Four-Dimensional Education: The Competencies Learners Need to Succeed

by Charles Fadel, Bernie Trilling, Maya Bialik

What should students learn to best prepare for the twenty-first century?In this book, the Center for Curriculum Redesign (CCR) describes a framework built to address this question, so that curriculum is redesigned for versatility and adaptability, to thrive in our volatile present and uncertain future. The framework focuses on knowledge (what to know and understand), skills (how to use that knowledge), character (how to behave and engage in the world), and meta-learning (how to reflect on and adapt by continuing to learn and grow).This book is essential for teachers, department heads, heads of schools, administrators, policymakers, standard setters, curriculum and assessment developers, and other thought leaders and influencers, who seek to develop a thorough understanding of the needs and challenges we all face, and to help devise innovative solutions.

Genres: Education, Nonfiction

192 pages, Paperback

Published October 29, 2015

About the author

Charles Fadel is a global education thought leader and author, futurist and inventor. He is the founder and chairman of the Center for Curriculum Redesign (CCR), the chair of the education committee at BIAC/OECD, and a Member of OECD AI Experts group. He has worked with education systems and institutions in more than 30 countries.

Previously he spent 25 years in technology management (M/A-COM, Analog Devices, and as founder of NeurodyneAI), founded Fondation Helvetica Educatio (Geneva, Switzerland), Global Education Lead at Cisco Systems, visiting scholar at MIT ESG and Wharton/Penn CLO, project director Harvard GSE, member President’s Council at Olin College of Engineering, and angel investor with Beacon Angels.

BSEE, MBA, seven patents awarded & one pending.

Reviews

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet another framework for an expanded vision of educational outcomes. This one while not giving up the complexity of what students need to be successful aims at providing simplified, broadly accessible language for what all students need. It mostly succeeds, but I continue to worry that we as a field are not able to gain traction because of an inability to coalesce our efforts around common language.

Whether you call it 21st century skills, deeper learning, or four-dimensional education, it is basically all the same thing. It is clear that our children need more than the core content and basic skills that we have traditionally been teaching. Defining the outcomes, practices that nurture those outcomes, and the assessments that provide evidence around these outcomes is essential work and all schools benefit when we can talk through a common language. I'm not sure that this is it, but I hope that it does serve to bring us together.

[Eileen Sullivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was recommend to me at the NEASC conference in December and I just finished it. Every educator should read this book which provides a discussion about the essential competencies our students need to succeed in the 21st century. Global trends, technology,goals, and the breakdown of knowledge are defined. I particularly enjoyed Chapter 3-"The Knowledge Dimension: Knowledge-Traditional and Modern," where the authors talked about liberal arts,knowledge classifications, and then how to move to more relevant disciplines. The aspects of value, connecting people, and the use of data were highlighted. Another chapter made me reflect on the need to teach content that is valuable and job related with an emphasis on critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and what we call applied learning. Off to read more about the CCR (Center for Curriculum Redesign) who is a Prek-12 center that is the foundation for what our students in college must know.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

What should every student know? What skills should every student have? What should every teacher teach? How should we teach?

These questions get examined in this book.