I have got a compelling question: What about ELL students and the C3 Framework? This is already the single most challenging aspect of my job. I have students who do not speak or read any English, who are native English speakers, but can’t read past a 2nd grade level, and I also have extremely advanced AP level students (one kid comes to mind who skipped his senior year of high school because he already had enough credits to go straight to college). Every day, I have to meet my kids where they are and somehow get him or her where they need to be by the end of each unit, semester, and school year depending on whatever assessment happens to be taking us hostage. I appreciate that the document addresses this up front in a section titled “The Different Abilities Children Bring to their Schooling” but I hope it’s not always a disclaimer. I would love to see the C3 Framework and any accompanying websites, resources, and professional learning experiences evolve to incorporate a practical “how to” guide for teachers in various contexts, including teaching ambitiously with kids at various levels.
With that important caveat out of the way, I have begun reflecting on how I could use the dimensions of the C3 Framework in my US History classrooms given my current teaching context:
Dimension 1 – Developing Questions & Planning Inquiries – I would like to start each unit with an over-arching big picture question then introduce students to the very basics of the content we’d be studying in the next few classes. From that point, getting students to “construct compelling questions” would require a lot of structure, scaffolding, and modeling (at least for the first few units). I would certainly have to guide their inquiry in ways that still allow me to fit in everything that I’d be required to teach for that unit (as determined by administration, the state, and the people who write whatever high-stakes assessment they have to take at the end of the year).
I absolutely love the idea of students having agency in driving their own learning, even within the current limitations of the public school classroom (e.g., standards, testing, and curriculum maps). The thought of giving students a starting point and letting them determine other important questions to ask excites every nerdy teacher bone in my body! With some prompting, I have no doubt that students will determine the best way to answer these questions is to go straight to the sources and to get a variety of perspectives. I already get them thinking this way at the beginning of the year by asking what types of evidence a historian of the future would look at if they wanted to write about pop-culture of the early 21st century.
Dimension 2: Applying Disciplinary Concepts and Tools – Since I’ve had the opportunity to teach all four disciplines addressed in the C3 Framework, I can say with certainty that I would be beyond elated if I were required (or even allowed) to teach to these standards! As I read them, my mind is reeling with possibilities. The disciplinary concepts allow for both inquiry and concrete concepts within each discipline. Teachers can actually engage student interest and then pile on as much specific factual information as they want/need to – whether it’s about the branches of government, U.S. domestic policy, economic indicators, or human-environment interaction. Students will be able to look at social studies issues that are relevant to them – issues that have influenced or continue to influence the here and now. They will simply use evidence from the past (in the case of U.S. history) to address these issues.
Dimensions 3 and 4 – Evaluating Sources and Using Evidence & Communicating Conclusions and Taking Informed Action – These are probably the easiest dimensions I can see being able to use in my current classroom environment. We already use and analyze a ton of primary documents from many perspectives to answer a big picture question. Students are already being held to higher standards in their reading and writing skills than ever before. Teachers at my school are already trained in a curricular program (Literacy Design Collaborative) that scaffolds the process of research and writing. With the implementation of the C3 framework, it wouldn’t feel like an “extra” task to squeeze into the semester; as the primary mode of student learning, it would be a refreshing and invigorating part of classroom culture.
I say all of this with an additional caveat: Until the state/district frees us from all the high stakes standardized assessments, we won’t actually get to enjoy the instructional ambition that the C3 Framework encourages.