Dilip Mukejea writes in his new book, Learning How to Learn (not yet released; still in the works; this is a sneak preview!)

The 4Cs SUPERSKILLS for the 21st Century 

CREATIVE THINKING 

Creativity can be measured by its fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration. The most creative minds are those for whom creative thought is fluid. The most creative thinkers are also flexible within their creating endeavours — they are willing and able to manipulate their thinking to improve upon that which they are creating. 

When creative thinkers are at the peak of their creative process, they may enter a state of concentration so focused that they are totally absorbed in the activity at hand. They may be in effortless control and at the peak of their abilities. 

Finally, creative and innovative thinkers are original; they do not blindly "copy" the thinking of others but rather build their thinking from the ground up...via the ability to see what’s not there and make something happen: they are productive, not reproductive. 

CRITICAL THINKING 

Another way to form ideas is to use critical thinking. This involves a person using his own knowledge or point of view to decide what is right or wrong about someone else's ideas. 

This is sometimes called "having a mind of your own." It means that a person doesn't have to believe or accept everything that someone else says or writes. 

In addition to evaluating other people's ideas, critical thinking can also be used to evaluate things, relationships, phenomena, and situations. If used with due competence, critical thinking can help a student be spectacularly successful in school and elsewhere. 

COMMUNICATION 

Eradicating confusion, gaining clarity, by sharing thoughts, feelings, concepts, questions, ideas, solutions. This skill cultivates the ability to synthesise and transmit ideas with fluency in written and oral formats. 

* Articulate thoughts and ideas effectively using oral, written and nonverbal communication skills in a variety of forms, formats, and contexts 

* Listen effectively to decipher meaning, including knowledge, patterns, values, attitudes, intentions, and hidden contexts. 

* Use communication for a range of purposes (e.g. to inform, instruct, motivate, persuade, and evaluate). 

* Utilise multiple media and technologies, and know how to judge their effectiveness a priori as well as to assess their impact on outcomes. 

* Communicate effectively in diverse environments (including multi-lingual), cross-cultural, and multi-disciplinary.

COLLABORATION 

Collaborative Learning provides oral language and listening practice, and results in increases in the pragmatic speaking and listening skills of group members. 

Additionally, the collaborative learning process increases students' reading comprehension and the learning of reading strategies. 

Collaborative learning is ensured where we carefully plan, structure, monitor, and evaluate for positive interdependence, individual accountability, group processing, face to face interaction, and social skills.

 We cultivate this skill via the ability to work effectively and respectfully with others, including those from diverse groups and with opposing points of view.