaching practices.

Strategies for Encouraging Critical Thinking

Creating a supportive environment.

• Foster a Culture of Inquiry: Encourage students to ask questions and be curious. Create an environment where questioning and exploring ideas are valued.
• Promote Open-Mindedness: Teach students to consider different perspectives and respect diverse opinions. Open-mindedness is a cornerstone of critical thinking.

Teaching Methods

• Socratic Method: Use the Socratic method of questioning to stimulate critical thinking. Ask open-ended questions that require students to think deeply and justify their answers.
• Problem-Based Learning (PBL): Implement PBL, where students learn by solving real-world problems. This method encourages them to apply critical thinking to find solutions.
• Collaborative Learning: Encourage group work and discussions. Collaboration exposes students to different viewpoints and enhances their critical thinking through dialogue and debate.
• Case Studies: Use case studies to present complex scenarios that require critical analysis. This method helps students apply theoretical knowledge to practical situations.

Developing Critical Thinking Skills

• Analysis and Evaluation: Teach students to analyze arguments, identify assumptions, and evaluate evidence. Use activities like debates and critical essays to practice these skills.
• Inference and Interpretation: Encourage students to draw inferences and interpret information. Activities like reading comprehension exercises and interpreting data are effective.
• Reflection: Incorporate reflection activities where students consider their thought processes and the reasoning behind their decisions.

Integrating Technology

• Digital Tools: Utilize digital tools and platforms that promote critical thinking. Tools like online discussion forums, interactive simulations, and educational apps can enhance critical thinking skills.
• Information Literacy: Teach students to critically evaluate online information sources. This skill is crucial in the digital age where misinformation is prevalent.

Assessment and Feedback

• Formative Assessments: Use formative assessments to gauge students’ critical thinking progress. Activities like peer reviews, self-assessments, and reflective journals are useful.
• Constructive Feedback: Provide feedback that encourages further thinking and improvement. Focus on the reasoning process rather than just the final answer.

Practical Classroom Activities

Organize classroom debates on relevant topics. Debates require students to research, formulate arguments, and defend their positions, all of which enhance critical thinking.

Role-Playing

Use role-playing exercises to help students understand different perspectives. For example, in a history lesson, students could role-play historical figures and debate key events from their viewpoints.

Concept Mapping

Encourage students to create concept maps that visually represent their understanding of a topic. This helps them organize information and see connections between different concepts.

Socratic Seminars

Conduct Socratic seminars where students engage in deep discussions about a text or topic. This method encourages them to think critically and articulate their ideas clearly.

Ethical Dilemmas

Present ethical dilemmas related to the subject matter. Ask students to analyze the dilemma, consider different viewpoints, and make reasoned decisions.

Addressing Challenges

Student reluctance.

Some students may be reluctant to engage in critical thinking activities. Address this by:

• Building Confidence: Provide support and encouragement to help students build confidence in their critical thinking abilities.
• Making it Relevant: Connect activities to students’ interests and real-life situations to make them more engaging.

Time Constraints

Time constraints can make it challenging to incorporate critical thinking activities. Overcome this by:

• Integrating Activities: Integrate critical thinking into regular lessons rather than treating it as an add-on.
• Using Short Activities: Implement short, focused activities that promote critical thinking without taking up too much class time.

Assessment Pressures

The pressure to cover content for assessments can limit opportunities for critical thinking. Address this by:

• Balancing Content and Skills: Strive to balance content coverage with skill development. Critical thinking can enhance understanding of content, leading to better overall performance.
• Advocating for Change: Advocate for assessment practices that value critical thinking skills alongside content knowledge.

Case Studies: Critical Thinking in Australian Classrooms

Example 1: primary school.

A primary school teacher in Melbourne integrates critical thinking into a science unit on ecosystems. Students are given a scenario where a local ecosystem is disrupted by human activity. They must analyze the impact, propose solutions, and debate the best course of action. This activity fosters critical thinking by requiring students to apply knowledge, consider consequences, and make reasoned arguments.

Example 2: Secondary School

In a secondary school in Sydney, a history teacher uses primary source documents to teach critical thinking. Students analyze letters, diaries, and official documents from a specific historical period. They must evaluate the reliability of sources, understand different perspectives, and draw conclusions based on evidence. This approach helps students develop critical thinking skills while deepening their understanding of history.

Example 3: University

At an Australian university , a lecturer in a business course uses case studies to promote critical thinking. Students are presented with real-world business problems and must work in groups to analyze the situation, consider various solutions, and present their recommendations. This method encourages students to think critically, collaborate effectively, and apply theoretical knowledge to practical situations.

The Role of Professional Development

Ongoing training.

For educators to effectively teach critical thinking, ongoing professional development is essential. Workshops, seminars, and online courses can help teachers stay updated on best practices and new strategies for fostering critical thinking.

Collaborative Learning Communities

Establishing collaborative learning communities within schools allows teachers to share ideas, resources, and experiences related to teaching critical thinking. Peer support and collaboration can enhance teaching practices and improve student outcomes.

Reflective Practice

Encourage teachers to engage in reflective practice, where they regularly reflect on their teaching methods and student outcomes. Reflective practice helps educators identify areas for improvement and develop strategies to enhance their teaching of critical thinking skills.

Encouraging a School-Wide Culture

Leadership support.

Strong leadership support is crucial for fostering a school-wide culture of critical thinking. School leaders should prioritize critical thinking in their strategic plans, provide resources, and support professional development initiatives.

Parental Involvement

Engage parents in the process by informing them about the importance of critical thinking and how they can support their children’s development at home. Workshops, newsletters, and parent-teacher meetings can be effective ways to involve parents.

Celebrating Success

Celebrate successes in critical thinking through awards, recognition programs, and showcasing student work. Highlighting achievements reinforces the value of critical thinking and motivates students to continue developing these skills.

Shaping Future Thinkers

Encouraging critical thinking in the classroom is essential for preparing Australian students for the challenges of the future. By fostering a culture of inquiry, implementing effective teaching strategies, and addressing potential challenges, educators can develop students’ critical thinking skills. These skills are not only crucial for academic success but also for becoming informed, engaged, and thoughtful citizens. As we continue to navigate an increasingly complex world, the ability to think critically will be more valuable than ever. By prioritizing critical thinking in education, we can shape future thinkers who are ready to tackle the challenges and opportunities of tomorrow.

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Fostering Students' Creativity and Critical Thinking: What it Means in School

Creativity and critical thinking in everyday teaching and learning.

• F-10 curriculum
• General capabilities
• Critical and Creative Thinking

Critical and Creative Thinking (Version 8.4)

In the Australian Curriculum, students develop capability in critical and creative thinking as they learn to generate and evaluate knowledge, clarify concepts and ideas, seek possibilities, consider alternatives and solve problems. Critical and creative thinking involves students thinking broadly and deeply using skills, behaviours and dispositions such as reason, logic, resourcefulness, imagination and innovation in all learning areas at school and in their lives beyond school.

Thinking that is productive, purposeful and intentional is at the centre of effective learning. By applying a sequence of thinking skills, students develop an increasingly sophisticated understanding of the processes they can use whenever they encounter problems, unfamiliar information and new ideas. In addition, the progressive development of knowledge about thinking and the practice of using thinking strategies can increase students’ motivation for, and management of, their own learning. They become more confident and autonomous problem-solvers and thinkers.

Responding to the challenges of the twenty-first century – with its complex environmental, social and economic pressures – requires young people to be creative, innovative, enterprising and adaptable, with the motivation, confidence and skills to use critical and creative thinking purposefully.

This capability combines two types of thinking: critical thinking and creative thinking. Though the two are not interchangeable, they are strongly linked, bringing complementary dimensions to thinking and learning.

Critical thinking is at the core of most intellectual activity that involves students learning to recognise or develop an argument, use evidence in support of that argument, draw reasoned conclusions, and use information to solve problems. Examples of critical thinking skills are interpreting, analysing, evaluating, explaining, sequencing, reasoning, comparing, questioning, inferring, hypothesising, appraising, testing and generalising.

Creative thinking involves students learning to generate and apply new ideas in specific contexts, seeing existing situations in a new way, identifying alternative explanations, and seeing or making new links that generate a positive outcome. This includes combining parts to form something original, sifting and refining ideas to discover possibilities, constructing theories and objects, and acting on intuition. The products of creative endeavour can involve complex representations and images, investigations and performances, digital and computer-generated output, or occur as virtual reality.

Concept formation is the mental activity that helps us compare, contrast and classify ideas, objects, and events. Concept learning can be concrete or abstract and is closely allied with metacognition. What has been learnt can be applied to future examples. It underpins the organising elements.

Dispositions such as inquisitiveness, reasonableness, intellectual flexibility, open- and fair-mindedness, a readiness to try new ways of doing things and consider alternatives, and persistence promote and are enhanced by critical and creative thinking.

The key ideas for Critical and Creative Thinking are organised into four interrelated elements in the learning continuum, as shown in the figure below.

Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas

Organising elements for Critical and Creative Thinking 

The elements are not a taxonomy of thinking. Rather, each makes its own contribution to learning and needs to be explicitly and simultaneously developed.

This element involves students developing inquiry skills.

Students pose questions and identify and clarify information and ideas, and then organise and process information. They use questioning to investigate and analyse ideas and issues, make sense of and assess information and ideas, and collect, compare and evaluate information from a range of sources. In developing and acting with critical and creative thinking, students:

• pose questions
• identify and clarify information and ideas
• organise and process information.

Generating ideas, possibilities and actions

This element involves students creating ideas and actions, and considering and expanding on known actions and ideas.

Students imagine possibilities and connect ideas through considering alternatives, seeking solutions and putting ideas into action. They explore situations and generate alternatives to guide actions and experiment with and assess options and actions when seeking solutions. In developing and acting with critical and creative thinking, students:

• imagine possibilities and connect ideas
• consider alternatives
• seek solutions and put ideas into action.

Reflecting on thinking and processes

This element involves students reflecting on, adjusting and explaining their thinking and identifying the thinking behind choices, strategies and actions taken.

Students think about thinking (metacognition), reflect on actions and processes, and transfer knowledge into new contexts to create alternatives or open up possibilities. They apply knowledge gained in one context to clarify another. In developing and acting with critical and creative thinking, students:

• think about thinking (metacognition)
• reflect on processes
• transfer knowledge into new contexts.

Analysing, synthesising and evaluating reasoning and procedures

This element involves students analysing, synthesising and evaluating the reasoning and procedures used to find solutions, evaluate and justify results or inform courses of action.

Students identify, consider and assess the logic and reasoning behind choices. They differentiate components of decisions made and actions taken and assess ideas, methods and outcomes against criteria. In developing and acting with critical and creative thinking, students:

• apply logic and reasoning
• draw conclusions and design a course of action
• evaluate procedures and outcomes.

Critical and Creative Thinking in the learning areas

The imparting of knowledge (content) and the development of thinking skills are accepted today as primary purposes of education. The explicit teaching and embedding of critical and creative thinking throughout the learning areas encourages students to engage in higher order thinking. By using logic and imagination, and by reflecting on how they best tackle issues, tasks and challenges, students are increasingly able to select from a range of thinking strategies and use them selectively and spontaneously in an increasing range of learning contexts.

Activities that foster critical and creative thinking should include both independent and collaborative tasks, and entail some sort of transition or tension between ways of thinking. They should be challenging and engaging, and contain approaches that are within the ability range of the learners, but also challenge them to think logically, reason, be open-minded, seek alternatives, tolerate ambiguity, inquire into possibilities, be innovative risk-takers and use their imagination.

Critical and creative thinking can be encouraged simultaneously through activities that integrate reason, logic, imagination and innovation; for example, focusing on a topic in a logical, analytical way for some time, sorting out conflicting claims, weighing evidence, thinking through possible solutions, and then, following reflection and perhaps a burst of creative energy, coming up with innovative and considered responses. Critical and creative thinking are communicative processes that develop flexibility and precision. Communication is integral to each of the thinking processes. By sharing thinking, visualisation and innovation, and by giving and receiving effective feedback, students learn to value the diversity of learning and communication styles.

The learning area or subject with the highest proportion of content descriptions tagged with Critical and Creative Thinking is placed first in the list.

F-6/7 Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS)

In the F–6/7 Australian Curriculum: Humanities and Social Sciences, students develop critical and creative thinking capability as they learn how to build discipline-specific knowledge about history, geography, civics and citizenship, and economics and business. Students learn and practise critical and creative thinking as they pose questions, research, analyse, evaluate and communicate information, concepts and ideas.

Students identify, explore and determine questions to clarify social issues and events, and apply reasoning, interpretation and analytical skills to data and information. Critical thinking is essential to the historical inquiry process because it requires the ability to question sources, interpret the past from incomplete documentation, assess reliability when selecting information from resources, and develop an argument using evidence. Students develop critical thinking through geographical investigations that help them think logically when evaluating and using evidence, testing explanations, analysing arguments and making decisions, and when thinking deeply about questions that do not have straightforward answers. Students learn to critically evaluate texts about people, places, events, processes and issues, including consumer and financial, for shades of meaning, feeling and opinion, by identifying subjective language, bias, fact and opinion, and how language and images can be used to manipulate meaning. They develop civic knowledge by considering multiple perspectives and alternatives, and reflecting on actions, values and attitudes, thus informing their decision-making and the strategies they choose to negotiate and resolve differences.

Students develop creative thinking through the examination of social, political, legal, civic, environmental and economic issues, past and present, that that are contested, do not have obvious or straightforward answers, and that require problem-solving and innovative solutions. Creative thinking is important in developing creative questions, speculation and interpretations during inquiry. Students are encouraged to be curious and imaginative in investigations and fieldwork, and to explore relevant imaginative texts.

Critical and creative thinking is essential for imagining probable, possible and preferred futures in relation to social, environmental, economic and civic sustainability and issues. Students think creatively about appropriate courses of action and develop plans for personal and collective action. They develop enterprising behaviours and capabilities to imagine possibilities, consider alternatives, test hypotheses, and seek and create innovative solutions, and think creatively about the impact of issues on their own lives and the lives of others.

7-10 History

In the Australian Curriculum: History, critical thinking is essential to the historical inquiry process because it requires the ability to question sources, interpret the past from incomplete documentation, develop an argument using evidence, and assess reliability when selecting information from resources. Creative thinking is important in developing new interpretations to explain aspects of the past that are contested or not well understood.

7-10 Geography

In the Australian Curriculum: Geography, students develop critical and creative thinking as they investigate geographical information, concepts and ideas through inquiry-based learning. They develop and practise critical and creative thinking by using strategies that help them think logically when evaluating and using evidence, testing explanations, analysing arguments and making decisions, and when thinking deeply about questions that do not have straightforward answers. Students learn the value and process of developing creative questions and the importance of speculation. Students are encouraged to be curious and imaginative in investigations and fieldwork. The geography curriculum also stimulates students to think creatively about the ways that the places and spaces they use might be better designed, and about possible, probable and preferable futures.

7-10 Civics and Citizenship

In the Australian Curriculum: Civics and Citizenship, students develop critical thinking skills in their investigation of Australia’s democratic system of government. They learn to apply decision-making processes and use strategies to negotiate and resolve differences. Students develop critical and creative thinking through the examination of political, legal and social issues that do not have obvious or straightforward answers and that require problem-solving and innovative solutions. Students consider multiple perspectives and alternatives, think creatively about appropriate courses of action and develop plans for action. The Australian Curriculum: Civics and Citizenship stimulates students to think creatively about the impact of civic issues on their own lives and the lives of others, and to consider how these issues might be addressed.

7-10 Economics and Business

In the Australian Curriculum: Economics and Business, students develop their critical and creative thinking as they identify, explore and determine questions to clarify economics and business issues and/or events and apply reasoning, interpretation and analytical skills to data and/or information. They develop enterprising behaviours and capabilities to imagine possibilities, consider alternatives, test hypotheses, and seek and create innovative solutions to economics and business issues and/or events.

In the Australian Curriculum: The Arts, critical and creative thinking is integral to making and responding to artworks. In creating artworks, students draw on their curiosity, imagination and thinking skills to pose questions and explore ideas, spaces, materials and technologies. They consider possibilities and make choices that assist them to take risks and express their ideas, concepts, thoughts and feelings creatively. They consider and analyse the motivations, intentions and possible influencing factors and biases that may be evident in artworks they make to which they respond. They offer and receive effective feedback about past and present artworks and performances, and communicate and share their thinking, visualisation and innovations to a variety of audiences.

Technologies 

In the Australian Curriculum: Technologies, students develop capability in critical and creative thinking as they imagine, generate, develop and critically evaluate ideas. They develop reasoning and the capacity for abstraction through challenging problems that do not have straightforward solutions. Students analyse problems, refine concepts and reflect on the decision-making process by engaging in systems, design and computational thinking. They identify, explore and clarify technologies information and use that knowledge in a range of situations.

Students think critically and creatively about possible, probable and preferred futures. They consider how data, information, systems, materials, tools and equipment (past and present) impact on our lives, and how these elements might be better designed and managed. Experimenting, drawing, modelling, designing and working with digital tools, equipment and software helps students to build their visual and spatial thinking and to create solutions, products, services and environments.

Health and Physical Education 

In the Australian Curriculum: Health and Physical Education (HPE), students develop their ability to think logically, critically and creatively in response to a range of health and physical education issues, ideas and challenges. They learn how to critically evaluate evidence related to the learning area and the broad range of associated media and other messages to creatively generate and explore original alternatives and possibilities. In the HPE curriculum, students’ critical and creative thinking skills are developed through learning experiences that encourage them to pose questions and seek solutions to health issues by exploring and designing appropriate strategies to promote and advocate personal, social and community health and wellbeing. Students also use critical thinking to examine their own beliefs and challenge societal factors that negatively influence their own and others’ identity, health and wellbeing.

The Australian Curriculum: Health and Physical Education also provides learning opportunities that support creative thinking through dance making, games creation and technique refinement. Students develop understanding of the processes associated with creating movement and reflect on their body’s responses and their feelings about these movement experiences. Including a critical inquiry approach is one of the five propositions that have shaped the HPE curriculum.

