Introduction to the College, Career, and Civic Life (C3)
I have begun taking a new course with the Smithsonian Institution focused on "Teaching Historical Inquiry with Objects." The new Social Studies Standards for Wisconsin focus heavily on inquiry, which I believe is an enormously positive step toward preparing students for readiness for their futures.
I'm looking forward to this course helping me prepare to better engage my students in inquiry through my social studies classes.
The first unit in the class, "Introduction to the College, Career, and Civic Life (C3)," focuses on the C3 Framework and applicable Social Studies standards. First, the Inquiry Arc of the C3 framework was introduced. The four dimensions of the inquiry arc are as follows:
Dimension 1
Developing questions and planning inquiries
Dimension 2
Applying disciplinary concepts and tools
Dimension 3
Evaluating sources and using evidence
Dimension 4
Communicating conclusions and taking informed action
During the unit, I was challenged to answer a couple of questions:
How might the C3 Framework be useful in your classroom?
The C3 Framework can help me structure my classes into conducive environments for question-based learning. By using the framework, I can help my students to come up with researchable questions, determine which tools to use in which to find the answers, evaluate sources to find evidence, come to reasoned conclusions, and create an action plan to put their new knowledge into practice.
Using the C3 Framework, how would you describe social studies teachers' shared responsibility for literacy?
In order to do the work of a social scientist, one must be literate in the discipline. This means that as a social studies teacher, my responsibility is to ensure that my students are exposed to, and are able to practice, the skills that make one literate in social studies, such as being able to analyze primary and secondary sources, read charts and graphs and determine the significance of the information therein, question the source of the information they are consuming, etc. Students can easily transfer these skills to other disciplines and contexts to understand, create, and communicate information.
I have begun taking a new course with the Smithsonian Institution focused on "Teaching Historical Inquiry with Objects." The new Social Studies Standards for Wisconsin focus heavily on inquiry, which I believe is an enormously positive step toward preparing students for readiness for their futures.
