Just like most veteran social studies teachers find, I am always looking for that hook to get my students engaged. Although I have my basket of tricks, I am constantly looking for new ideas, approaches, activities, and resources that will ignite a passion in my students. This is one of my dilemmas. Over the years, I have found particular lessons or activities that seem to work well with my students, but as we transition into the needs of 21st century students, I must adapt. I believe one way to do that is to explore the C3 framework.
Also like most veteran teachers, I was weary of a new bunch of “standards” coming down on me. But unlike most standard reforms, the C3 framework was developed bottom up engaging all stakeholders. It embodies the direction needed in social studies education. It is student centered and inquiry based.
So I thought I’d take a look at it. I downloaded the rather long document from the NCSS website and said “okay, now what”. I was able to attend a number of lectures and workshops on the C3 framework hosted by either Dr. Amber Makaiau of the University of Hawai’i at Manoa or Rosanna Fukuda, state social studies specialist for the DOE. I still was like “what’s next”.
I realized that I wasn’t really going to understand the C3 framework until I went beyond reviewing the framework document and attending workshops, to actually seeing how it is manifested in classroom practice. So that is what I did. I started to examine the website c3teachers.org that included a number of inquiry based lessons. The lessons were all presented in pdf and word format and included all necessary resources. I thought, “well, here is a place to start.”
The first thing that I realized as I started to explore these inquiry lessons, is that the C3 framework presents inquiry in a different light, at least for me. Traditionally, inquiry was done as an extension of learning. Students were given content in a variety of modalities and from that they used their content understanding to engage in further research opportunities. What the C3 framework actually does is allows students to learn the content through the inquiry process. Through engagement in primary source analysis and other related documents, students enter the world of social studies content through the inquiry.
Some of my reflections on the process are: One, it takes time because students are not used to learning social studies this way. Two, the resources provided on the C3teachers are very helpful. They have vetted documents that are open sourced and referenced from reputable institutions. Three, the Word document format, allows teachers to play around with the resources and activates to better suit the needs of their students. Four, it is a framework that is intended to work with NCSS’ vision for social studies education but also for your vision and the vision of your colleagues.
After spending some time exploring, I truly believe that the C3 framework is the trend in education. I find similarities to the C3 with the NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards) and they are aligned to the Common Core State Standards for Literacy in content areas. But that is not why I believe that social studies teachers should be excited about the C3 framework. It moves social studies towards a concept-focused curriculum that allows students to study material in depth rather than a superficial review of hundreds of years of historical content. It also includes the push for taking informed action. This means students are moving towards applying their knowledge to make their school or community better. I truly believe that is the purpose of social studies education. I hope that all of our amazing social studies educators in Hawai’i join me in embracing the C3 framework and provide learning environments that will create students ready for our global society.