Critical and creative thinking are essential to developing analytical and evaluative skills and understandings in the Australian Curriculum: English. Students use critical and creative thinking through listening to, reading, viewing, creating and presenting texts, interacting with others, and when they recreate and experiment with literature, and discuss the aesthetic or social value of texts. Through close analysis of text and through reading, viewing and listening, students critically analyse the opinions, points of view and unstated assumptions embedded in texts. In discussion, students develop critical thinking as they share personal responses and express preferences for specific texts, state and justify their points of view and respond to the views of others.

In creating their own written, visual and multimodal texts, students also explore the influence or impact of subjective language, feeling and opinion on the interpretation of text. Students also use and develop their creative thinking capability when they consider the innovations made by authors, imagine possibilities, plan, explore and create ideas for imaginative texts based on real or imagined events. Students explore the creative possibilities of the English language to represent novel ideas.

Learning in the Australian Curriculum: Languages enables students to interact with people and ideas from diverse backgrounds and perspectives, which enhances critical thinking and reflection, and encourages creative, divergent and imaginative thinking. By learning to notice, connect, compare and analyse aspects of the target language, students develop critical, analytical and problem-solving skills.

Mathematics

In the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics, students develop critical and creative thinking as they learn to generate and evaluate knowledge, ideas and possibilities, and use them when seeking solutions. Engaging students in reasoning and thinking about solutions to problems and the strategies needed to find these solutions are core parts of the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics.

Students are encouraged to be critical thinkers when justifying their choice of a calculation strategy or identifying relevant questions during a statistical investigation. They are encouraged to look for alternative ways to approach mathematical problems; for example, identifying when a problem is similar to a previous one, drawing diagrams or simplifying a problem to control some variables.

In the Australian Curriculum: Science, students develop capability in critical and creative thinking as they learn to generate and evaluate knowledge, ideas and possibilities, and use them when seeking new pathways or solutions. In the science learning area, critical and creative thinking are embedded in the skills of posing questions, making predictions, speculating, solving problems through investigation, making evidence-based decisions, and analysing and evaluating evidence. Students develop understandings of concepts through active inquiry that involves planning and selecting appropriate information, evaluating sources of information to formulate conclusions and to critically reflect on their own and the collective process.

Creative thinking enables the development of ideas that are new to the individual, and this is intrinsic to the development of scientific understanding. Scientific inquiry promotes critical and creative thinking by encouraging flexibility and open-mindedness as students speculate about their observations of the world and the ability to use and design new processes to achieve this. Students’ conceptual understanding becomes more sophisticated as they actively acquire an increasingly scientific view of their world and the ability to examine it from new perspectives.

Work Studies

In the Australian Curriculum: Work Studies, Years 9–10, students develop an ability to think logically, critically and creatively in relation to concepts of work and workplaces contexts. These capabilities are developed through an emphasis on critical thinking processes that encourage students to question assumptions and empower them to create their own understanding of work and personal and workplace learning.

Students’ creative thinking skills are developed and practised through learning opportunities that encourage innovative, entrepreneurial and project-based activities, supporting creative responses to workplace, professional and industrial problems. Students also learn to respond to strategic and problem-based challenges using creative thinking. For example, a student could evaluate possible job scenarios based on local labour market data and personal capabilities.

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Fostering Students' Creativity and Critical Thinking

Creativity and critical thinking in everyday teaching and learning, what it means in school.

Creativity and critical thinking are key skills for complex, globalised and increasingly digitalised economies and societies. While teachers and education policy makers consider creativity and critical thinking as important learning goals, it is still unclear to many what it means to develop these skills in a school setting. To make it more visible and tangible to practitioners, the OECD worked with networks of schools and teachers in 11 countries to develop and trial a set of pedagogical resources that exemplify what it means to teach, learn and make progress in creativity and critical thinking in primary and secondary education. Through a portfolio of rubrics and examples of lesson plans, teachers in the field gave feedback, implemented the proposed teaching strategies and documented their work. Instruments to monitor the effectiveness of the intervention in a validation study were also developed and tested, supplementing the insights on the effects of the intervention in the field provided by the team co-ordinators.

What are the key elements of creativity and critical thinking? What pedagogical strategies and approaches can teachers adopt to foster them? How can school leaders support teachers' professional learning? To what extent did teachers participating in the project change their teaching methods? How can we know whether it works and for whom? These are some of the questions addressed in this book, which reports on the outputs and lessons of this international project.

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This chapter presents a framework to support teachers in the design of classroom activities that nurture students’ creativity and critical thinking skills as part of the curriculum. Developed collaboratively by participants in the OECD-CERI project, the framework is composed of a portfolio of domain-general and domain-specific rubrics and a set of design criteria to guide teachers in the development of lesson plans that create opportunities for students to demonstrate their creativity and critical thinking while delivering subject content. Teachers across teams in 11 countries worked to adapt their usual teaching practice to this framework and to develop lesson plans in multiple subject areas. The chapter presents a selection of exemplar lesson plans across subject areas and concludes with some key insights.

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Cite this content as:

Author(s) Stéphan Vincent-Lancrin i , Carlos González-Sancho i , Mathias Bouckaert i , Federico de Luca i , Meritxell Fernández-Barrerra i , Gwénaël Jacotin i , Joaquin Urgel i  and Quentin Vidal i i OECD

12 Nov 2019

Pages: 127 - 164

The Peak Performance Center

The pursuit of performance excellence, critical thinking vs. creative thinking.

Creative thinking is a way of looking at problems or situations from a fresh perspective to conceive of something new or original.

Critical thinking is the logical, sequential disciplined process of rationalizing, analyzing, evaluating, and interpreting information to make informed judgments and/or decisions.

Critical Thinking vs. Creative Thinking – Key Differences

• Creative thinking tries to create something new, while critical thinking seeks to assess worth or validity of something that already exists.
• Creative thinking is generative, while critical thinking is analytical.
• Creative thinking is divergent, while critical thinking is convergent.
• Creative thinking is focused on possibilities, while critical thinking is focused on probability.
• Creative thinking is accomplished by disregarding accepted principles, while critical thinking is accomplished by applying accepted principles.

About Creative Thinking

Creative thinking is a process utilized to generate lists of new, varied and unique ideas or possibilities. Creative thinking brings a fresh perspective and sometimes unconventional solution to solve a problem or address a challenge.  When you are thinking creatively, you are focused on exploring ideas, generating possibilities, and/or developing various theories.

Creative thinking can be performed both by an unstructured process such as brainstorming, or by a structured process such as lateral thinking.

Brainstorming is the process for generating unique ideas and solutions through spontaneous and freewheeling group discussion. Participants are encouraged to think aloud and suggest as many ideas as they can, no matter how outlandish it may seem.

Lateral thinking uses a systematic process that leads to logical conclusions. However, it involves changing a standard thinking sequence and arriving at a solution from completely different angles.

No matter what process you chose, the ultimate goal is to generate ideas that are unique, useful and worthy of further elaboration. Often times, critical thinking is performed after creative thinking has generated various possibilities. Critical thinking is used to vet those ideas to determine if they are practical.

Creative Thinking Skills

• Open-mindedness
• Flexibility
• Imagination
• Adaptability
• Risk-taking
• Originality
• Elaboration
• Brainstorming

About Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is the process of actively analyzing, interpreting, synthesizing, evaluating information gathered from observation, experience, or communication. It is thinking in a clear, logical, reasoned, and reflective manner to make informed judgments and/or decisions.

Critical thinking involves the ability to:

• remain objective

In general, critical thinking is used to make logical well-formed decisions after analyzing and evaluating information and/or an array of ideas.

On a daily basis, it can be used for a variety of reasons including:

• to form an argument
• to articulate and justify a position or point of view
• to reduce possibilities to convergent toward a single answer
• to vet creative ideas to determine if they are practical
• to judge an assumption
• to solve a problem
• to reach a conclusion

Critical Thinking Skills

• Interpreting
• Integrating
• Contrasting
• Classifying
• Forecasting
• Hypothesizing

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Home > Books > Teacher Education - New Perspectives

Development of Creative Thinking Skills in the Teaching-Learning Process

Submitted: 08 October 2020 Reviewed: 19 April 2021 Published: 12 May 2021

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.97780

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Creativity is one of the most appreciated learning skills current the XXI century. The development of creativity has been considered essential in order to achieve an effective and a high-level learning. As different approaches to its study, creativity has been defined as a result, as a process, as a construct derived from the influence of the context and of the experience and as a personality feature of human nature. The aim of this contribution is to explain the study of creativity from the mentioned approaches to achieve a comprehension of such construct. In addition, the focus has been centred on highlight the development of creativity from an educational approach, starting from the description, implication of the use and application of creative strategies in the teaching and learning processes. Finally, a brief description is made of the most important or relevant strategies found in the literature, with emphasis on the incorporation of these strategies in the problem-solving process.

• divergent thinking
• thinking skills
• teaching-learning process
• creative strategies

Author Information

Natalia larraz-rábanos *.

• Education Faculty, Zaragoza University, Zaragoza, Spain

*Address all correspondence to: [email protected]

1. Introduction

Creativity is one of the most appreciated learning skills current the XXI century [ 1 ]. Creativity is conceived as a higher-order thinking skill based on complex and postformal thought concerned with the creation of new and valuable ideas [ 2 , 3 ]. Higher-order thinking skills are those involved in proficient and strategic thought, and these skills comprise critical, creative and metacognitive thinking, also known as deep learning [ 4 ]. In addition, the development of creativity is today considered essential in order to achieve an effective and a high-level learning.

Despite the observed need for the development of creativity in the curriculum, there is a general tendency to reproduce teaching and learning models and a constraint on teacher’s search for procedures to teach creativity, which involves little creativity development in students, with a predominance of reproductive learning [ 5 ].

Creativity is inherent in human development and his personality. It begins to be developed from the first years of school and continues into higher education and increases through the number of experiences that the individual has, and to the extent that the activity of teachers could promote it [ 5 , 6 ].

Therefore, creativity has been an essential competence for the curriculum design and development. In order to answer this deal, the concept and the psychological construct of creativity has been defined and later, its psychological process involved has been treated to implement teaching and learning strategies oriented to such ends.

2. Concept and relevant aspects of the construct of creativity

There is a consensus among scholars that creativity is not just another skill, but rather a complex process of human subjectivity that is based on a set of psychological resources that are specifically configured and regulate human behavior [ 7 ]. Contemporary researchers have expanded the concept of creativity by recognizing that creative action is a dynamic and inconclusive process and is even co-constitute with the broader social context [ 8 ].

Considering the different approaches to their study assumed by Rodhes [ 9 ], creativity has been defined as a result, as a process, as a construct derived from the influence of the context and as a personality feature of human nature.

There is not a consensus about the definition of creativity, but it has been generally accepted as the ability to do creative products. A creative product is defined as something new, original and appropriate or valued in a particular context [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ].

Most authors advocate understanding creativity not only from the results or the products generated, but also from the process from which it is reached. In this sense, Gardner's definition can be assumed for this purpose. For Gardner, a creative person is a person who solves problems regularly, develops new products and defines issues in a field that initially is novel but ultimately becomes accepted in a particular cultural context [ 12 ]. This definition includes the four approaches to the study of creativity: personality (creative person), the process (problem solving), the context (cultural context) and finally, the product (new products).

3. Approaches to the study of creativity

3.1 creativity as a product.

Regarding the definition of creativity as a result of human activity, many authors consider creativity as the ability to do creative products, hence a creative person is one that produces creative products regularly.

A creative product is defined as something new, original and appropriate or valued in a particular context [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ]. These characteristics have also been summarized in two fundamental aspects of creative products, which are novelty and quality, which also must involve originality and adequacy respectively [ 14 ].

What is something new?

Is something different to the previously existing things. There is nothing totally new because something new comes from something that previously exists. Therefore, novelty will depend on the frame of reference to which it is compared. For this reason, there are degrees of novelty. It has been considered these two types of creativity besides that [ 15 , 16 , 17 ]:

P-Creativity: is new with respect to oneself (personal creativity). It is also called Little- c creativity.

H-Creativity: is new with respect to History (social creativity). It is also called Big- C creativity

Mini-c: individual/personal and everyday creativity is used to define a type of creativity involved in performances, actions or new events of daily life with personal meaning [ 19 ]. This type of category also refers to a mental or emotional internal state of creativity [ 20 ] and helps to differentiate the subjective to the objective creativity and the Mini-c from the Little-c. Hence, it is also used to distinguish between subjective and objective forms of personal creativity.

Little-c: individual creativity that is grown as a hobby. It is associated with the innovative contributions clearly useful but not exceptional.

Pro-C: not eminent social creativity is given in a creative profession. This kind of creativity comes from people who are creative at their work and helps to distinguish between the area of the Big-C creativity and the area of the Little-c creativity, or between the social and personal creativity.

Big-C: eminent creativity or exceptional creativity. Is used to indicate a type of eminent and exceptional creativity that stands out in a field or domain of knowledge and is socially recognized.

Grades of creativity.

This model proposes that a person could be gradually creative, in a personal level (Little –c and Mini-c) fostering creativity in everyday life. Thus, increase the possibilities to be creative on a social level (Pro-C and Big-C) to become exceptionally creative.

What is something original?

Originality implies that a product is different from other, highly unusual or statistically rare. Furthermore, for most authors, a product may be original to varying degrees (personal, social and universal).

What is appropriate or valued in a particular context?

The suitability of a product means that it is valued and/or appropriate in a particular context. To this end, a proper creative product must meet certain criteria or quality standards, providing true value or usefulness to society, culture or context in which it occurs.

As it was indicated in this section, a creative product can be creative to varying degrees (personal-social) and must meet certain levels of innovation and quality. Creative thinking skills development implies that novelty has to involve a certain level of originality, and quality must involve a certain level of adequacy in a particular social context [ 14 ].

3.2 Creativity as a process

Many authors have explained creativity as a process clearly differentiated from others cognitive process. Guilford [ 21 ] was one of the first authors to propose creative thinking as a cognitive process involved in the structure of intelligence. Today, his theoretical model remains a referent for explaining and predicting a person's creative potential and creative performance. His model of the Structure of Intellect (SOI) defined creativity as a result of a cognitive operation called divergent production, which is related to creative solutions of problems characterised by moving in many directions, in contrast to convergent thinking, characterised by moving in one direction to search for a correct answer (see Figure 2 ).

Guilford’s Model Structure of Intellect (SOI).

Fluency: the production of a large number of ideas. There are three types of fluency: (1) Ideational fluency: quantitative production of ideas in a given class, (2) Associational fluency: building relationships, (3) Fluency of expression: easy to build sentences.

Flexibility: the ability to produce changes in thinking- a change of some kind, of meaning,-a change of meaning, interpretation or use of something, a change in the way of understanding a task or strategy intended to do it, or a change in the direction of thought, which may involve a new interpretation of the problem.

Originality: the production of unusual and intelligent responses collected from premises distant or remote. In order to evaluate this component, the principle of statistical infrequency of an idea within the set of members of a given population has been proposed.

Elaboration: the ability to produce the highest number of steps or details to execute a plan. It is related to the ability to make implications when planning skills are being applied.

Other authors are relevant in addressing and highlighting creativity as a specific thinking process, such as Torrance, Maslow and De Bono, among others. Torrance [ 24 ] describes creativity as the hypothesis development and validation process. Defines creativity as sensitivity to problems, deficiencies and gaps in information, the absence of certain elements, etc., which leads to formulate conjectures and hypothesis about their solution, evaluate, test and modify these assumptions to communicate the findings. Maslow [ 25 ] distinguished between two types of creative thinking and describes two types of creativity, primary and secondary. The creative process is largely composed of the primary creativity, which is related to creative inspiration, and secondary creativity prepares and develops primary creativity and expresses the "finished product". Finally, De Bono [ 26 ] defined creativity as lateral thinking. Lateral thinking involves the generation of ideas, is not sequential, unpredictable and not limited by convention. Lateral thinking is the opposite of vertical thinking defined as sequential, linear, predictable and conventional. Both processes are necessary and complementary.

Hence, there are empirical evidences about two kinds of thinking, creative and critical thinking, that shows a cerebral correlate with both sides of our brain. It has been observed that both styles of thinking imply two different mental operations and processes such as: visual-verbal, parallel- vertical, unconscious-conscious, divergent-convergent, etc. Creativity is located in the right brain hemisphere and in the frontal lobe, as well as having a neurological basis of a stronger hemispheric connection, as a result of an optimal interaction between the two hemispheres. In addition, a high creative thinking ability consisting of frontal and parietal regions within default, salience, and executive brain system [ 27 , 28 ].

A constant throughout the history of creativity has been to recognise the creative process as the semblance of problem solving [ 29 ]. This will be discussed in the last section of this chapter.

3.3 Creativity as an attribute of personality

High intrinsic motivation to solve problems, rather intrinsic than extrinsic.

Security and confidence, not worry about the opinion others have of them.

Qualities for social success; they are balanced, spontaneous and confident in their social relations, while they are not particularly sociable temperament and cooperative.

Not deliberately conformist though. They are truly independent.

Prefer the aesthetic and theoretical values. They are searching for truth and beauty.

Preference for intuitive perception resulting from flexibility, spontaneity and openness of mind to experience.

Inclination towards the complex and asymmetrical.

Two thirds of the study participants were introverts but there is no evidence that introverts are more creative than extroverts.

According to mental health, creative individuals scored above average in the general population in certain psychological traits, but they had enough strength and mental control that allowed them to express themselves in a productive and in a creative way.

The flow of ideas and flexibility of thought.

Not conventional thinking. Thoughts and associated ideas in unusual ways and use of unconventional strategies to solve problems.

Independence and autonomy. High degree of autonomy, independence and confidence. They do not need to be seen or relied on.

Self-discipline, self-control and perseverance. They are responsible for their own actions and have a high degree of strength and persistence to successfully finish a started project.

High achievement motivation. They usually do not feel satisfied with their ideas or projects because they think they can improve them.

Tolerance for ambiguity. They are more capable than most people to carry out the work in the absence of specific requirements.

Preference for complex tasks and information.

Strong sense of humor.

A recent meta-study highlights these same personal characteristics, emphasising awareness, flexibility of thought, abundance of ideas and their ease and the originality of ideas as the fundamental pillars of creative personality and the core of the main studies analysed [ 34 ]. In addition, creative persons must also find four essential factors for creativity potential: affect, cognition, willingness and empathy [ 29 ].

