In the "4 K" model of key competencies for the future, what are the four, and where does critical thinking sit?

The four are Communication, Collaboration, Critical Thinking and Creativity — the German "4 K" (Kommunikation, Kollaboration, Kritisches Denken, Kreativität), internationally the "Four C's"; critical thinking is one of the four.

* The "4 K" (German) / "Four C's" (English) key competencies — critical thinking is one quadrant of four. *

These are the widely-cited 21st-century skills — the competencies argued to matter most as routine and knowledge-recall work gets automated:

• Communication (Kommunikation) — conveying ideas clearly to others.
• Collaboration (Kollaboration) — working effectively in teams.
• Critical Thinking (Kritisches Denken) — evaluating information and reasoning soundly.
• Creativity (Kreativität) — generating new ideas and approaches.

The pairing is deliberate: critical thinking (judging what's true) and creativity (imagining what's possible) are complementary, and both only have impact when you can communicate and collaborate to act on them.

Tip: In English they're the "Four C's" — same four skills, the German just starts each with K.

Go deeper:

• Wikipedia — 21st century skills — where the "Four C's" come from and how they fit the wider framework of future competencies.