MODUL II.3.

METHODS OF FORMING 4G SKILLS

Theme:
II.3.3. Using modern strategies and methods of improving
communication and collaboration thinking skills in English teaching.

Learning Outcomes:
By the end of the session participants will have:
• reflected on using modern strategies in English teaching
• practised and discussed different methods of improving collaboration

Communication: It's about more than just speaking fluently or writing

effectively. Communication in the 21st century also entails listening actively,
interpreting non-verbal cues, and knowing how to convey thoughts clearly and
respectfully in diverse settings.
Collaboration: As our world becomes more interconnected, the ability to
work harmoniously with others, respecting diverse perspectives, and contributing
to a common goal becomes even more important. This includes teamwork,
empathy, and conflict-resolution skills.
Making Education Relevant
The Four C's model can help us reframe our understanding of education,
emphasizing the development of well-rounded individuals rather than just good
test-takers. But how do we translate this understanding into practice?
1. Discuss the Four C's: Let's engage in conversations with our children about
these skills, illustrating them with relatable examples from our lives and the
world around us.
2. Integrate the Four C's in the Classroom: Teachers can design activities
that promote these skills. For instance, a debate or a problem-solving task
can foster critical thinking and communication.
 3. Apply the Four C's at Home: Parents can provide opportunities for
children to practice these skills outside school. This could be through family
projects, community involvement, or even discussions about current events.
4. Understand the Long-Term Impact: с. They prepare our children not only
for the workforce but also for active, informed participation in society.

Suggestions for teachers to discuss, integrate, and apply The Four C's with
their students:
As Teachers:
1. Communication:
Group Presentations: Assign projects that require students to present their
findings to the class, focusing on clear and effective communication.

Active Listening Activities: Use activities that require students to listen to others
and then paraphrase or respond to their points.

COLLABORATION
Cooperative Learning: Use strategies like Think-Pair-Share or Jigsaw, where
students have to work together and each person's contribution is crucial.
Teach Collaboration Skills: Explicitly teach skills like active listening, giving and
eceiving feedback, and conflict resolution.

COMMUNICATION
We need to teach communication – it doesn’t come naturally. Once learned,
the more we practice the easier it becomes. Teaching effective communication
skills to children helps them to express themselves clearly and convey their
feelings. Many tantrums can happen because a child can’t communicate their
feelings appropriately. It is important to start teaching them early, helping them
find the words or labels for their feelings.
A child who can verbally communicate well may be comfortable producing
written communication as well, which is likely to help them at school.
There are 3 types of communication: verbal, non-verbal, and visual.

Verbal Communication
Verbal communication is the use of words to share information with other people.
This is both written and verbal. It is all about the words that you choose and
therefore how they are interpreted.
Non-Verbal Communication
Non-verbal communication is how we communication through our facial
expressions, our gestures, body language, and tone of voice. Sometimes the non-
verbal communication is louder than the words spoken. It is important to know that
our non-verbal communication is as important as the words we choose, if not more
important at times.

VISUAL COMMUNICATION

This is where we communicate ideas and information through visual images,

like signs, graphics, typography, illustration, advertising and the such. Visual
communication has been used throughout the centuries. Think cave drawings!
People are so creative.

How can communication and collaboration skills be integrated into the

curriculum and assessment of students?
Communication and collaboration are essential skills for educational leaders
who want to foster innovation and improvement in their schools and communities.
In this article, you will learn how to integrate these skills into the curriculum and
assessment of students, and how to model them as a leader.

1. Why communication and collaboration matter

Communication and collaboration are the abilities to exchange information,

ideas, and feedback, and to work together towards a common goal. These skills are
crucial for educational innovation, as they enable leaders to engage with diverse
stakeholders, identify needs and opportunities, and co-create solutions.
Communication and collaboration also prepare students for the 21st century, as
they are required for academic, professional, and civic success.

2. How to integrate communication and collaboration into the curriculum

One way to integrate communication and collaboration into the curriculum is to

design learning activities that involve authentic, real-world problems and
challenges. These activities can be interdisciplinary, project-based, or inquiry-
based, and they can involve collaboration with peers, teachers, experts, or
community members. For example, students can work in teams to research and
propose solutions for a local or global issue, or to create a product or service that
meets a need or demand.

3.How to integrate communication and collaboration into the

assessment

Another way to integrate communication and collaboration into the

assessment is to use rubrics, portfolios, or performance tasks that measure these
skills along with content knowledge and other competencies. These assessment
methods can provide feedback on how well students communicate and collaborate
with others, and how they apply these skills to complex tasks. For example,
students can present their projects to an audience, or reflect on their collaboration
process and outcomes in a portfolio.

4.How to model communication and collaboration as a leader

As an educational leader, you can also model communication and

collaboration skills in your own practice. This means that you communicate clearly
and respectfully with your staff, students, parents, and partners, and that you listen
to their perspectives and feedback. It also means that you collaborate with them to
set goals, make decisions, and implement changes. For example, you can involve
your staff in developing a shared vision and action plan for your school, or partner
with other schools or organizations to share resources and best practices.