3.4 The context in creativity

The importance of the cultural value or the context in creativity has been highlighted by different authors. The influence of the social environment for creativity development, is essential; this is what makes it possible to provide innovative solutions to the problems i.e., what surrounds the student and contributes to the development of his personality [ 5 ].

In this sense, Glăveanu [ 35 ] has presented an overview of how expanded conceptions of creativity including the context dimension can help move the field from a He paradigm (limited to a few select creators) to an I paradigm (focuses on individuals, but acknowledges that all people are capable of being creative) and toward a We paradigm (sociocultural an expansive focus). The We-paradigm starts from the idea that creativity takes place within, is constituted and influenced by the social context [ 8 ]. These more expansive views about creativity are illustrated in a recent publication of a group of active creativity scholars that outlines the key assumptions of a socio-cultural conception of creativity [ 36 ].

Csikszentmihalyi [ 17 ] defined creativity as any act, idea or product that changes an existing domain or a transformation of an existing domain into a new one, and argues that creativity is to bring something truly new that is valued enough to be added to the culture. Gardiner emphasises interdisciplinarity and collaboration for greater creativity and epistemic control of knowledge [ 37 ].

Domain-relevant skills. It depends on the cognitive, perceptual and motor innate skills and formal and informal education of the person in a particular domain. It includes the knowledge in a domain, the technical skills and the special skills in that domain.

Creativity-related processes. It depends on the experience in the generation of new ideas and personality. It includes the cognitive style, the use of heuristics to generate new ideas, and the style of work.

Intrinsic task motivation. It depends on the initial level of intrinsic motivation toward the task, on the presence or absence of social inhibitors and on the individual abilities to minimize cognitively external inhibitors. It includes attitudes toward the task and the perception of one's motivation to undertake it.

Componential Model of creativity of Amabile (1983).

A key issue in developing creativity context-related is motivation. To develop creativity, it should be a higher intrinsic motivation than an extrinsic one. Amabile [ 10 ] attaches great importance to the influence of social factors on creativity, so that intrinsic motivation, internal evaluation in accordance with technical criteria and the absence of external rewards are crucial factors for its development. Intrinsic motivation is particularly relevant in the early stages of the idea generation or in the early stages of creativity and extrinsic motivation is particularly relevant in the developmental phase of these initial ideas, when the product needs to be developed in detail. In turn, it has been shown that extrinsic motivation can encourage the creativity as long as it does not exceed the intrinsic motivation one, and both kinds of motivation should be combined in a synergistic, additive and complementary way. In other words, “extrinsic incentives and task motivation must combine in a synergistic, additive, or complementary fashion” (p. 352) [ 38 ].

According to investment theory [ 39 ] and creative self-efficacy [ 40 ], success expectations are on the basis of which students are inclined to engage in creative behavior. That is, as teachers we need to encourage positive expectations of the use of creativity, in which behavior is proven a more effective performance in a creative way compared to a non-creative.

4. Teaching methodology for creative thinking skills development

According to De la Torre [ 41 ], creative teaching is characterized by being active, motivating, dynamic and involving. For this author creative learning refers to knowledge built with the active involvement of the subject, from its planning to its internalisation, characterised by intrinsic motivation, being learner-centred, openness of the process and self-evaluation.

The development of creative thinking skills is essential for turning creative potential into creative performance. That is, if creative skills are deliberately, consciously and voluntarily fostered, each individual will be able to convert his or her creative potential into creative behavior [ 2 , 6 , 42 ].

In this respect, the development of creative skills must be personal and voluntary, but it must also be stimulated by the educational context. From a didactic point of view, creativity is a concept that should be addressed curricularly in the objectives, as formative content, as a strategy, in learning activities and in assessment. If not, it is reduced to a mere aspiration for a good social reception [ 43 ].

In general, it can be stated that the recommendations from research, derived from the implemented programmes and strategies for the development of creativity are based on applying divergent thinking processes (fluency, flexibility, originality and elaboration, transformation, sensitivity and symbolic play) and convergent thinking processes (analysis, synthesis and evaluation of ideas) involved in the creation of products in the problem-solving process to achieve the optimal development of creativity [ 2 ]. An important finding of a meta-analysis was that more successful training programmes were more likely concerned with directed and structured exercises aiming at developing specific, task-relevant cognitive skills operating on available knowledge, involving idea production and cognitive training in problem solving strategies [ 6 , 42 ].

There is a considerable evidence revealing beneficial effects on different facets of creative potential. Studies on creativity in education field show an effective and real development of creativity if relevant efforts are made in this direction in all levels of education from pre-school to higher education [ 3 , 8 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 ]. In addition, evidence has been found to suggest the importance of the role of the educator as a basis for the development of creativity and an opportunity to guide the child's early development of creativity [ 49 ]. A recent meta-study, highlights the importance and the need to explain and explore the teaching-learning processes involved in the development of creativity, identifying the techniques and procedures used [ 8 ].

Therefore, there is an insistence on the need to promote educational measures and processes that involve teachers in the development of their students' creative thinking, based on teaching methods that allow them to generate knowledge and respond to social, scientific and technological problems [ 50 , 51 ]. In this regard, a systematic review of 210 studies on education and educational policy suggests that teachers' skills, attitudes, willingness to act as role models, awareness of students' needs, flexible lesson structuring and certain types of classroom interaction are central to the teaching of creativity, and highlights the importance of educational culture in supporting creativity, where it is necessary to generate conceptions of creativity and for teachers to develop their own creativity, working constructively with a mentor, as well as the importance of action research and reflection on one's own educational praxis [ 52 ].

At this point, it is stressed the importance of applying the creative thinking process in problem solving, as it would be the ideal strategy in order to develop creativity, as creativity and problem-solving have many similarities [ 2 , 53 ]. Thus, is applying creative strategies in those processes that require a divergent, productive or idea-generating thinking style and analytical and evaluative strategies in those phases of the process that require a more conventional thinking or a convergent thinking style, aimed at finding a correct answer or its final elaboration.

In this section a distinction between the development of creative skills is made through overcoming the creative thinking barriers as a way to be aware of the internal and external conditioning factors of creativity, and how they are perceived in the educational context. Finally, the most relevant strategies for the development of creative skills are described in order to use them specifically in the educational context, with emphasis on problem solving.

4.1 Knowing and removing barriers to creative thinking

Perceptual blocks. Assume not to see the problem or not to see what is wrong, due to several limitations such as to isolate the problem, define the terms of the problem, use the senses to observe the problem, perceive remote relationships, investigate the obvious or distinguish between cause and effect.

Emotional blocks. Are those from the individual's own insecurities, such as the fear of being wrong or looking foolish, clinging to the first idea or solution that comes to mind, rigidity of thought, high motivation to succeed quickly, excessive desire of security, fear and distrust superiors, lack of energy to solve a problem, the experience and the lack of will to implement a new solution.

Cultural blocks. Are those that derive from what is taught and has learned to accept as good or bad, such as the desire to adapt to an accepted rule, the desire to be practical and economical, the tendency to adopt an attitude of all or nothing, having too many or little knowledge about something, being too competitive, having too much faith in statistics or logic, believe that fantasy is not worth it and believe that is not polite to be very curious or doubtful.

Lorna [ 56 ] describes creativity barriers as obstacles affecting the creative and innovative skills of individuals. She considers that knowledge, identification and awareness of the barriers to creative thinking, could prevent their emergence and allow for the creative potential of individuals. To this end, Lorna has created the Inventory of Barriers to Creative Thinking and Innovative Action .

These blocks and barriers have also been summarised in two types: internal and external barriers. Internal barriers have been related to the perceptual blocks and the emotional blocks and external ones have been related to the cultural blocks.

More recent literature provides various examples of how people can be effectively cognitively stimulated in the context of creativity enhancement, and significant performance gains psychometrically determined creativity were also seen as a result of continuous engagement in divergent thinking task [ 57 ].

4.2 Strategies to develop creative thinking skills in the classroom

From this approach, the optimal methodology for the development of creativity would be the development of students' strategic thinking through the teaching of different creative strategies in the classroom. Creative strategies are an adaptive procedure or set of procedures by which action is sequentially organized to achieve the desired purpose or goal [ 58 ]. These strategies are characterized by flexibility in planning, contextual adaptation, the creation of a relaxed and rewarding atmosphere, participatory and interactive roles among students and between students and teachers, productivity or personal achievements, high degree of satisfaction and awareness of self-learning [ 58 ]. These strategies seek, among other aspects, to develop capacities and skills of ideation, interaction, elaboration, communicative competence, argumentation to express and defend one's own points of view, collaborative work and role-playing. They are characterized by being strategies oriented towards the development of attitudes, values, emotional sensitivity and persistence in the task initiated [ 59 ].

Classic creative strategies to develop creative thinking skill began to apply in training courses from the industrial field started in 1930 and 1940. These strategies could help to unlock and stimulate the divergent thinking and facilitate the development of creativity. Nowadays these strategies are applied in the educational context in different divergent thinking tasks [ 57 ]. These creative strategies are involved in idea production which is particularly effective in improving creative-related skills [ 42 , 60 ].

Analogical: is based on the similarity or the likeness as a solution of the problem.

Antithetical: is based on solving the problem of the counter tide it had been done before.

Randomly: once discussed the problem with similar methods and opposite, there is an area of seemingly unrelated concepts to the problem and random estimates are used for their solution.

Brainstorming [ 55 ]. Its objective is to conduct a group or a project to get as many ideas, suggestions, valid alternatives and original ideas as possible. This strategy can be applied in a single phase, in which each participant prepares its own list of ideas and then be shared with other individuals, in a second phase of work in pairs and in a third phase of group work. Eventually it is needed to evaluate all the ideas and choose the best.

This strategy has four basic rules:

Critical judgment is excluded. Do not reject or censor any idea how absurd or strange it may seem.

The free imagination is welcomed.

The amount is demanded.

The combination and improvement of the proposed ideas is sought.

Attribute listing [ 62 ]. This strategy consists of moving the attributes of an object or situation to another object or situation. Its aim is to sensitise the student to grasp the characteristics of the objects and transforming them to generate significant wealth of new ones. This technique should be applied as follows:

Focusing on a target or topic of a potential job.

Display various attributes or characteristics of the target of topic (e.g., if it is an object: shape, color, size, etc.).

Select those attributes that best describe the object or subject.

Thinking about possible changes in each.

Modify the characteristics of an attribute without changing other attributes and see what happens.

Checklist [ 55 ]. This strategy is based on the formulation of questions, because the questions are one of the supports of creative attitudes. Prior knowledge of a problem predisposes to the development of questions, because knowing involves wanting to know more and this can lead to many discoveries. This strategy proposes a number of questions issued by the educator to encourage creative thinking; these are the follows:

Use the existing elements that have been already used for other purposes.

Adapt or copy other similar realities to improve what we have.

Modify; giving new forms, colors, aspects.

Increase, make larger, stronger, higher, that multiplies the effects or appears more often.

Reduce; make smaller, lighter, delete parts or complications, divide or ignore.

Replace; change something by other ingredients, materials, procedures, techniques, etc.

Change the order or sequence of its components.

Reverse the object; replace the positive with the negative, to start at the end, to reverse a situation, use of irony.

Combine the ideas to improve the object.

Synectics [ 63 ]. The word comes from Greek and means the union of different elements and seemingly irrelevant. Is applied in group problem solving to increase the possibilities of its resolution. To applied it, activities are proposed to make the strange familiar and the familiar strange through free associations, involving four forms of metaphorical analogy, which are as follow:

Personal analogy: imagine that you are the object or situation of the problem to identify its elements.

Direct analogy: look for some phenomenon or similar solution in other areas of knowledge or disciplines.

Symbolic analogy: interpersonal or object images are used to describe the problem. Poetical and metaphorical type of responses can be used.

Fantastic analogy: fantastic events, imaginary or irrational ideas can be used to challenge the established laws and to create another kind of reality.

Invention of products [ 64 ]. This strategy proposes the creation of inventions. The strategy to develop the invention comprises the following steps:

Analyse the design and the creation objectives.

Generate ideas. New ideas from different categories, original and infrequent ideas and detailed ideas are seeking.

Assess the ideas generated.

Designing something new or improve an existing design.

Storywritting [ 65 ]. This strategy encourage imagination by the development of stories and provides the description of different ways for it. Some of these ideas are: create stories from a word or from a randomly selected image, change the main character of a familiar story, transforming traditional stories introducing changes to its continuation or ending, imagine a fantastic character and create a story from this character (e.g., a man of glass; a man of iron), setting riddles and metaphors of their characteristics, using analogies, synectics, etc.

Method of the Six Thinking Hats [ 66 ]. This method tries to stimulate simultaneously six different ways of thinking related to the symbolic use of six different hats, including:

The white hat is neutral and objective. It relates to the facts, data and objectives.

The red hat suggests anger and emotions. It provides the emotional standpoint.

The black hat is somber and serious. Is cautious and careful, says the weaknesses and difficulties of the ideas.

The yellow hat is cheerful and positive. It includes optimistic hope and positive thinking.

The green hat symbolizes the abundant, fertile growth and new ideas.

The blue hat is cool, symbolizes the color of the sky that is above all. It relates to the control, organization of thought processes and the use of other hats. One could assume that this hat symbolises the use of metacognition.

Design Thinking. Design thinking offers teachers needed support and skills. Design is a process of “making” solutions, and a well-recognized by-product of creative confidence and self-efficacy. Design thinking is an iterative process that repeatedly reformulates a problem to find its core and then analyses possible solutions to find the most favourable, allowing for the formation of ‘creative bridges’ between problems and solutions [ 53 ]. Thus, both analytical thinking and divergent creative thinking are key to design processes, worked through five core design thinking skills: Empathising, Defining Problems, Ideating, Prototyping, and Testing [ 67 ].

Creative, metacognitive and critical thinking skills problem-solving model. Adapted from Allueva [ 68 ] is based on complex thinking and higher order thinking processes in problem solving [ 2 ]. See Figure 3 . This model stresses the importance of developing creative thinking skills in problem solving, applying creative strategies in those processes that require a divergent, productive or idea-generating style of thinking and a more analytical and evaluative strategies in those phases of the process that require a more conventional or convergent thinking, aimed at finding a suitable response or its final elaboration. Throughout all the process, metacognitive skills involved in problem-solving are proposed. In this sense, there is some recent research on the implication of metacognition for the development of creativity [ 37 , 69 ].

Creative, metacognitive and critical thinking skills problem-solving model.

Figure 3 shows how to apply the creative, metacognitive and critical thinking process in problem solving. First, the problem is presented and simultaneously, divergent production processes (in those tasks that require the generation of novel and valuable ideas) and convergent production processes are applied (in those tasks that require valid and reliable answers). During the task, metacognitive thinking processes (planning, regulating-controlling and checking the task). The three mentioned thinking skills are applied until a mental product of the problem is achieved.

At the beginning of the session: enquiry into prior knowledge: brainstorming, posing questions about subject content, knowledge activation questions, etc.;

During the session: stimulate the creative thinking, creative strategies are proposed: brainstorming, synectis, proposing examples and counterexamples, generating lists of attributes to certain questions, visualisation, make questions, etc.;

At the end of the session: relevance and educational implications in the classroom of the issues raised (creation of scenarios and narratives and search for solutions using divergent thinking skills in different cases).

Presentation of the activity through cooperative work in the classroom. Creative strategies are proposed to solve the different practical activities through the stimulation of divergent thinking and lateral thinking: "what if", creative narrative techniques, brainstorming, use of analogies, list of attributes, synectics, creative visualisation, among others. The explanation of each strategy will be done prior to the solution of the proposed activities;

Development and supervision of the creative performance for the practical activities proposed;

Shared discussion. Small group discussion and large group presentation of the proposals put forward, explaining the creative process carried out for their solution. To this end, the hypothesizing of possible alternative solutions will be encouraged, promoting hypothetical-deductive thinking, creative and metacognitive thinking skills are supported;

Evaluation: group feedback on the creative resolution of the activity is done, suggestions for improvement of the solutions are proposed. Individual and group student’s self-evaluation is carried out to analyse the creative strategies application during the learning process. Finally, teacher's evaluation of the activity resolution (i.e., using a weighted evaluation scale) is proposed which is based on previously established evaluation criteria. Thus evaluation, should assess the main implemented creativity factors that were involved in the teaching sessions, as the indicators of creative thinking developed: fluency, flexibility, originality and elaboration, among others.

5. Conclusions

It can be affirmed that development involves skills of increasing complexity and, in general, it has been shown that human thinking is diverse, complex and multifaceted and that it requires the coordination of multiple cognitive processes.

For this reason, we highlight the importance of the development of higher order thinking skills, more specifically those that have been shown to be most effective in teaching-learning processes, namely critical, creative and metacognitive thinking skills. Traditionally, more attention has been paid in education to the development of critical, analytical or formal thinking skills, and creative thinking processes have been neglected. For this reason, it is highlight creative skills as an object of development and study in this chapter.

Creativity is a complex and multidimensional construct, which makes it difficult to define in a precise and consensual way. However, it can be affirmed that the different existing approaches to the study of creativity provide a complementary vision of creativity and shed more light for future research, which will serve to discover the mental processes and mechanisms involved in creative and human thinking and the factors that influence them.

So far, it has been highlighted the importance of creativity in society and in education, as well as the importance of creativity in everyday life, while it has been shown through research that the development of creativity can provide an improvement in educational quality and student learning. Accordingly, we believe that creative skills should be developed in all possible contexts, taking into account the personal characteristics of each student, so that they are able to generate creative products in a variety of contexts. It has also been highlighted that essential indicators of creative potential are creative thinking processes applied to problem solving in the curriculum and, more specifically, those involving divergent thinking for the generation of ideas.

From this approach, it is proposed that the development of creative thinking skills should be carried out in the different areas of the curriculum as a transversal competence and in a deliberate and specific way. Likewise, evaluation is proposed, with the intention of assessing whether their development has been effective. In order to develop creative skills and creative thinking, barriers it should be removed and it should be applied creative skills involved in the problem-solving process. The aim is to generate creative products through the use and application of creative strategies intentionally in the teaching-learning process.

