The 5th ‘C’ of 21st Century Skills? Try Computational Thinking (Not Coding)

But the big question is: Does current K-12 education equip every student with the requisite skills to become innovators and problem-solvers, or even informed citizens, to succeed in this world with pervasive computing? Since the turn of this century, the “4C’s of 21st century” skills—critical thinking, creativity, collaboration and communication—have seen growing recognition as essential ingredients of school curricula. This shift has prompted an uptake in pedagogies and frameworks such as project-based learning, inquiry learning, and deeper learning across all levels of K-12 that emphasize higher order thinking over rote learning. I argue that we need computational thinking (CT) to be another core skill—or the “5th C” of 21st century skills—that is taught to all students. (more)