5.How to support communication and collaboration in your school culture

Finally, you can support communication and collaboration skills in your

school culture by creating a climate of trust, respect, and openness. This means that
you encourage and celebrate diversity, creativity, and innovation, and that you
address conflicts and challenges constructively. It also means that you provide
opportunities and spaces for communication and collaboration among your staff,
students, and community. For example, you can create professional learning
communities, student clubs, or parent councils that foster dialogue and
cooperation.
6.How to evaluate communication and collaboration in your school
improvement

The last step is to evaluate how communication and collaboration skills

contribute to your school improvement and innovation. This means that you collect
and analyze data and evidence on how these skills are taught, learned, and
practiced in your school, and how they impact student outcomes and school
performance. It also means that you use this data and evidence to inform your
planning, decision-making, and action. For example, you can use surveys,
interviews, or observations to assess the level and quality of communication and
collaboration in your school, or use test scores, graduation rates, or satisfaction
ratings to measure the effects of communication and collaboration on student
achievement and well-being.

TIPS FOR COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION IN THE

21ST CENTURY CLASSROOM

The ability to communicate clearly and collaborate with others are two of the
most important skills for today’s learners. These skills need to be developed
through consistent practice, so it’s important to provide plenty of opportunities for
learners to speak and work with others in class.
 Below are some ideas to help you set up your classroom for collaborative
work and facilitate effective student-to-student communication.

Preparing for Collaboration

For collaborative work to happen, students first need to be placed into

different groups. While randomly assigning groups may be one way of making
sure that students get a chance to work with different people each time, purposeful
groupings of students can help maximize learning. Here are two ways to
organize groups:

1. Place students of similar levels together when you want to devote more time to
working with the lower-level students in a class with mixed levels of proficiency.
2. Place higher-level students with lower-level students. Tutoring peers reinforces
learning for higher-level students, and lower-level students benefit from learning
from their peers.

Once students are in their groups, it’s important to tell them what the end
requirements are of the group work, so they know the expectations of each
exercise. Explain to students that they should not only share their own ideas, but
also ask for their classmates’ opinions about the topic. Lastly, assign roles so that
everyone participates. For example, the group leader keeps the conversation on
track. The recorder takes notes on the discussion. The reporter uses the notes to
report back to the whole class. Roles can be rotated within a group.

Facilitating Successful Communication

Students need to be able to provide and respond to critiques respectfully

both in class and in the workplace. Here are some suggestions for helping students
give and receive feedback on presentations effectively.
 Giving Feedback

• Have students ask their classmates how they think they did overall before
providing feedback.
• Ask students to use “I” instead of or before “you” to emphasize that they are
expressing their opinions. For example, they could say, “I think you could improve
your introduction,” instead of, “You could improve your introduction.” In these
activities from 21st Century Communication, Second Edition, students practice
using “I” statements to share their opinions productively in partner and group
conversations.

Activities from 21st Century Communication Level 4, Unit 7

• Explain the “sandwich” method of providing feedback to students. First, they

should express something that their classmate did well. Next, they present an area
 for improvement. Then, they add another thing that their classmate did well. In this
way, the two positive comments “sandwich” the critique in the middle.
• Ask students to always provide examples or reasons for their opinions so that their
classmates have a clear idea of why they did well, or not so well, in certain areas.
• Have students support their opinions with specific information in the scoring
rubric, if using one. In this example from 21st Century Communication, Second
Edition, students develop group presentations on a community project. Another
group uses a rubric to help them structure and deliver clear, impactful feedback on
the presentation.

TEST

1. Which of the following is NOT a component of communication in the 21st

century?
a) Speaking fluently
b) Writing effectively
c) Ignoring non-verbal cues
d) Listening actively

2. What is an essential aspect of communication besides conveying thoughts

clearly?
a) Avoiding diverse settings
b) Speaking loudly
c) Interpreting non-verbal cues
d) Talking quickly

3. Which of the following activities can help foster communication skills in the
classroom?
a) Encouraging students to interrupt each other
b) Assigning solo projects only
c) Organizing group discussions
d) Discouraging participation in debates

3. What is one long-term impact of teaching the Four C's?

a) Increased isolation in society
b) Decreased participation in the workforce
c) Preparation for active, informed participation in society
d) Fostering of good test-takers only
4. What is the purpose of active listening activities in the classroom?
a) To promote speaking only
b) To encourage students to ignore others' points
c) To foster effective listening and response skills
d) To minimize communication among students

5 How do active listening activities contribute to communication skills

development?
a) By avoiding verbal communication
b) By discouraging students from paraphrasing
c) By promoting clear and respectful communication
d) By prioritizing individual opinions over others'

6. What is one benefit of using active listening activities?

a) Increased misunderstanding among students
b) Enhanced ability to respond to others' points
c) Decreased collaboration among classmates
d) Weakened communication skills development

7. Which skill is NOT mentioned as important for collaboration?

a) Conflict resolution
b) Giving and receiving feedback
c) Isolating oneself from the group
d) Active listening

8. Why is teaching collaboration skills important?

a) To promote isolationism
b) To hinder teamwork
c) To develop harmonious working relationships
d) To discourage communication among peers

9. How can purposeful groupings maximize learning in collaborative work?

a) By randomly assigning groups
b) By placing students of similar levels together
c) By avoiding group work altogether
d) By assigning roles randomly within a group

10 What is the purpose of using the “sandwich” method for providing feedback?
a) To overwhelm the recipient with criticism
b) To avoid providing any constructive feedback
c) To provide a balance of positive and negative feedback
d) To discourage students from expressing their opinions
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