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Enhancing students’ critical thinking and creative thinking: An integrated mind mapping and robot-based learning approach

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Fostering students’ critical thinking and creative thinking is an important aim in education. For example, art courses not only focus on artwork creation, but also on theoretical knowledge for identifying artworks. In the conventional lecture-based instruction mode for theoretical knowledge delivery, students’ learning outcomes could be affected owing to the lack of student-teacher interactions, and hence researchers have started to employ interactive learning technologies, such as robots, to cope with this problem. However, without proper guidance and support, students’ learning outcomes in such an interactive learning mode could be limited. To improve students’ learning effectiveness, this study proposed a mind mapping-assisted robot (MM-R) approach for an art course. A quasi-experimental design was adopted to explore the effects of the proposed learning approach on students’ performance in art appreciation, digital painting creation, creative thinking tendency, and critical thinking awareness. A total of 48 students from two classes in a university in central Taiwan were recruited to participate in this study. One class was the experimental group ( n  = 25) adopting the MM-R approach, while the other class was the control group ( n  = 23) adopting the conventional robot (C-R) approach. The results indicated that the integration of the MM-R approach improved students’ learning achievement, performance in digital painting creation, creative thinking tendency, and critical thinking awareness.

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This study is supported in part by the National Science and Technology Council of Taiwan under contract numbers NSTC 112-2410-H-011-012-MY3 and MOST 111-2410-H-011 -007 -MY3. The study is also supported by the “Empower Vocational Education Research Center” of National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (NTUST) from the Featured Areas Research Center Program within the framework of the Higher Education Sprout Project by the Ministry of Education (MOE) in Taiwan.

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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Min-Chi Chiu. Project administration were performed by Gwo-Jen Hwang and Min-Chi Chiu. Methodology and supervision were performed Gwo-Jen Hwang and Min-Chi Chiu. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Min-Chi Chiu. All authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Chiu, MC., Hwang, GJ. Enhancing students’ critical thinking and creative thinking: An integrated mind mapping and robot-based learning approach. Educ Inf Technol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-024-12752-6

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Thinking and Learning

How Do Students Think and Learn?

Principles 1-8 relate to thinking and learning.

• Principle 1
• Principle 2
• Principle 3
• Principle 4
• Principle 5
• Principle 6
• Principle 7
• Principle 8

Students' beliefs or perceptions about intelligence and ability affect their cognitive functions and learning

Gifted students are more likely, but not always, to attribute failure to lack of effort rather than question their ability. When students believe their performance can be improved, they are acquiring a growth mindset that can bring to bear motivation and persistence when they encounter challenging problems or material.

Tips for teachers

• Avoid generating ability-based credit when a task is easy (e.g., saying “You’re so smart” after the student quickly figures out an answer to a relatively unchallenging problem. In such a case, the teacher may inadvertently encourage that student to associate smartness with speed and lack of effort).
• Self-handicapping may reflect a student’s fear of embarrassment or failure (“If I don’t even try, people will not think I’m dumb if I fail”). This may lead to gifted children who take risks in situations in which they are sure they can excel. It’s important to reward reflective thinking as much as speed of recall.
• Help students find good ways to “scaffold” so they can learn a new skill or compensate for a weakness that can help them overcome insecurity related to intellectual risk taking.
• Focus on improving behavior by modeling and offering constructive criticism to better highlight what students are doing well and where they can improve.

What students already know affects their learning

Gifted learners tend to learn more efficiently than others. This unique academic need deserves to be addressed equitably in school. Researchers have learned that optimal learning occurs when there is a match between the challenge level of the learning task and skill level of the learner.

Teachers are instrumental in assessing what gifted students already know and providing them with opportunities to learn new material, challenge misconceptions and acquire new skills:

• To determine the academic readiness of students, teachers should administer pre-assessments before instruction on a topic.
• Design new learning experiences that are challenging and appropriate for increasing students’ conceptual growth.
• Bringing about conceptual change requires teachers’ use of specific instructional strategies that bring on cognitive conflict in the minds of students by helping make them aware of the difference between their thinking and the desired outcomes of the lesson.

Student's cognitive development and learning are not limited by general stages of development

For students with advanced academic abilities and/or achievement, optimal cognitive and talent development depends on providing them with access to appropriately challenging content that can stimulate them intellectually. It is also important to note that cognitive abilities can be asynchronous (i.e., giftedness can be exhibited within a single domain and not carry over to the same extent to other domains or to noncognitive development).

Teachers should evaluate their students’ domain-specific cognitive reasoning abilities, relevant content knowledge, and social and emotional needs and adjust what material to present to them accordingly. Teachers are encouraged to consider strategies to maximize the growth of gifted students’ reasoning abilities, such as:

• Measuring reasoning abilities and content knowledge before determining appropriate instructional levels.
• Recognizing there should not be an expectation of exceptional performance in all subjects to qualify for higher level instruction in areas of strength.
• Recognizing that students with advanced reasoning abilities in a subject may lack advanced knowledge due to lack of prior exposure, but they may be able to master material faster than other students and should be given the opportunity to move at their own pace.
• Encouraging students’ critical thinking and reasoning abilities by providing challenging opportunities for solving complex problems, particularly in areas in which students already have substantial knowledge.
• Providing students with project-based, cooperative and situated learning opportunities to encourage innovation, creative thinking, practical skills and social development.
• Encouraging discussion, discourse and debate that provoke thinking to encourage cognitive development through social interaction.
• Ensuring that gifted students have opportunities to interact with other students who are at or above their cognitive reasoning and knowledge levels.
• Making students aware of, and facilitate access to, opportunities to extend their learning and to meet intellectual peers outside of the classroom.
• Providing opportunities to students who have the potential to excel beyond their age group but who lack background knowledge to fill gaps in their knowledge base.
• Understanding that students with exceptionally advanced cognitive abilities may not be similarly advanced socially and emotionally.

Learning is based on context. Generalizing learning to new contexts is not spontaneous; it needs to be facilitated

By using more sophisticated strategies for learning, thinking and problem solving than others their age, gifted students are more likely to spontaneously apply their knowledge in contexts quite different from those in which it was learned. This ability to use previously learned knowledge and skills in unfamiliar tasks contributes to the rapid pace of gifted students’ learning. Like their same-age peers, they can learn more and better ways to transfer and generalize, but peers will need more and different instruction, support and practice.

Developing gifted students’ transfer and generalization is best done by having them engage in activities that do the following:

• Including and building on prior knowledge and strengths.
• Providing opportunities for students to learn content in multiple contexts.
• Encourage and expect students to notice and find applications of their knowledge beyond the classroom.
• Scaffolding transfer and generalization initially by guiding it, gradually reducing the teacher’s role, encouraging students to take responsibility for these actions over time until they use them automatically.
• Solving challenging, complex, real-world problems.

Acquiring long-term knowledge and skill is largely dependent on practice.

Intelligence and talent provide the grounding for more efficient and effective use of instruction and practice. Many gifted students are capable of efficient knowledge acquisition and developing innovative mechanisms for encoding new information, retrieving knowledge, and applying skills. However, higher stages of skill and knowledge acquisition will inevitably require practice, concentration and targeted experiences.

Gifted students, like all students, must practice acquiring knowledge and skills they have not mastered and practice should be designed to appeal to their goals and aspirations, which can be gaining access to more enjoyable and creative work once mastery is achieved.

Clear, explanatory and timely feedback to students is important for learning.

It is preferable that when gifted students are working on problem solving and open-ended tasks, they be given opportunities to work through the problem-solving process and evaluate their progress independently rather than rely solely on a teacher’s external evaluation of their work. Teachers can facilitate this process by providing feedback at key stages that is clear and timely, providing scaffolding for complex tasks.

• Feedback from teachers can be used to help gifted learners calibrate self-assessment of their work.
• Teachers should provide feedback at points during the learning process when students need additional support — while allowing learners to discover and learn independently when appropriate.
• Encourage students to persevere through complex tasks, independently of external evaluation to develop greater skills and self-reliance.
• With proper instructional support and guidance, gifted students can provide quality feedback to peers, and this strategy can be used to help increase motivation, achievement and metacognitive skills.
• Students tend to respond better if feedback minimizes negativity and addresses significant aspects relevant to the learning goals.
• For gifted learners engaged in long-term projects and goals, regular feedback at key benchmarks can be used to help students maintain motivation with evidence of incremental progress.

Students' self-regulation assists learning; self-regulatory skills can be taught.

Two types of learning strategies are crucial for self-regulated learning (SRL): cognitive learning strategies (e.g., rehearsal, organization, and elaboration strategies) and metacognitive learning strategies (e.g., self-assessment, goal setting and monitoring). Especially during their first years of schooling, gifted learners often achieve at high levels without relying on such learning strategies. However, when they transition into more challenging learning settings, or when they begin to work on attaining excellence in a given talent domain, SRL becomes essential for gifted learners, too.

• Start by introducing the individual facets of SRL during instruction and systematically practice using the individual SRL strategy components.
• Consider the curricular and extracurricular areas in which the individual aspects of SRL can be helpful with your students.
• SRL practice needs to be based on concrete, authentic content from the regular curriculum. Practicing learning strategies with students should not become isolated from actual classroom instruction.
• Guide your students — in a systematic, well-structured manner — to observe the connections between their own learning behavior and their own accomplishments.
• Provide all your students with learning situations for SRL that are tailored to their respective achievement levels and, thereby, create authentic opportunities for each student to experience the benefits of SRL.
• Apply SRL strategies in as many subjects as possible.

Student creativity can be fostered

The relationship between creativity and giftedness varies — with some seeing creativity as a separate but related construct from giftedness; others seeing it as a component of giftedness; and still others seeing it as a subcategory of some other trait, such as intelligence, that contributes to giftedness. However, no matter the view, creativity can be fostered and enhanced in all leaners. 

• Educators should familiarize themselves with processes used to assess creativity and how to foster it through assignments.
• When gifted programs have an established goal of growth in creative thinking, teachers should advocate for the inclusion of students with high creativity in those programs, even if those students may not meet other identification criteria. 
• Teachers should downplay the use of rewards and praise for students’ creative efforts, focusing instead on the value of the experience and the application of real-world criteria for creative products.
• Teachers should model the characteristics of creative individuals and in their teaching (e.g., taking well-considered risks, being open to new experience, persisting in the face of failure, developing tolerance for ambiguity).

The creative process is often misconstrued as being purely spontaneous or even frivolous, yet creativity and innovation are the result of disciplined thinking. For this reason, teachers can employ instructional strategies that can foster creativity by:

• Including prompts in assignments such as create, invent, discover, imagine or predict and explicitly instructing students in what these prompts entail cognitively and productively.
• Exploring professional literature for specific strategies or creative thinking skills models that can be used for teaching creative approaches to problem solving.
• Evaluating with students any strategies discovered for use within an academic or artistic domain.
• Explicitly teaching methods for discovering problems that require creative solutions — including awareness of world, national and local issues; openness to experience; a questioning attitude toward the status quo; and sensitivity to the bigger issues that might be represented by personal concerns.

Creative, Talented and Gifted Principles

Thinking and Learning Principles 1-8

Motivation Principles 9-12

Social-Emotional Learning Principles 13-15

Classroom Management Principles 16-17

Assessment Principles 18-20

Creative, Talented and Gifted Students

See All the Top 20 Principles

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Critical reflection in students’ critical thinking teaching and learning experiences.

1. Introduction

2. research methodology, 3. main findings of the research.

‘But again, it was quite difficult to sort out the information, so we had a joint group discussion where we would all talk and discuss. Critical thinking, I think, was also quite important later when there were students from several fields in the master’s studies programme. It was very good to exchange both ideas and knowledge because some were mere theorists, while others were laser specialists or represented a completely different field; therefore, such exchange of knowledge and encouragement of joint communication, I think, contributed significantly to critical thinking, because everybody saw things from a very different perspective. You seem to be presenting one thing, but a person from another field asks questions that relate or are close to them; then you have to think how to communicate in this situation in a way that is understandable and relevant to them.’ D1

‘And the other thing is that I hear the other person’s thoughts. Then there are options, and we are able to learn and complement each other.’ D11

‘In our group, we rejected those ideas that were unjustified. A leader in the group was a critical thinker: he could make decisions and explain to others the reasoning behind his ideas, and we developed some truly amazing menthol pills. We were pleased about having invented the technology ourselves; all we had to do was patent and sell it. These pills are mechanically robust and decompose rapidly in the human body.’ D3

‘First, we find various sources, see different options of how things work, and then start debating how things should be. However, these discussions are between us. This is how I understand that we are not learning the only way to solve a problem but looking for even more answers that may turn out completely different. For example, they may confirm the already known opinion’. D13

‘[...] when your every decision and every achievement is repeatedly questioned: “Why this? Why not this?”. Then you are forced to think. You cannot just learn it by heart—you must think about it.’ D1

‘It was not about what factors you had chosen, but how you justified your choice. There was no single right solution to the problem, but it was crucial that you could explain why you had chosen it.’ D5

‘[...] but they always ask you to provide reasoning: Why do you think so? What influenced your decision-making? I think, this is one of the aspects of critical thinking. [...] they encouraged us to think a lot, express our opinions, they would never criticise, but instead try to get us to reveal why we thought the way we did or made that specific decision’. D3

[...] when they try to show us more than one point of view from several angles. The teacher has presented information, studies and data that contradict each other, meaning that this is the case, but there also exists another approach, which may be diametrically opposed, and there is evidence for it too. Thus, immediately a perception appears that there is always more than one side to things in life, and where empirical data can be obtained to demonstrate this, it makes you wonder whether what is presented on one side is true. You start to think it could be different, and maybe it is different.’ D14

‘[...] the teacher with a constant “yes-but-no” answer, because even if he does not say it when answering a question, he evades the question so that he does not answer it, but rather adds supplementary information. It is very easy to lose the train of thought in this situation, but on the other hand, his critical thinking is an example for us, a part of his teaching. Even though we are not being taught directly, he shows that he uses it a lot [...] his tasks never have a single answer, he always follows how we are looking for the solution, and then, if our answer does not contradict the logic of the question, it is fine with him. He does not accept us trusting the first method, the first opinion, and take the easy way out.’ D13

‘[...] we had to come up with situations or choose an interviewee and argue why we had chosen that particular problem or that interviewee, and then it was important to present the text according to the rules we had been learning. [...] For example, we had an assignment about emigrants, which we needed to present in an interesting, unusual way, so I wrote a story based on the fairy tale “Eglė the Queen of Serpents”, where Eglė was prevented by her employee from going home.’ D15

‘[...] when the tasks are not specific, when they are free in content, and you must choose the subject matter yourself. [...] then you must find out on your own what matters the most in that case, you have to choose the things that are important to you, what you want to present and, of course, you have to accomplish those things from the technical point of view.’ D1

‘Assume there is a film you must understand, and there are no other requirements. Your understanding is enough. There is no wrong way to do it. It is just a discussion; you talk about the specific place in the film you think is more or less significant. There is no final result that you have to achieve, as in solving a mathematics problem. It is just a broad subject with no right answer; each person sees it from their point of view.’ D12

‘[...] practical tasks where you have to apply logical thinking to a particular global situation; then it is more of an issue because there are different assumptions that you have to define or assess, and logic alone is not enough because you must review more things [...] For example, you have to evaluate a pension scheme in a country through a mathematical approach, but you also have to consider people, and the social context, thus covering more fields. [...] Because you have to consider, think, and assess the situation from your point of view...’ D7

‘[...], we had to software-define the situation and decide which method was better to use to simulate the situation on the computer. [...] The factors that might be important in generating a profit from the grain trade were presented, but we had to decide on our own which factors were important to consider and which could be ignored because there were many of them. It was a matter of finding the correlations between those factors and their effect on the profit: which affect profit, and which do not. Then we had to generate those factors randomly and simulate the development of that company accordingly.’ D5

‘[...] You have to be very clear about what each machine does, and when there are ten machines, you have to be well aware of what each machine does to understand how to get the result. [...] so that you do not get lost and can see the overall view of what that chain can do without getting lost in the individual devices. [...] without getting lost in the overwhelming amount of information, and to always try to see the final goal.’ D9

‘[...] I remember the teachers’ encouragement to be aware of our influence as a subject on how we think about a work of art or a political phenomenon. The acknowledgement and interpretation of a painting depends on my gender, age, race, and the social and historical context in which I live. In other words, through lectures and workshops, I understood the importance of self-reflection. When considering public ideas, I learned to ask questions: Who is speaking? What does the speaker represent? What institutional affiliations bind them? What is the purpose of the opinion expressed?’ D16

‘[...] I no longer accept any situation from just one point of view [...] Maybe there is another way after all? And then, perhaps you need to rewind the tape a bit and see the arguments that have been put forward, or maybe there has been no argument at all, just some conclusion without any justification.’ D14

‘[...] you somehow make the problem relevant, you look at it from your perspective, from the time’s perspective, when we view certain problem from the present moment. It could be a perspective of your opinion, your belief on a problem that has existed for a long time, and you need critical thinking to be able to pull it out of the plane of the history of philosophy and into the current plane, to give it a certain fresh touch.’ D4

4. Discussion

5. conclusions, author contributions, institutional review board statement, informed consent statement, data availability statement, conflicts of interest.

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Share and Cite

Indrašienė, V.; Jegelevičienė, V.; Merfeldaitė, O.; Penkauskienė, D.; Pivorienė, J.; Railienė, A.; Sadauskas, J. Critical Reflection in Students’ Critical Thinking Teaching and Learning Experiences. Sustainability 2023 , 15 , 13500. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151813500

Indrašienė V, Jegelevičienė V, Merfeldaitė O, Penkauskienė D, Pivorienė J, Railienė A, Sadauskas J. Critical Reflection in Students’ Critical Thinking Teaching and Learning Experiences. Sustainability . 2023; 15(18):13500. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151813500

Indrašienė, Valdonė, Violeta Jegelevičienė, Odeta Merfeldaitė, Daiva Penkauskienė, Jolanta Pivorienė, Asta Railienė, and Justinas Sadauskas. 2023. "Critical Reflection in Students’ Critical Thinking Teaching and Learning Experiences" Sustainability 15, no. 18: 13500. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151813500

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Creativity, Critical Thinking, Communication, and Collaboration: Assessment, Certification, and Promotion of 21st Century Skills for the Future of Work and Education

Branden thornhill-miller.

