“How”—The Key to Knowledge-Building Pedagogy Success in Supporting Paradigm Shifts for Student Growth and the 4Cs of Future Education

Abstract

Over the past few decades, societies have transitioned from being industrialized and existing in isolation to being globally-entwined and based in knowledge. Classrooms have been transformed from factory-era teaching to a different type of learning for the Knowledge Age, where ideas are the main source of economic growth. The future of education is here today, where new pedagogies are needed to facilitate real-world learning, where students are able to acquire skills and competencies they need to achieve academic success, and where educators can become coaches and facilitators of learning AND co-learners rather than simply deliverers of pre-determined content. Knowledge Building is manifested in different types of classroom-based learning, primarily in student engagement, where content is contextualized and a curriculum is based in phenomenon learning, or “teaching by topic”. It incorporates technology with methodologies that allow learners to interact with the content of classroom instruction in a deep and thoughtful manner through an interdisciplinary approach. Students and teachers alike are co-learning, gaining knowledge from the experiences of others to achieve their learning objectives around the production and continual improvement of ideas. Knowledge-building classrooms create opportunities for students to acquire 21st Century skills that support real-world problem-solving, related to so-called STEM skills, particularly analytical skills and the scientific method. We refer to these skills as the “4Cs of Future Education”—Critical thinking ∙ Collaboration ∙ Communication ∙ Creativity —that will prepare students for success throughout the education continuum. These skills will also contribute to their preparation as engaged citizens and as productive workers in an era of volatile economies with surging unemployment and under-employment, particularly among young adults, and a rapidly changing, globalized labor market.