Social Media in Secondary School Settings

In 2012, the American Management Association conducted a survey of 768 managers and executives of various companies on the importance of critical thinking, [Page 664]creativity, communication, and collaboration (the 4Cs). The ability to successfully use the 4Cs was a desired skill employers look for but often find lacking in new graduates. The surveyed executives suggested that schools would have a better chance at effectively ingraining these skills in students than would companies after graduates are hired.

The importance of students leaving their K–12 education with the 4Cs is acknowledged by schools, but the difficulty comes with figuring out how to embed and teach these concepts in the modern classroom. A tried and true method has always been to tie learning to the interests of students, which ...