1 Faculty of Philosophy, University of Oxford, Oxford OX2 6GG, UK

2 International Institute for Competency Development, 75001 Paris, France

Anaëlle Camarda

3 LaPEA, Université Paris Cité and Univ Gustave Eiffel, 92100 Boulogne-Billancourt, France

4 Institut Supérieur Maria Montessori, 94130 Nogent-Sur-Marne, France

Maxence Mercier

Jean-marie burkhardt.

5 LaPEA, Univ Gustave Eiffel and Université Paris Cité, CEDEX, 78008 Versailles, France

Tiffany Morisseau

6 Strane Innovation, 91190 Gif-sur-Yvette, France

Samira Bourgeois-Bougrine

Florent vinchon, stephanie el hayek.

7 AFNOR International, 93210 Saint-Denis, France

Myriam Augereau-Landais

Florence mourey, cyrille feybesse.

8 Centre Hospitalier Guillaume Regnier, Université de Rennes 1, 35200 Rennes, France

Daniel Sundquist

Todd lubart, associated data.

Not Applicable.

This article addresses educational challenges posed by the future of work, examining “21st century skills”, their conception, assessment, and valorization. It focuses in particular on key soft skill competencies known as the “4Cs”: creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and communication. In a section on each C, we provide an overview of assessment at the level of individual performance, before focusing on the less common assessment of systemic support for the development of the 4Cs that can be measured at the institutional level (i.e., in schools, universities, professional training programs, etc.). We then present the process of official assessment and certification known as “labelization”, suggesting it as a solution both for establishing a publicly trusted assessment of the 4Cs and for promoting their cultural valorization. Next, two variations of the “International Institute for Competency Development’s 21st Century Skills Framework” are presented. The first of these comprehensive systems allows for the assessment and labelization of the extent to which development of the 4Cs is supported by a formal educational program or institution. The second assesses informal educational or training experiences, such as playing a game. We discuss the overlap between the 4Cs and the challenges of teaching and institutionalizing them, both of which may be assisted by adopting a dynamic interactionist model of the 4Cs—playfully entitled “Crea-Critical-Collab-ication”—for pedagogical and policy-promotion purposes. We conclude by briefly discussing opportunities presented by future research and new technologies such as artificial intelligence and virtual reality.

1. Introduction

There are many ways of describing the massive educational challenges faced in the 21st century. With the appearance of computers and digital technologies, new means of interacting between people, and a growing competitiveness on the international level, organizations are now requiring new skills from their employees, leaving educational systems struggling to provide appropriate ongoing training. Indeed, according to the World Economic Forum’s 2020 “Future of Jobs Report”, studying 15 industries in 26 advanced and emerging countries, up to 50% of employees will need some degree of “reskilling” by 2025 ( World Economic Forum 2020 ). Although many national and international educational efforts and institutions now explicitly put the cultivation of new kinds of skills on their educational agendas, practical means of assessing such skills remains underdeveloped, thus hampering the valorization of these skills and the development of guidance for relevant pedagogy ( Care et al. 2018 ; Vincent-Lancrin et al. 2019 ; for overviews and discussion of higher education in global developmental context, see Blessinger and Anchan 2015 ; Salmi 2017 ).

This article addresses some of these challenges and related issues for the future of education and work, by focusing on so-called “21st Century Skills” and key “soft skills” known as the “4Cs” (creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration), more particularly. It begins with a brief discussion of these skills, outlining their conceptual locations and potential roles in the modern educational context. A section on each “C” then follows, defining the C, summarizing research and methods for its scientific assessment at the individual level, and then outlining some means and avenues at the systemic level for fostering its development (e.g., important aspects of curriculum, institutional structure, or of the general environment, as well as pedagogical methods) that might be leveraged by an institution or program in order to promote the development of that C among its students/trainees. In the next section, the certification-like process of “labelization” is outlined and proposed as one of the best available solutions both for valorizing the 4Cs and moving them towards the center of the modern educational enterprise, as well as for benchmarking and monitoring institutions’ progress in fostering their development. The International Institute for Competency Development’s 4Cs Framework is then outlined as an example of such a comprehensive system for assessing and labelizing the extent to which educational institutions and programs support the development of the 4Cs. We further demonstrate the possibility of labelizing and promoting support for the development of the 4Cs by activities or within less formal educational settings, presenting a second framework for assessment of the 4Cs in games and similar training activities. Our discussion section begins with the challenges to implementing educational change in the direction of 21st century skills, focusing on the complex and overlapping nature of the 4Cs. Here, we propose that promoting a “Dynamic Interactionist Model of the 4Cs” not only justifies grouping them together, but it might also assist more directly with some of the challenges of pedagogy, assessment, policy promotion, and ultimately, institutionalization, faced by the 4Cs and related efforts to modernize education. We conclude by suggesting some important future work for the 4Cs individually and also as an interrelated collective of vital skills for the future of education and work.

“21st Century Skills”, “Soft Skills”, and the “4Cs”

For 40 years, so-called “21st century skills” have been promoted as those necessary for success in a modern work environment that the US Army War College ( Barber 1992 ) has accurately described as increasingly “VUCA”—“volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous”. Various lists of skills and competencies have been formulated on their own or as part of comprehensive overarching educational frameworks. Although a detailed overview of this background material is outside the scope of this article (see Lamri et al. 2022 ; Lucas 2022 for summaries), one of the first prominent examples of this trend was the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21), whose comprehensive “Framework for 21st Century Learning” is presented in Figure 1 ( Battelle for Kids 2022 ). This framework for future-oriented education originated the idea of the “4Cs”, placing them at its center and apex as “Learning and Innovation Skills” that are in need of much broader institutional support at the foundational level in the form of new standards and assessments, curriculum and instructional development, ongoing professional development, and appropriately improved learning environments ( Partnership for 21st Century Skills 2008 ). These points are also consistent with the approach and assessment frameworks presented later in this article.

The P21 Framework for 21st Century Learning. (© 2019, Battelle for Kids. All Rights Reserved. https://www.battelleforkids.org/ ; accessed on 17 January 2023).

Other important organizations such as the World Economic Forum ( 2015 ) have produced similar overarching models of “21st century skills’’ with the 4Cs at their center, but the term “21st century skills’’ has been rightly criticized for a several reasons: the skills referred to are not actually all unique to, or uniquely important to, the 21st century, and it is a term that is often used more as an advertising or promotional label for systems that sometimes conflate and confuse different kinds of skills with other concepts that users lump together ( Lucas 2019 ). Indeed, though there is no absolute consensus on the definition of a “skill”, they are often described as being multidimensional and involve the ability to solve problems in context and to perform tasks using appropriate resources at the right time and in the right combination ( Lamri and Lubart 2021 ). At its simplest, a skill is a “learned capacity to do something useful” ( Lucas and Claxton 2009 ), or an ability to perform a given task at a specified performance level, which develops through practice, experience. and training ( Lamri et al. 2022 ).

The idea of what skills “are’’, however, has also evolved to some extent over time in parallel to the nature of the abilities required to make valued contributions to society. The digital and information age, in particular, has seen the replacement by machines of much traditional work sometimes referred to as “hard skills’’—skills such as numerical calculation or driving, budget-formulating, or copyediting abilities, which entail mastery of fixed sets of knowledge and know-how of standard procedures, and which are often learned on the job. Such skills are more routine, machine-related, or technically oriented and not as likely to be centered on human interaction. In contrast, the work that has been increasingly valued in the 21st century involves the more complex, human interactive, and/or non-routine skills that Whitmore ( 1972 ) first referred to as “soft skills”.

Unfortunately, researchers, educators, and consultants have defined, redefined, regrouped, and expanded soft skills—sometimes labeling them “transversal competencies”, “generic competencies”, or even “life skills” in addition to “21st century skills”—in so many different ways within and across different domains of research and education (as well as languages and national educational systems) that much progress towards these goals has literally been “lost in translation” ( Cinque 2016 ).

Indeed, there is also a long-standing ambiguity and confusion between the terms “competency” (also competence) and “skill” due to their use across different domains (e.g., learning research, education, vocational training, personnel selection) as well as different epistemological backgrounds and cultural specificities ( Drisko 2014 ; Winterton et al. 2006 ; van Klink and Boon 2003 ). The term “competency” is, however, often used as a broader concept that encompasses skills, abilities, and attitudes, whereas, in a narrower sense, the term “skill” has been defined as “goal-directed, well-organized behavior that is acquired through practice and performed with economy of effort” ( Proctor and Dutta 1995, p. 18 ). For example, whereas the command of a spoken language or the ability to write are skills (hard skills, to be precise), the ability to communicate effectively is a competence that may draw on an individual’s knowledge of language, writing skills, practical IT skills, and emotional intelligence, as well as attitudes towards those with whom one is communicating ( Rychen and Hersch 2003 ). Providing high-quality customer service is a competency that relies on listening skills, social perception skills, and contextual knowledge of products. Beyond these potential distinctions, the term “competency” is predominant in Europe, whereas “skill” is more commonly used in the US. Yet it also frequently occurs that both are used as rough synonyms. For example, Voogt and Roblin ( 2012, p. 299 ) examine the “21st century competences and the recommended strategies for the implementation of these skills”, and Graesser et al. ( 2022, p. 568 ) state that twenty-first-century skills “include self-regulated learning, collaborative problem solving, communication (…) and other competencies”. In conclusion, the term “competencies” is often used interchangeably with “skills” (and can have a particularly large overlap with “soft skills”), but it is also often considered in a broader sense as a set of skills, knowledge, and attitudes that, together, meet a complex demand ( Ananiadoui and Claro 2009 ). From this perspective, one could argue that the 4Cs, as complex, “higher-order” soft skills, might best be labeled competencies. For ease and convenience, however, in this text, we consider the two terms interchangeable but favor the term “skills”, only using “competency” in some instances to avoid cumbersome repetition.

Even having defined soft skills as a potentially more narrow and manageable focus, we are still aware of no large-scale study that has employed a comprehensive enough range of actual psychometric measures of soft skills in a manner that might help produce a definitive empirical taxonomy. Some more recent taxonomic efforts have, however, attempted to provide additional empirical grounding for the accurate identification of key soft skills (see e.g., Joie-La Marle et al. 2022 ). Further, recent research by JobTeaser (see Lamri et al. 2022 ) surveying a large, diverse sample of young workers about a comprehensive, systematic list of soft skills as actually used in their professional roles represents a good step towards some clarification and mapping of this domain on an empirical basis. Despite the fact that both these studies necessarily involved assumptions and interpretive grouping of variables, the presence and importance of the 4Cs as higher-order skills is evident in both sets of empirical results.

Various comprehensive “21st century skills” systems proposed in the past without much empirical verification also seem to have been found too complex and cumbersome for implementation. The 4Cs, on the other hand, seem to provide a relatively simple, persuasive, targetable core that has been found to constitute a pedagogically and policy-friendly model by major organizations, and that also now seems to be gaining some additional empirical validity. Gathering support from researchers and industry alike, we suggest that the 4Cs can be seen as highest-level transversal skills—or “meta-competencies”—that allow individuals to remain competent and to develop their potential in a rapidly changing professional world. Thus, in the end, they may also be one of the most useful ways of summarizing and addressing the critical challenges faced by the future of work and education ( National Education Association 2011 ).

Taking them as our focus, we note, however, that the teaching and development of the 4Cs will require a complex intervention and mobilization of educational and socio-economic resources—both a major shift in pedagogical techniques and even more fundamental changes in institutional structures ( Ananiadoui and Claro 2009 ). One very important issue for understanding the 4Cs and their educational implementation related to this, which can simultaneously facilitate their teaching but be a challenge for their assessment, is the multidimensionality, interrelatedness, and transdisciplinary relevance of the 4Cs. Thus, we address the relationships between the Cs in the different C sections and later in our Discussion, we present a “Dynamic Interactionist Model of the 4Cs’’ that we hope will assist in their understanding, in the further development of pedagogical processes related to them, and in their public promotion and related policy. Ultimately, it is partly due to their complexity and interrelationships, we argue, that it is important and expedient that the 4Cs are taught, assessed, and promoted together.

2. The 4Cs, Assessment, and Support for Development

2.1. creativity.

In psychology, creativity is usually defined as the capacity to produce novel, original work that fits with task constraints and has value in its context (for a recent overview, see Lubart and Thornhill-Miller 2019 ). This basic definition, though useful for testing and measurement, is largely incomplete, as it does not contain any information about the individual or groups doing the creating or the nature of physical and social contexts ( Glăveanu 2014 ). Moreover, Corazza ( 2016 ) challenged this standard definition of creativity, arguing that as it focuses solely on the existence of an original and effective outcome, it misses the dynamics of the creative process, which is frequently associated with periods of creative inconclusiveness and limited occasions of creative achievements. To move away from the limitations of the standard definition of creativity, we can consider Bruner’s description of creativity as “figuring out how to use what you already know in order to go beyond what you currently think” (p. 183 in Weick 1993 ). This description echoes the notion of potential, which refers to a latent state that may be put to use if a person has the opportunity.

Creativity is a multifaceted phenomenon that can be approached from many different angles. There are three main frameworks for creativity studies: the 4Ps ( Rhodes 1961 ), the 5As ( Glăveanu 2013 ), and the 7Cs model ( Lubart 2017 ). These frameworks share at least four fundamental and measurable dimensions: the act of creating (process), the outcome of the creative process (product), the characteristics of creative actor(s) enacting the process (person), and the social and physical environment that enable or hinder the creative process (press). Contrary to many traditional beliefs, however, creativity can be trained and taught in a variety of different ways, both through direct, active teaching of creativity concepts and techniques and through more passive and indirect means such as the development of creativity-supporting contexts ( Chiu 2015 ; Thornhill-Miller and Dupont 2016 ). Alongside intelligence, with which it shares some common mechanisms, creativity is now recognized as an indispensable element for the flexibility and adaptation of individuals in challenging situations ( Sternberg 1986 ).

2.1.1. Individual Assessment of Creativity

Drawing upon previous efforts to structure creativity research, Batey ( 2012 ) proposed a taxonomic framework for creativity measurement that takes the form of a three-dimensional matrix: (a) the level at which creativity may be measured (the individual, the team, the organization, and the culture), (b) the facets of creativity that may be assessed (person/trait, process, press, and product), and (c) the measurement approach (objective, self-rating, other ratings). It is beyond the scope of this article to offer a literature review of all these dimensions, but for the purposes of this paper, we address some important aspects of individual-level and institutional-level assessment here.

Assessing creativity at an individual level encompasses two major approaches: (1) creative accomplishment based on production and (2) creative potential. Regarding the first approach focusing on creative accomplishment , there are at least four main assessment techniques (or tools representing variations of assessment techniques): (a) the historiometric approach, which applies quantitative analysis to historically available data (such as the number of prizes won or times cited) in an effort to understand eminent, field-changing creativity ( Simonton 1999 ); (b) the Consensual Assessment Technique (CAT) ( Amabile 1982 ), which offers a method for combining and validating judges’ subjective evaluations of a set of (potentially) creative productions or ideas; (c) the Creative Achievement Questionnaire ( Carson et al. 2005 ), which asks individuals to supply a self-reported assessment of their publicly recognizable achievement in ten different creative domains; and (d) the Inventory of Creative Activities and Achievements (ICAA) ( Jauk et al. 2014 ; Diedrich et al. 2018 ), which includes self-report scales assessing the frequency of engagement in creative activity and also levels of achievement in eight different domains.

The second major approach to individual assessment is based on creative potential, which measures the cognitive abilities and/or personality traits that are important for creative work. The two most popular assessments of creative potential are the Remote Associations Test (RAT) and the Alternative Uses Task (AUT). The RAT, which involves identifying the fourth word that is somehow associated with each of three given words, underscores the role that the ability to convergently associate disparate ideas plays as a key capacity for creativity. In contrast, the AUT, which requires individuals to generate a maximum number of ideas based on a prompt (e.g., different uses for a paperclip), is used to assess divergent thinking capacity. According to multivariate models of creative potential ( Lubart et al. 2013 ), there are cognitive factors (e.g., divergent thinking, mental flexibility, convergent thinking, associative thinking, selective combination), conative factors (openness, tolerance of ambiguity, intuitive thinking, risk taking, motivation to create), and environmental factors that all support creativity. Higher creative potential is predicted by having more of the ingredients for creativity. However, multiple different profiles among a similar set of these important ingredients exist, and their weighting for optimal creative potential varies according to the profession, the domain, and the task under consideration. For example, Lubart and Thornhill-Miller ( 2021 ) and Lubin et al. ( forthcoming ) have taken this creativity profiling approach, exploring the identification and training of the components of creative potential among lawyers and clinical psychologists, respectively. For a current example of this sort of comprehensive, differentiated measurement of creative potential in adults in different domains and professions, see CreativityProfiling.org. For a recent battery of tests that are relevant for children, including domain-relevant divergent-exploratory and convergent-integrative tasks, see Lubart et al. ( 2019 ). Underscoring the growing recognition of the importance of creativity assessment, measures of creative potential for students were introduced internationally for the first time in the PISA 2022 assessment ( OECD 2019a ).

2.1.2. Institutional and Environmental Support for Development of Creativity

The structural support that institutions and programs can provide to promote the development of creativity can be described as coming through three main paths: (1) through design of the physical environment in a manner that supports creativity, (2) through teaching about creativity, the creative process, and creativity techniques, and (3) through training opportunities to help students/employees develop personal habits, characteristics, and other ingredients associated with creative achievement and potential.

Given the multi-dimensionality of the notion of creativity, the environment can positively influence and help develop creative capacities. Studies have shown that the physical environment in which individuals work can enhance their positive emotions and mood and thus their creativity. For example, stimulating working environments might have unusual furniture and spaces that have natural light, windows open to nature, plants and flowers, a relaxing atmosphere and colors in the room (e.g., green and blue), or positive sounds (e.g., calm music or silence), as well as inspiring and energizing colors (e.g., yellow, pink, orange). Furthermore, the arrangement of physical space to promote interpersonal exchange rather than isolation, as well as the presence of tools, such as whiteboards, that support and show the value of exchange, are also important (for reviews, see Dul and Ceylan 2011 ; Samani et al. 2014 ).

Although it has been claimed that “creativity is intelligence having fun” ( Scialabba 1984 ; Reiman 1992 ), for most people, opportunities for fun and creativity, especially in their work environment, appear rather limited. In fact, the social and physical environment often hinders creativity. Corazza et al. ( 2021 )’s theoretical framework concerning the “Space-Time Continuum”, related to support for creativity, suggests that traditional education systems are an example of an environment that is “tight” both in the conceptual “space” it affords for creativity and in the available time allowed for creativity to happen—essentially leaving little room for original ideas to emerge. Indeed, though world-wide data suggest that neither money nor mere time spent in class correlate well with educational outcomes, both policies and pedagogy that direct the ways in which time is spent make a significant difference ( Schleicher 2022 ). Research and common sense suggest that teachers, students, and employees need more space and time to invest energy in the creative process and the development of creative potential.

Underscoring the importance of teaching the creative process and creativity techniques is the demonstration, in a number of contexts, that groups of individuals who generate ideas without a specific method are often negatively influenced by their social environment. For example, unless guarded against, the presence of others tends to reduce the number of ideas generated and to induce a fixation on a limited number of ideas conforming to those produced by others ( Camarda et al. 2021 ; Goldenberg and Wiley 2011 ; Kohn and Smith 2011 ; Paulus and Dzindolet 1993 ; Putman and Paulus 2009 ; Rietzschel et al. 2006 ). To overcome these cognitive and social biases, different variants of brainstorming techniques have shown positive effects (for reviews of methods, see Al-Samarraie and Hurmuzan 2018 ; Paulus and Brown 2007 ). These include: using ( Osborn 1953 ) initial brainstorming rules (which aim to reduce spontaneous self-judgment of ideas and fear of this judgment by others); drawing attention to ideas generated by others by writing them down independently (e.g., the technique known as “brainwriting”); and requiring incubation periods between work sessions by forcing members of a problem-solving group to take breaks ( Paulus and Yang 2000 ; Paulus and Kenworthy 2019 ).

It is also possible to use design methods that are structured to guide the creative process and the exploration of ideas, as well as to avoid settling on uncreative solution paths ( Chulvi et al. 2012 ; Edelman et al. 2022 ; Kowaltowski et al. 2010 ; see Cotter et al. 2022 for a valuable survey of best practices for avoiding the suppression of creativity and fostering creative interaction and metacognition in the classroom). Indeed, many helpful design thinking-related programs now exist around the world and have been shown to have a substantial impact on creative outcomes ( Bourgeois-Bougrine 2022 ).

Research and experts suggest the utility of many additional creativity enhancement techniques (see, e.g., Thornhill-Miller and Dupont 2016 ), and the largest and most rapid effects are often attributed to these more method- or technique-oriented approaches ( Scott et al. 2004 ). More long-term institutional and environmental support for the development of creativity, however, should also include targeted training and understanding of personality and emotional traits associated with the “creative person” (e.g., empathy and exploratory habits that can expand knowledge, as well as increase tolerance of ambiguity, openness, and mental flexibility; see Lubart and Thornhill-Miller 2021 ). Complementing these approaches and focusing on a more systemic level, recent work conducted by the OECD exemplifies efforts aimed to foster creativity (and critical thinking) by focusing simultaneously on curriculum, educational activities, and teacher support and development at the primary, secondary, and higher education levels (see Vincent-Lancrin et al. 2019 ; Saroyan 2022 ).

2.2. Critical Thinking

Researchers, teachers, employers, and public policymakers around the world have long ranked the development of critical thinking (CT) abilities as one of the highest educational priorities and public needs in modern democratic societies ( Ahern et al. 2019 ; Dumitru et al. 2018 ; Pasquinelli et al. 2021 ). CT is central to better outcomes in daily life and general problem solving ( Hitchcock 2020 ), to intelligence and adaptability ( Halpern and Dunn 2021 ), and to academic achievement ( Ren et al. 2020 ). One needs to be aware of distorted or erroneous information in the media, of the difference between personal opinions and proven facts, and how to handle increasingly large bodies of information required to understand and evaluate information in the modern age.

Although much research has addressed both potentially related constructs, such as intelligence and wisdom, and lists of potential component aspects of human thought, such as inductive or deductive reasoning (for reviews of all of these, see Sternberg and Funke 2019 ), reaching a consensus on a definition has been difficult, because CT relies on the coordination of many different skills ( Bellaera et al. 2021 ; Dumitru et al. 2018 ) and is involved in, and sometimes described from the perspective of, many different domains ( Lewis and Smith 1993 ). Furthermore, as a transversal competency, having the skills to perform aspects of critical thinking in a given domain does not necessarily entail also having the metacognitive ability to know when to engage in which of its aspects, or having the disposition, attitude, or “mindset” that motivates one to actually engage in them—all of which are actually required to be a good critical thinker ( Facione 2011 ).

As pointed out by the American Philosophical Association’s consensus definition, the ideal “critical thinker” is someone who is inquisitive, open-minded, flexible, fair-minded, and keeps well-informed, thus understanding different points of view and perspectives ( Facione 1990b ). These characteristics, one might note, are also characteristic of the “creative individual” ( Facione 1990b ; Lai 2011 ), as is the ability to imagine alternatives, which is often cited as a component of critical thinking ability ( Facione 1990b ; Halpern 1998 ). Conversely, creative production in any domain needs to be balanced by critical appraisal and thought at each step of the creative process ( Bailin 1988 ). Indeed, it can be argued that creativity and critical thinking are inextricably linked and are often two sides of the same coin. Representing different aspects of “good thought” that are linked and develop in parallel, it seems reasonable that they should, in practice, be taught and considered together in teaching and learning ( Paul and Elder 2006 ).

Given its complexity, many definitions of critical thinking have been offered. However, some more recent work has helpfully defined critical thinking as “the capacity of assessing the epistemic quality of available information and—as a consequence of this assessment—of calibrating one’s confidence in order to act upon such information” ( Pasquinelli et al. 2021 ). This definition, unlike others proposed in the field (for a review, see: Bellaera et al. 2021 ; Liu et al. 2014 ), is specific (i.e., it limits the use of poorly defined concepts), as well as consensual and operational (i.e., it has clear and direct implications for the education and assessment of critical thinking skills; Pasquinelli et al. 2021 ; Pasquinelli and Bronner 2021 ). Thus, this approach assumes that individuals possess better or worse cognitive processes and strategies that make it possible to judge the reliability of the information received, by determining, for example, what the arguments provided actually are. Are the arguments convincing? Is the source of information identifiable and reliable? Does the information conflict with other information held by the individual?

It should also be noted that being able to apply critical thinking is necessary to detect and overcome the cognitive biases that can constrain one’s reasoning. Indeed, when solving a problem, it is widely recognized that people tend to automate the application of strategies that are usually relevant in similar and analogous situations that have already been encountered. However, these heuristics (i.e., automatisms) can be a source of errors, in particular, in tricky reasoning situations, as demonstrated in the field of reasoning, arithmetic problems ( Kahneman 2003 ) or even divergent thinking tasks ( Cassotti et al. 2016 ; for a review of biases, see Friedman 2017 ). Though some cognitive biases can even be seen as normal ways of thinking and feeling, sometimes shaping human beliefs and ideologies in ways that make it completely normal—and even definitely human— not to be objective (see Thornhill-Miller and Millican 2015 ), the mobilization of cognitive resources such as those involved in critical reasoning on logical bases usually makes it possible to overcome cognitive biases and adjust one’s reasoning ( West et al. 2008 ).

According to Pasquinelli et al. ( 2021 ), young children already possess cognitive functions underlying critical thinking, such as the ability to determine that information is false. However, until late adolescence, studies have demonstrated an underdevelopment of executive functions involved in resistance to biased reasoning ( Casey et al. 2008 ) as well as some other higher-order skills that underlie the overall critical thinking process ( Bloom 1956 ). According to Facione and the landmark American Philosophical Association’s task force on critical thinking ( Facione 1990b ; Facione 2011 ), these components of critical thinking can be organized into six measurable skills: the ability to (1) interpret information (i.e., meaning and context); (2) analyze information (i.e., make sense of why this information has been provided, identify pro and con arguments, and decide whether we can accept the conclusion of the information); (3) make inferences (i.e., determine the implications of the evidence, its reliability, the undesirable consequences); (4) evaluate the strength of the information (i.e., its credibility, determine the trust in the person who provides it); (5) provide explanations (i.e., summarize the findings, determine how the information can be interpreted, and offer verification of the reasoning); (6) self-regulate (i.e., evaluate the strength of the methods applied, determine the conflict between different conclusions, clarify the conclusions, and verify missing elements).

2.2.1. Individual Assessment of Critical Thinking

The individual assessment of critical thinking skills presents a number of challenges, because it is a multi-task ability and involves specific knowledge in the different areas in which it is applied ( Liu et al. 2014 ; Willingham 2008 ). However, the literature provides several tools with which to measure different facets of cognitive functions and skills involved in the overarching critical thinking process ( Lai 2011 ; Liu et al. 2014 ). Most assessments involve multiple-choice questions requiring reasoning within a particular situation based upon a constrained set of information provided. For example, in one of the most widely used tests, the California Critical Thinking Skills Test ( Facione 1990a ), participants are provided with everyday scenarios and have to answer multiple questions targeting the six higher-order skills described previously. Similarly, the Watson–Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal ( Watson 1980 ; Watson and Glaser 2010 ) presents test takers with passages and scenarios measuring their competencies at recognizing assumptions, evaluating arguments, and drawing conclusions. Although the Watson–Glaser is one of the oldest and most frequently used assessments internationally for hiring and promotion in professional contexts, its construct validity, like many other measures of this challenging topic, has some limitations ( Possin 2014 ).

Less frequently, case study or experiential methods of assessment are also used. This approach may involve asking participants to reflect on past experiences, analyze the situations they faced and the way they behaved or made judgments and decisions and then took action ( Bandyopadhyay and Szostek 2019 ; Brookfield 1997 ). These methods, often employed by teachers or employers on students and employees, usually involve the analysis of qualitative data that can cast doubt on the reliability of the results. Consequently, various researchers have suggested ways to improve analytic methods, and they emphasize the need to create more advanced evaluation methods ( Brookfield 1997 ; Liu et al. 2014 ).

For example, Liu et al. ( 2014 ) reviewed current assessment methods and suggest that future work improves the operational definition of critical thinking, aiming to assess it both in different specific contexts and in different formats. Specifically, assessments could be contextualized within the major areas addressed by education programs (e.g., social sciences, humanities, and/or natural sciences), and the tasks themselves should be as practically connected to the “real world” as possible (e.g., categorizing a set of features, opinions, or facts based on whether or not they support an initial statement). Moreover, as Brookfield ( 1997 ) argues, because critical thinking is a social process that takes place in specific contexts of knowledge and culture, it should be assessed as a social process, therefore, involving a multiplicity of experiences, perceptions, and contributions. Thus, Brookfield makes three recommendations for improving the assessment of critical thinking that are still relevant today: (1) to assess critical thinking in specific situations, so one can study the process and the discourse related to it; (2) to involve students/peers in the evaluation of critical thinking abilities, so that the evaluation is not provided only by the instructor; and (3) to allow learners or participants in an experiment to document, demonstrate, and justify their engagement in critical thinking, because this learning perspective can provide insight into basic dimensions of the critical thinking process.

Finally, another more recent and less widely used form of assessment targets the specific executive functions that underlie logical reasoning and resistance to cognitive biases, as well as the ability of individuals to resist these biases. This form of assessment is usually done through specific experimental laboratory tasks that vary depending on the particular executive function and according to the domain of interest ( Houdé and Borst 2014 ; Kahneman 2011 ; West et al. 2008 ).

2.2.2. Institutional and Environmental Support for Development of Critical Thinking Skills

The executive functions underlying general critical thinking, the ability to overcome bias ( Houdé 2000 ; Houdé and Borst 2014 ), and meta-cognitive processes (i.e., meta information about our cognitive strategies) can all be trained and enhanced by educational programs ( Abrami et al. 2015 ; Ahern et al. 2019 ; Alsaleh 2020 ; Bellaera et al. 2021 ; Uribe-Enciso et al. 2017 ; Popil 2011 ; Pasquinelli and Bronner 2021 ; Yue et al. 2017 ).

Educational programs and institutions can support the development of critical thinking in several different ways. The process of developing critical thinking focuses on the interaction between personal dispositions (attitudes and habits), skills (evaluation, reasoning, self-regulation), and finally, knowledge (general and specific knowledge, as well as experience) ( Thomas and Lok 2015 ). It is specifically in regard to skills and knowledge that institutions are well suited to develop critical thinking through pedagogical elements such as rhetoric training, relevance of information evaluation (e.g., media literacy, where and how to check information on the internet, dealing with “fake news”, etc.), deductive thinking skills, and inductive reasoning ( Moore and Parker 2016 ). A few tools, such as case studies or concept mapping, can also be used in conjunction with a problem-based learning method, both in individual and team contexts and in person or online ( Abrami et al. 2015 ; Carmichael and Farrell 2012 ; Popil 2011 ; Thorndahl and Stentoft 2020 ). According to Marin and Halpern ( 2011 ), training critical thinking should include explicit instruction involving at least the four following components and objectives: (1) working on attitudes and encouraging individuals to think; (2) teaching and practicing critical thinking skills; (3) training for transfer between contexts, identifying concrete situations in which to adopt the strategies learned; and (4) suggesting metacognition through reflection on one’s thought processes. Supporting these propositions, Pasquinelli and Bronner ( 2021 ), in a French national educational report, proposed practical advice for creating workshops to stimulate critical thinking in school classrooms, which appear relevant even in non-school intervention situations. For example, the authors suggest combining concrete examples and exercises with general and abstract explanations, rules and strategies, which can be transferred to other areas beyond the one studied. They also suggest inviting learners to create examples of situations (e.g., case studies) in order to increase the opportunities to practice and for the learner to actively participate. Finally, they suggest making the process of reflection explicit by asking the learner to pay attention to the strategies adopted by others in order to stimulate the development of metacognition.

2.3. Communication

In its most basic definition, communication consists of exchanging information to change the epistemic context of others. In cooperative contexts, it aims at the smooth and efficient exchange of information contributing to the achievement of a desired outcome or goal ( Schultz 2010 ). But human communication involves multiple dimensions. Both verbal and non-verbal communication can involve large quantities of information that have to be both formulated and deciphered with a range of purposes and intentions in mind ( Jones and LeBaron 2002 ). These dimensions of communication have as much to do with the ability to express oneself, both orally and in writing and the mastering of a language (linguistic competences), as with the ability to use this communication system appropriately (pragmatic skills; see Grassmann 2014 ; Matthews 2014 ), and with social skills, based on the knowledge of how to behave in society and on the ability to connect with others, to understand the intentions and perspectives of others ( Tomasello 2005 ).

Like the other 4Cs, according to most authorities, communication skills are ranked by both students and teachers as skills of the highest priority for acquisition in order to be ready for the workforce in 2030 ( OECD 2019b ; Hanover Research 2012 ). Teaching students how to communicate efficiently and effectively in all the new modalities of information exchange is an important challenge faced by all pedagogical organizations today ( Morreale et al. 2017 ). All dimensions of communication (linguistic, pragmatic, and social) are part of what is taught in school curricula at different levels. But pragmatic and social competencies are rarely explicitly taught as such. Work on social/emotional intelligence (and on its role in students’ personal and professional success) shows that these skills are both disparate and difficult to assess ( Humphrey et al. 2007 ). Research on this issue is, however, becoming increasingly rigorous, with the potential to provide usable data for the development of science-based practice ( Keefer et al. 2018 ). Teachers and pedagogical teams also have an important, changing role to play: they also need to master new information and communication technologies and the transmission of information through them ( Zlatić et al. 2014 ).

Communication has an obvious link with the three other Cs. Starting with critical thinking, sound communication implies fostering the conditions for a communicative exchange directed towards a common goal, which is, at least in educational and professional contexts, based on a fair evaluation of reality ( Pornpitakpan 2004 ). Collaboration too has a strong link with communication, because successful collaboration is highly dependent on the quality of knowledge sharing and trust that emerges between group members. Finally, creativity involves the communication of an idea to an audience and can involve high-quality communication when creative work occurs in a team context.

2.3.1. Individual Assessment of Communication

Given the vast field of communication, an exhaustive list of its evaluation methods is difficult to establish. A number of methods have been reported in the literature to assess an individual’s ability to communicate non-verbally and verbally. But although these two aspects are intrinsically linked, they are rarely measured together with a single tool. Moreover, as Spitzberg ( 2003 ) pointed out, communication skills are supported by different abilities, classically conceptualized as motivational functions (e.g., confidence and goal-orientation), knowledge (e.g., content and procedural knowledge), or cognitive and socio-cognitive functions (e.g., theory of mind, verbal cognition, emotional intelligence, and empathy; McDonald et al. 2014 ; Rothermich 2020 ), implying different specific types of evaluations. Finally, producing vs. receiving communication involve different skills and abilities, which can also vary according to the context ( Landa 2005 ).

To overcome these challenges, Spitzberg ( 2003 ) recommends the use of different assessment criteria. These criteria include the clarity of interaction, the understanding of what was involved in the interaction, the satisfaction of having interacted (expected to be higher when communication is effective), the efficiency of the interaction (the more competent someone is, the less effort, complexity, and resources will be needed to achieve their goal), its effectiveness or appropriateness (i.e., its relevance according to the context), as well as criteria relative to the quality of the dialogue (which involves coordination, cooperation, coherence, reciprocity, and mutuality in the exchange with others). Different forms of evaluation are also called for, such as self-reported questionnaires, hetero-reported questionnaires filled out by parents, teachers, or other observers, and tasks involving exposure to role-playing games, scenarios or videos (for a review of these assessment tools, see Cömert et al. 2016 ; Landa 2005 ; Sigafoos et al. 2008 ; Spitzberg 2003 ; van der Vleuten et al. 2019 ). Results from these tools must then be associated with others assessing underlying abilities, such as theory of mind and metacognition.

2.3.2. Institutional and Environmental Support for Development of Communication Skills

Although communication appears to be a key employability skill, the proficiency acquired during studies rarely meets the expectations of employers ( Jackson 2014 ). Communication must therefore become a priority in the training of students, beyond the sectors in which it is already known as essential (e.g., in medicine, nursing, engineering, etc.; Bourke et al. 2021 ; D’Alimonte et al. 2019 ; Peddle et al. 2018 ; Riemer 2007 ), and also through professional development ( Jackson 2014 ). Training programs involving, for example, communication theory classes ( Kruijver et al. 2000 ) and self-assessment tools that can be used in specific situations ( Curtis et al. 2013 ; Rider and Keefer 2006 ) have had convincingly positive results. The literature suggests that interactive approaches in small groups, in which competencies are practiced explicitly in an open and feedback-safe environment, are more effective ( Bourke et al. 2021 ; D’Alimonte et al. 2019 ; AbuSeileek 2012 ; Fryer-Edwards et al. 2006 ). These can take different forms: project-based work, video reviews, simulation or role-play games (see Hathaway et al. 2022 for a review; Schlegel et al. 2012 ). Finally, computer-assisted learning methods can be relevant for establishing a secure framework (especially, for example, when learning another language): anonymity indeed helps to overcome anxiety or social blockages linked to fear of public speaking or showing one’s difficulties ( AbuSeileek 2012 ). Each of these methods tackles one or more dimensions of communication that must then be assessed as such, by means of tools specifically developed and adapted to the contexts in which these skills are expressed (e.g., see the two 4Cs evaluation grids for institutions and for games outlined in Section 4 and Section 5 , below).

2.4. Collaboration

Collaborative problem solving—and more generally, collaboration—has gained increasing attention in national and international assessments (e.g., PISA) as an educational priority encompassing social, emotional, and cognitive skills critical to efficiency, effectiveness, and innovation in the modern global economy ( Graesser et al. 2018 ; OECD 2017 ). Understanding what makes effective collaboration is of crucial importance for professional practice and training ( Détienne et al. 2012 ; Graesser et al. 2018 ), as evidenced by the long line of research on group or team collaboration over the past 40 years (for a review, see e.g., Salas et al. 2004 ; Mathieu et al. 2017 ). Although there is no consensus on a definition of collaboration, scholars often see it as mutual engagement in a coordinated effort to achieve a common goal that involves the sharing of goals, resources, and representations relating to the joint activity of participants; and other important aspects relate to mutual respect, trust, responsibilities, and accountability within situational rules and norms ( Détienne et al. 2012 ).

In the teamwork research literature, skills are commonly described across three classes most often labeled Knowledge, Behavior, and Attitudes (e.g., Cannon-Bowers et al. 1995 ). Knowledge competencies refer to the skills related to elaborating the knowledge content required for the group to process and successfully achieve the task/goal to which they are assigned. Behavior includes skills related to the actualization of actions, coordination, communication, and interactions within the group as well as with any other relevant interlocutors for the task at hand. Note here that effective collaboration involves skills that have also been identified elsewhere as essential competencies, including communication, creativity, and critical thinking. Finally, several attitudes have been evidenced or hypothesized as desirable competencies in the team context, for example, attitude towards teamwork, collective orientation, cohesion/team morale, etc. Another common distinction lies between teamwork and taskwork. Teamwork refers to the collaborative, communicative, or social skills required to coordinate the work within the participants in order to achieve the task, whereas taskwork refers to specific aspects related to solving the task such as using the tools and knowing the procedure, policies, and any other task-related activities ( Salas et al. 2015 ; Graesser et al. 2018 ). Furthermore, collaborative competences can have specific (to a group of people or to a task) and general dimensions (i.e., easily transferable to any group or team situation and to other tasks). For example, skills related to communication, information exchange, conflict management, maintaining attention and motivation, leadership, etc. are present and transferable to a large number of group work situations and tasks (team-generic and task-contingent skills). Other skills can, on the other hand, be more specific to a team or group, such as internal organization, motivation, knowledge of the skills distributed in the team, etc.

2.4.1. Individual Assessment of Collaboration

Assessing collaboration requires capturing the dynamic and multi-level nature of the collaboration process, which is not as easily quantifiable as group/team inputs and outputs (task performance, satisfaction, and changes at group/team and individual level). There are indeed multiple interactions between the context, the collaboration processes, the task processes, and their (various) outcomes ( Détienne et al. 2012 ). The integrative concept of “quality of collaboration” ( Burkhardt et al. 2009 ) encapsulates much of what is currently known about collaborative processes and what constitutes effective collaboration. According to this approach, collaborative processes can be grouped along several dimensions concerning communication processes such as grounding, task-related processes (e.g., exchanges of knowledge relevant for the task at hand), and organization/coordination processes ( Burkhardt et al. 2009 ). Communication processes are most important for ensuring the construction of a common referential within a group of collaborators. Task-related processes relate to how the group resolves the task at hand by sharing and co-elaborating knowledge, by confronting their various perspectives, and by converging toward negotiated solutions. Collaboration also involves group management activities such as: (a) common goal management and coordination activities, e.g., allocation and planning of tasks; (b) meeting/interaction management activities, e.g., ordering and postponing of topics in the meeting. Finally, the ability to pursue reflexive activity, in the sense of reflecting not only on the content of a problem or solution but on one’s collaboration and problem-solving strategies, is critical for the development of the team and supports them in changing and improving their practices. Graesser et al. ( 2018 ) identify collaborative skills based on the combination of these dimensions with a step in the problem-solving process.

A large body of methodology developed to assess collaboration processes and collaborative tools has been focused on quantifying a restricted subset of fine-grained interactions (e.g., number of speakers’ turns; number of words spoken; number of interruptions; amount of grounding questions). This approach has at least two limitations. First, because these categories of analysis are often ad hoc with respect to the considered situation, they are difficult to apply in all situations and make it difficult to compare between studies. Second, quantitative variations of most of these indicators are non-univocal: any increase or decrease of them could signify either an interactive–intensive collaboration or else evidence of major difficulties in establishing and/or maintaining the collaboration ( Détienne et al. 2012 ). Alternatively, qualitative approaches based on multidimensional views of collaboration provide a more elaborated or nuanced view of collaboration and are useful for identifying potential relationships between distinctive dimensions of collaboration and aspects of team performance, in order to identify processes that could be improved. Based on the method of Spada et al. ( 2005 ) in Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) research, Burkhardt et al. ( 2009 ) have proposed a multi-dimensional rating scheme for evaluating the quality of collaboration (QC) in technology-mediated design. QC distinguishes seven dimensions, grouped along five aspects, identified as central for collaboration in a problem-solving task such as design: communication (1, 2), task-oriented processes (3, 4), group-oriented processes (5), symmetry in interaction—an orthogonal dimension—(6), and individual task orientation (7). This method has recently been adapted for use in the context of assessing games as a support to collaborative skills learning.

2.4.2. Institutional and Environmental Support for Development of Collaboration and Collaborative Skills

Support for individuals’ development of collaborative skills provided by institutions and programs can take a variety of forms: (a) through the social impact of the physical structure of the organization, (b) the nature of the work required within the curriculum, (c) content within the curriculum focusing on collaboration and collaborative skills, and (d) the existence and promotion of extracurricular and inter-institutional opportunities for collaboration.

For instance, institutional support for collaboration has taken a variety of forms in various fields such as healthcare, engineering, public participation, and education. Training and education programs such as Interprofessional Education or Team Sciences in the health domain ( World Health Organization 2010 ; Hager et al. 2016 ; O’Carroll et al. 2021 ), Peer-Led Team Learning in chemistry and engineering domains ( Wilson and Varma-Nelson 2016 ), or Collaborative Problem Solving in education ( Peña-López 2017 ; Taddei 2009 ) are notable examples.

Contextual support recently arose from the deployment of online digital media and new mixed realities in the workplace, in the learning environments and in society at large—obviously stimulated and accentuated with the COVID-19 pandemic. This has led many organizations to invest in proposing support for synchronous and asynchronous collaboration (notably remote, between employees, between students and educators or within group members, etc.) in various ways, including the provision of communication hardware and software, computer-supported cooperative work and computer-supported collaborative learning platforms, training and practical guides, etc. Users can collaborate through heterogeneous hybrid collaborative interaction spaces that can be accessed through virtual or augmented reality, but also simple video conferencing or even a voice-only or text-only interface. These new spaces for collaboration are, however, often difficult to use and less satisfactory than face-to-face interactions, suggesting the need for more research on collaborative activities and on how to support them ( Faidley 2018 ; Karl et al. 2022 ; Kemp and Grieve 2014 ; Singh et al. 2022 ; Waizenegger et al. 2020 ).

A substantive body of literature on teams, collaborative learning, and computer-supported technologies provides evidence related to individual, contextual, and technological factors impacting the collaboration quality and efficiency. For example, teacher-based skills that are critical for enhancing collaboration are, among others, the abilities to plan, monitor, support, consolidate, and reflect upon student interaction in group work ( Kaendler et al. 2016 ). Research focuses also on investigating the most relevant tasks and evaluating the possibilities offered by technology to support, to assess (e.g., Nouri et al. 2017 ; Graesser et al. 2018 ), and/or to learn the skills involved in pursuing effective and satisfying collaboration (see e.g., Schneider et al. 2018 ; Doyle 2021 ; Ainsworth and Chounta 2021 ).

3. Labelization: Valorization of the 4Cs and Assessing Support for Their Development

Moving from the nature of the 4Cs and their individual assessment and towards the ways in which institutions can support their development in individuals, we can now address the fundamentally important question of how best to support and promote this 21st century educational mission within and among institutions themselves. This also raises the question of the systemic recognition of educational settings that are conducive to the development of the 4Cs. In response to these questions, the nature and value of labelization is now presented.

A label is “a special mark created by a trusted third party and displayed on a product intended for sale, to certify its origin, to guarantee its quality and to ensure its conformity with the standards of practices in force” ( Renard 2005 ). A label is therefore a way of informing the public about the objective properties and qualities of a product, service, or system. The label is usually easily identifiable and can be seen as a proof that a product or service, a company, or an organization complies with defined criteria. Its effectiveness is therefore closely linked to the choice of requirements set out in its specifications, as well as to the independence and rigor of the body that verifies compliance with the criteria.

3.1. Labeling as a Means of Trust and Differentiation

As a sign of recognition established by a third party, the label or certification can constitute a proof of trust aiming to reassure the final consumer. According to Sutter ( 2005 ), there are different means of signaling trust. First, the brand name of a product or service and its reputation can, in itself, constitute a label when this brand name is recognized on the market. Second, various forms of self-declaration, such as internal company charters, though not statements assessed by a third party, show an internal commitment that can provide reassurance. Finally, there is certification or labeling, which is awarded by an external body and requires a third-party assessment by a qualified expert, according to criteria set out in a specific reference framework. It is this external body, a trusted third party, which guarantees the reliability of the label and constitutes a guarantee of credibility. Its objectivity and impartiality are meant to guarantee that the company, organization, product, or service meets defined quality or reliability criteria ( Jahn et al. 2005 ).

Research on populations around the world (e.g., Amron 2018 ; Sasmita and Suki 2015 ) show that the buying decisions of consumers are heavily influenced by the trust they have in a brand. More specifically, third-party assurances and labelization have been shown to strongly influence customer buying intentions and purchasing behavior (e.g., Kimery and McCord 2002 ; Lee et al. 2004 ). Taking France as an example, research shows that quality certification is seen as “important” or “significant” by 76% of companies ( Chameroy and Veran 2014 ), and decision makers feel more confident and are more willing to invest with the support of third-party approval than if their decision is merely based on the brand’s reputation or its demonstrated level of social responsibility ( Etilé and Teyssier 2016 ). Indeed, French companies with corporate social responsibility labels have been shown to have higher than average growth rates, and the adoption of quality standards is linked with a 7% increase in the share of export turnover ( Restout 2020 ).

3.2. Influence on Choice and Adoption of Goods and Services

Studies diverge in this area, but based on the seminal work of Parkinson ( 1975 ); Chameroy and Veran ( 2014 ), in their research on the effect of labels on willingness to pay, found that in 75% of cases, products with labels are chosen and preferred to those without labels, demonstrating the impact of the label on customer confidence—provided that it is issued by a recognized third party. Thus, brands that have good reputations tend to be preferred over cheaper new brands, because they are more accepted and valued by the individual social network ( Zielke and Dobbelstein 2007 ).

3.3. Process of Labelizing Products and Services

The creation of a label may be the result of a customer or market need, a request from a private sector of activity or from the government. Creating a label involves setting up a working group including stakeholders who are experts in the field, product managers, and a certification body in order to elaborate a reference framework. This is then reviewed by a specialized committee and validated by the stakeholders. The standard includes evaluation criteria that must be clearly defined ( Mourad 2017 ). An audit system is set up by a trusted third party. It must include the drafting of an audit report, a system for making decisions on labeling, and a system for identifying qualified assessors. The validity of the assessment process is reinforced by this double evaluation: a first level of audit carried out by a team of experts according to a clearly defined set of criteria and a second level of decision making assuring that the methodology and the result of the audit are in conformity with the defined reference framework.

3.4. Labelization of 21st Century Skills

The world of education is particularly concerned by the need to develop and assess 21st century skills, because it represents the first link in the chain of skills acquisition, preparing the human resources of tomorrow. One important means of simultaneously offering a reliable, independent assessment of 21st century skills and valorizing them by making them a core target within an educational system (schools, universities, and teaching and training programs of all kinds) is labelization. Two examples of labelization processes related to 21st century skills were recently developed by the International Institute for Competency Development ( 2021 ; see iicd.net; accessed on 20 November 2022) working with international experts, teachers, and researchers from the University of Paris Cité (formerly Université Sorbonne Paris Cité), Oxford University, and AFNOR UK (an accredited certification body and part of AFNOR International, a subsidiary of the AFNOR group, the only standards body in France).

The last two or three decades has seen the simultaneous rise of international ranking systems and an interest in quality assurance and assessment in an increasingly competitive educational market ( Sursock 2021 ). The aim of these labelization frameworks is to assist in the development of “quality culture” in education by offering individual programs, institutions, and systems additional independent, reliable means of benchmarking, charting progress, and distinguishing themselves based on their capacity to support and promote the development of crucial skills. Importantly, the external perspectives provided by such assessment system should be capable of being individually adapted and applied in a manner that can resist becoming rigidly imposed external standards ( Sursock and Vettori 2017 ). Similarly, as we have seen in the literature review, the best approach to understanding and assessing a particular C is from a combination of different levels and perspectives in context. For example, important approaches to critical thinking have been made from educationally, philosophically, and psychologically focused vantage points ( Lai 2011 ). We can also argue that understandings of creativity are also results of different approaches: the major models in the literature (e.g., the “4Ps” and “7Cs” models; see Lubart and Thornhill-Miller 2019 ) explicitly result from and include the objectives of different education-focused, process-focused, and “ingredient” or component-focused approaches.

The two assessment frameworks outlined in the sections that follow were formulated with these different perspectives and objective needs in mind. Given the complexity and very different natures of their respective targets (i.e., one assessing entire formal educational contexts such as institutions or programs, whereas the other targets the less multi-dimensional, informal educational activities represented by games), the assessment of the individual Cs also represents what experts consider a target-appropriate balance of education- and curriculum-focused, process-focused, and component-focused criteria for assessing each different C.

4. The International Institute for Competency Development’s 21st Century Competencies 4Cs Assessment Framework for Institutions and Programs

One comprehensive attempt to operationalize programmatic-level and institutional-level support for the development of the 4Cs is the International Institute for Competency Development’s 4Cs Assessment Framework ( International Institute for Competency Development 2021 ). Based upon expert opinion and a review of the available literature, this evaluation grid is a practical tool that divides each of the 4Cs into three “user-friendly” but topic-covering components (see Table 1 and definitions and further discussion in the sections that follow). Each of these components is then assessed across seven dimensions (see Table 2 , below), designed to cover concisely the pedagogical process and the educational context. Examples for each point level are provided within the evaluation grid in order to offer additional clarity for educational stakeholders and expert assessors.

Three different components of each C in IICD’s 21st Century Skills 4Cs Assessment Framework.

Seven dimensions evaluated for the 3 different components of each C.

* Educational-level dependent and potentially less available for younger students or in some contexts.

The grid itself can be used in several important and different ways by different educational stakeholders: (1) by the institution itself in its self-evaluation and possible preparation for a certification or labelization process, (2) as an explicit list of criteria for external evaluation of the institution and its 4Cs-related programs, and (3) as a potential long-term development targeting tool for the institution or the institution in dialogue with the labelization process.

4.1. Evaluation Grid for Creativity

Dropping the component of “creative person” that is not relevant at the institutional level, this evaluation grid is based on Rhodes’ ( 1961 ) classic “4P” model of creativity, which remains the most concise model today ( Lubart and Thornhill-Miller 2019 ). The three “P” components retained are: creative process , creative environment , and creative product . Creative process refers to the acquisition of a set of tools and techniques that students can use to enhance the creativity of their thinking and work. Creative environment (also called “Press” in earlier literature) is about how the physical and social surroundings of students can help them be more creative. Finally, creative product refers to the evaluation of actual “productions” (e.g., a piece of art, text, speech, etc.) generated through the creative process.

4.2. Evaluation Grid for Critical Thinking

Our evaluation grid divides critical thinking into three main components: critical thinking about the world , critical thinking about oneself (self-reflection), as well as critical action and decision making . The first component refers to having an evidence-based view of the exterior world, notably by identifying and evaluating sources of information and using them to question current understandings and solve problems. Self-reflection refers to thinking critically about one’s own life situation, values, and actions; it presupposes the autonomy of thought and a certain distance as well as the most objective observation possible with regard to one’s own knowledge (“meta-cognition”). The third and final component, critical action and decision making, is about using critical thinking skills more practically in order to make appropriate life decisions as well as to be open to different points of view. This component also addresses soft skills and attitudes such as trusting information.

Our evaluation framework for critical thinking was in part inspired by Barnett’s “curriculum for critical being” (2015), whose model distinguishes two axes: one defined by the qualitative differences in the level of criticality attained and the second comprised of three different domains of application: formal knowledge, the self, and the world. The first two components of our framework (and the seven dimensions on which they are rated) reflect and encompass these three domains. Similar to Barrett’s proposal, our third rubric moves beyond the “skills-plus-dispositions” model of competency implicit in much theorizing about critical thinking and adds the importance of “action”—not just the ability to think critically and the disposition to do so, but the central importance of training and practicing “critical doing” ( Barnett 2015 ). Critical thinking should also be exercised collectively by involving students in collective thinking, facilitating the exchange of ideas and civic engagement ( Huber and Kuncel 2016 ).

4.3. Evaluation Grid for Collaboration

The first component of collaboration skills in the IICD grid is engagement and participation , referring to the active engagement in group work. Perspective taking and openness concerns the flexibility to work with and accommodate other group members and their points of view. The final dimension— social regulation —is about being able to reach for a common goal, notably through compromise and negotiation, as well as being aware of the different types of roles that group members can hold ( Hesse et al. 2015 ; Rusdin and Ali 2019 ; Care et al. 2016 ). (These last two components include elements of leadership, character, and emotional intelligence as sometimes described in other soft-skill and competency-related systems.) Participation, social regulation, and perspective taking have been identified as central social skills in collaborative problem solving ( Hesse et al. 2015 ). Regarding social regulation in this context, recognizing and profiting from group diversity is key ( Graesser et al. 2018 ). When describing an assessment in an educational setting of collaborative problem solving (with a task in which two or more students have to collaborate in order to solve it, each using a different set of resources), two main underpinning skills were described for the assessment: the social skill of audience awareness (“how to adapt one’s own behavior to suit the needs of the task and the partner’s requirements”, Care et al. 2016, p. 258 ) and the cognitive skill of planning and executing (developing a plan to reach for a goal) ( Care et al. 2016 ). The former is included in the perspective taking and openness rubric and the latter in the social regulation component in the IICD grid. Evans ( 2020 ) identified four main collaboration skills consistently mentioned in the scientific literature that are assessed in the IICD grid: the ability to plan and make group decisions (example item from the IICD grid: teachers provide assistance to students to overcome differences and reach a common goal during group work); the ability to communicate about thinking with the group (assessed notably in the meta-reflection strand of the IICD grid); the ability to contribute resources, ideas, and efforts and support group members (included notably in the engagement and participation as well as the social regulation components); and finally, the ability to monitor, reflect, and adapt individual and group processes to benefit the group (example item from the IICD grid: students use perspective-taking tools and techniques in group activities).

4.4. Evaluation Grid for Communication

The evaluation grid for communication is also composed of three dimensions: message formulation, message delivery, and message and communication feedback . Message formulation refers to the ability to design and structure a message to be sent, such as outlining the content of an argument. Message delivery is about effectively transmitting verbal and non-verbal aspects of a message. Finally, message and communication feedback refers to the ability of students and teachers to understand their audience, analyze their social surroundings, and interpret information in context. Other components of communication skills such as theory of mind, empathy, or emotional intelligence are also relevant and included in the process of applying the grid. Thompson ( 2020 ) proposes a four-component operationalized definition of communication for its assessment in students. First, they describe a comprehension strand covering the understanding and selection of adequate information from a range of sources. Message formulation in the IICD grid captures this dimension through its focus on content analysis and generation. Second, the presentation of information and ideas is mentioned in several different modes, adjusted to the intended audience, verbally as well as non-verbally. The message delivery component of the IICD grid focuses on these points. Third, the authors note the importance of communication technology and its advanced use. The IICD grid also covers the importance of technology use in its tools and techniques category, with, for example, an item that reads: students learn to effectively use a variety of formats of communication (social media, make a video, e-mail, letter writing, creating a document). Finally, Thompson ( 2020 ) describes the recognition of cultural and other differences as an important aspect of communication. The IICD grid aims at incorporating these aspects, notably in the meta-reflection category under each of the three dimensions.

5. Assessing the 4Cs in Informal Educational Contexts: The Example of Games

5.1. the 4cs in informal educational contexts.

So far, the focus has been on rather formal ways of nurturing the 4Cs. Although institutions and training programs are perhaps the most significant and necessary avenues of education, they are not the sole context in which 4Cs’ learning and improvement can manifest. One other important potential learning context is game play. Games are activities that are present and participated in throughout human society—by those of all ages, genders, and socio-economic statuses ( Bateson and Martin 2013 ; Huizinga 1949 ; Malaby 2007 ). This informal setting can also provide favorable conditions to help improve the 4Cs ( van Rosmalen et al. 2014 ) and should not be under-appreciated. Games provide a unique environment for learning, as they can foster a space to freely explore possibilities and one’s own potential ( de Freitas 2006 ). We argue that games are a significant potential pathway for the improvement of the 4Cs, and as such, they merit the same attention as more formal ways of learning and developing competencies.

5.2. 4Cs Evaluation Framework for Games

Compared to schools and educational institutions, the focus of IICD’s evaluation framework for games (see International Institute for Competency Development 2021 ) is more narrow. Thus, it is fundamentally different from the institutional grid: games, complex and deep as they can sometimes be, cannot directly be compared to the complexity of a school curriculum and all the programs it contains. The evaluation of a game’s effectiveness for training/improving a given C rests on the following principle: if a game presents affordances conducive to exercising a given skill, engaged playing of that game should help improve that skill.

The game’s evaluation grid is scored based on two criteria. For example, as a part of a game’s rating as a tool for the development of creativity, we determine the game must first meet two conditions. First, whether or not the game allows the opportunity for creativity to manifest itself: if creativity cannot occur in the game, it is obviously not eligible to receive ratings for that C. Second, whether or not creativity is needed in order to perform well in the game: if the players can win or achieve success in the game without needing creativity, this also means it cannot receive a rating for that C. If both conditions are met, however, the game will be considered potentially effective to improve creativity through the practice of certain components of creative behavior. This basic principle applies for all four of the Cs.

As outlined in Table 3 , below, the evaluation grid for each of the four Cs is composed of five components relevant to games that are different for each of the Cs. The grid works as follows: for each of the five components of each C, we evaluate the game on a list of sub-components using two yes/no scales: one for whether it is “possible” for that subcomponent to manifest and one for whether that sub-component is “required for success” in the game. This evaluation is done for all sub-components. After this, each general component is rated on the same two indicators. If 60% (i.e., three out of five) or more sub-components are positively rated as required, the general component is considered required. Then, the game is evaluated on its effectiveness for training and improving each of the 4Cs. If 60% or more components are positively rated as required, the game will be labelized as having the potential to be effective for training and improving the corresponding C.

Five different components evaluated for each C by the 4Cs assessment framework for games.

The evaluation grid for creativity is based on the multivariate model of creative potential (see Section 2.1.1 and Lubart et al. 2013 for more information) and is composed of four cognitive factors and one conative factor: originality , divergent thinking , convergent thinking , mental flexibility , and creative dispositions . Originality refers to the generation of ideas that are novel or unexpected, depending on the context. Divergent thinking corresponds to the generation of multiple ideas or solutions. Convergent thinking refers to the combination of multiple ideas and the selection of the most creative idea. Mental flexibility entails changing perspectives on a given problem and breaking away from initial ideas. Finally, creative dispositions concerns multiple personality-related factors conducive to creativity, such as openness to experience or risk taking.

The evaluation grid for critical thinking echoes Halpern’s ( 1998 ) as well as Marin and Halpern’s ( 2011 ) considerations for teaching this skill, that is, taking into consideration thinking skills, metacognition, and dispositions. The five components of the critical thinking grid are: goal-adequate discernment, objective thinking, metacognition, elaborate reasoning, and uncertainty management. Goal-adequate discernment entails the formulation of inferences and the discernment of contradictions when faced with a problem. Objective thinking corresponds to the suspension of one’s own judgment and the analysis of affirmations and sources in the most objective manner possible. Metacognition, here, is about questioning and reassessing information, as well as the awareness of one’s own cognitive biases. Elaborate reasoning entails reasoning in a way that is cautious, thorough, and serious. Finally, uncertainty management refers to the dispositional propensity to tolerate ambiguity and accept doubt.

The evaluation grid for collaboration is based on the quality of collaboration (QC) method ( Burkhardt et al. 2009 ; see Section 2.4.2 for more details) and is composed of the following five components: collaboration fluidity, well-argued deliberation and consensus-based decision, balance of contribution, organization and coordination, and cognitive syncing, input, and support. Collaboration fluidity entails the absence of speech overlap and the presence of a good flow in terms of turns to speak. Well-argued deliberation and consensus-based decision is about contributing to the discussion and task at hand, as well as participating in discussions and arguments, in order to obtain a consensus. Balance of contribution refers to having equal or equivalent contributions to organization, coordination, and decision making. Organization and coordination refers to effective management of roles, time, and “deadlines”, as well as the attribution of roles depending on participants’ skills. Finally, cognitive syncing, input, and support is about bringing ideas and resources to the group, as well as supporting and reinforcing other members of the group.

The five components used to evaluate communication in games include both linguistic, pragmatic, and social aspects. Linguistic skills per se are captured by the mastery of written and spoken language component. This component assesses language comprehension and the appropriate use of vocabulary. Pragmatic skills are captured by the verbal and non-verbal communication components and refer to the efficient use of verbal and body signals in the context of the game to achieve one’s communicative goals ( Grassmann 2014 ; Matthews 2014 ). Finally, the grid also evaluates social skills with its two last components, social interactions and social cognition, which, respectively, refer to the ability to interact with others appropriately—including by complying with the rules of the game—and to the understanding of other people’ mental states ( Tomasello 2005 ).

6. Discussion and Conclusions

Each of the 4Cs is a broad, multi-faceted concept that is the subject of a tremendous amount of research and discussion by a wide range of stakeholders in different disciplines, professions, and parts of the educational establishment. The development of evaluation frameworks to allow support for the 4Cs to be assessed and publicly recognized, using a label, is an important step for promoting and fostering these skills in educational contexts. As illustrated by IICD’s 4Cs Framework for educational institutions and programs, as well as its games/activities evaluation grid, the specific criteria to detect support for each C can vary depending upon the educational context (e.g., formal and institutional level or informal and at the activity level). Yet considering the 4Cs together highlights some additional observations, current challenges, and opportunities for the future that are worthy of discussion.

6.1. Interrelationships between the 4Cs and a New Model for Use in Pedagogy and Policy Promotion

One very important issue for understanding the 4Cs and their educational implementation that can be simultaneously a help and a hindrance for teaching them—and also a challenge when assessing them—is their multidimensionality and interrelatedness. In other words, the 4Cs are not entirely separate entities but instead, as Figure 2 shows, should be seen as four interlinked basic “elements” for future-oriented education that can help individuals in their learning process and, together, synergistically “bootstrap” the development of their cognitive potentials. Lamri and Lubart ( 2021 ), for example, found a certain base level of creativity was a necessary but not sufficient condition for success in managerial tasks, but that high-level performance required a combination of all four Cs. Some thinkers have argued that one cannot be creative without critical thinking, which also requires creativity, for example, to come up with alternative arguments (see Paul and Elder 2006 ). Similarly, among many other interrelationships, there is no collaboration without communication—and even ostensibly individual creativity is a “collaboration” of sorts with the general culture and precursors in a given field. As a result, it ranges from impossible to suboptimal to teach (or teach towards) one of the 4Cs without involving one or more of the others, and this commingling also underscores the genuine need and appropriateness of assessing them together.

“‘Crea-Critical-Collab-ication’: a Dynamic Interactionist Model of the 4Cs”. (Illustration of the interplay and interpenetration of creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and communication shown in dimensional space according to their differing cognitive/individual vs. social/interpersonal emphases; (© 2023, Branden Thornhill-Miller. All Rights Reserved. thornhill-miller.com; accessed on 20 January 2023)).

From this perspective, Thornhill-Miller ( 2021 ) proposed a “dynamic interactionist model of the 4Cs” and their interrelated contributions to the future of education and work. Presented in Figure 2 , this model is meant to serve as a visual and conceptual aid for understanding the 4Cs and their interrelationships, thereby also promoting better use and understanding of them in pedagogical and policy settings. In addition to suggesting the portmanteau of “crea-critical thinking” as a new term to describe the overlap of much of the creative and critical thinking processes, the title of this model, “Crea-Critical-Collab-ication”, is a verbal representation of the fluid four-way interrelationship between the 4Cs visually represented in Figure 2 (a title meant to playfully repackage the 4Cs for important pedagogical and policy uses). This model goes further to suggest some dimensional differences in emphases that, roughly speaking, also often exist among the 4Cs: that is to say, the frequently greater emphasis on cognitive or individual elements at play in creativity and critical thinking in comparison to the social and interpersonal aspects more central to communication and collaboration ( Thornhill-Miller 2021 ).

Similarly focused on the need to promote a phase change towards future-oriented education, Lucas ( 2019 ) and colleagues have suggested conflating creative thinking and critical thinking in order to propose “3Cs” (creative thinking, communication, and collaboration) as new “foundational literacies” to symmetrically add to the 3Rs (Reading, wRiting, and aRithmetic) of previous educational eras. Although we applaud these efforts, from our applied research perspective, we believe that the individual importance of, and distinct differences between, creative thinking and critical thinking support preserving them both as separate constructs in order to encourage the greatest development of each of them. Moreover, if only three categories were somehow required or preferable, one could argue that uniting communication and collaboration (as “collab-ication” suggests) might be preferable—particularly also given the fact that substantial aspects of communication are already covered within the 3Rs. In any case, we look forward to more such innovations and collaborations in this vibrant and important area of work at the crossroads between research, pedagogy, and policy development.

6.2. Limitations and Future Work

The rich literature in each of the 4Cs domains shows the positive effects of integrating these dimensions into educational and professional curricula. At the same time, the complexity of their definitions makes them difficult to assess, both in terms of reliability (assessment must not vary from one measurement to another) and of validity (tests must measure that which they are intended to measure). However, applied research in this area is becoming increasingly rigorous, with a growing capacity to provide the necessary tools for evidence-based practice. The development of these practices should involve interdisciplinary teams of teachers and other educational practitioners who are equipped and trained accordingly. Similarly, on the research side, further exploration and clarification of subcomponents of the 4Cs and other related skills will be important. Recent efforts to clarify the conceptual overlap and hierarchical relations of soft skills for the future of education and work, for example, have been helpful and promising (e.g., Joie-La Marle et al. 2022 ; Lamri et al. 2022 ). But the most definitive sort of taxonomy and measurement model that we are currently lacking might only be established based on the large-scale administration of a comprehensive battery of skill-measuring psychometric tests on appropriate cross sections of society.

The rapid development and integration of new technologies will also aid and change the contexts, resources, and implementation of the 4Cs. For example, the recent developments make it clear that the 4Cs will be enhanced and changed by interaction with artificially intelligence, even as 4Cs-related skills will probably, for the same reason, increasingly constitute the core of available human work in the future (see, e.g., Ross 2018 ). Similarly, research on virtual reality and creativity suggest that VR environments assist and expand individual and collaborative creativity ( Bourgeois-Bougrine et al. 2022 ). Because VR technologies offer the possibility of enhanced and materially enriched communication, collaboration, and information availability, they not only allow for the enhancement of creativity techniques but also for similar expansions and improvements on almost all forms of human activity (see Thornhill-Miller and Dupont 2016 )—including the other three Cs.

6.3. Conclusion: Labelization of the 4Cs and the Future of Education and Work

Traditional educational approaches cannot meet the educational needs of our emergent societies if they do not teach, promote, and assess in line with the new learner characteristics and contexts of the 21st century ( Sahin 2009 ). The sort of future-oriented change and development required by this shift in institutional practices, programming, and structure will likely meet with significant resistance from comfortably entrenched (and often outdated) segments of traditional educational and training establishments. Additional external evaluation and monitoring is rarely welcome by workers in any context. We believe, however, that top-down processes from the innovative and competition-conscious administrative levels will be met by bottom-up demands from students and education consumers to support these institutional changes. And we contend that efforts such as labelizing 4C processes will serve to push educators and institutions towards more relevant offerings, oriented towards the future of work and helping build a more successful future for all.

In the end, the 4Cs framework seems to be a manageable, focused model for modernizing education, and one worthy of its growing prevalence in the educational and research marketplace for a number of reasons. These reasons include the complexity and cumbersome nature of larger alternative systems and the 4Cs’ persuasive presence at the core of a number of early and industry-driven frameworks. In addition, the 4Cs have benefitted from their subsequent promotion by organizations such as the OECD and the World Economic Forum, as well as some more direct support from recent empirical research. The promotion, teaching, and assessment of the 4Cs will require a complex social intervention and mobilization of educational resources—a major shift in pedagogy and institutional structures. Yet the same evolving digital technologies that have largely caused the need for these massive, rapid changes can also assist in the implementation of solutions ( van Laar et al. 2017 ). To the extent that future research also converges on such a model (that has already been found pedagogically useful and policy-friendly by so many individuals and organizations), the 4Cs framework has the potential to become a manageable core for 21st century skills and the future of education and work—one that stakeholders with various agendas can already begin building on for a better educational and economic future together.

Funding Statement

This research received no external funding.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, B.T.-M. and T.L.; writing—original draft preparation, B.T.-M., A.C., M.M., J.-M.B., T.M., S.B.-B., S.E.H., F.V., M.A.-L., C.F., D.S., F.M.; writing—review and editing, B.T.-M., A.C., T.L., J.-M.B., C.F.; visualization, B.T.-M.; supervision, B.T.-M., T.L.; project administration, B.T.-M., T.L. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Institutional Review Board Statement

Not applicable.

Informed Consent Statement

Data availability statement, conflicts of interest.

B.T.-M. and T.L. are unpaid academic co-founder and project collaborator for the International Institute for Competency Development, whose labelization frameworks (developed in cooperation with Afnor International and the LaPEA lab of Université Paris Cité and Université Gustave Eiffel) are used as examples in this review. S.E.H. and M.A.-L. are employees of AFNOR International. No funding was received to support this research or article, which reflects the views of the scientists and researchers and not their organizations or companies.

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