1. Achieving the C3: An exploration into 21st Century social studies
Dr. Kathy Swan
Achieving the C3: An exploration into 21st Century social studies
Pearson Virtual Conference November 13, 2013

2. C3 Foundations Inquiry Arc Disciplinary Literacy Civic Life
C3 Framework built around three pillars:
An Inquiry Arc that provides the backbone to the document as well as the binding mechanism for the social studies disciplines of civics, economics, geography and history
Disciplinary Literacy: With the advent and adoption of the Common Core, it has been made clear that social studies shares in the responsibility of literacy education of K-12 students.
Civic Life: In social studies, we recognize the importance of preparing students for College and Career—we believe social studies contributes to this mission. Additionally, though, we believe that public schools also have a responsibility to train our youngest citizens for democratic life—and that social studies has a unique responsibility in the mission and we have chosen to elevate this mission along side College and Career as an outcome to this significant document.

3. C3 Inquiry Arc College, Career and Civic Life (C3)
We are currently working on a graphic to communicate the Inquiry Arc. You are the first audience to see a draft. In this model, you can see the roots of the Dimensions run deep into the soil and branch out, we hope taking root. As we know inquiry is often messy…..not linear….but we think the latest draft of the inquiry arc captures the C3 in dynamic form. Perhaps this could be on the flip side of the book mark!
College, Career and Civic Life (C3)
Framework for Social Studies State Standards:
Guidance for enhancing the rigor of K-12
civics, economics, geography and history

4. C3 Inquiry Arc What is the C3 Framework?
Dimension 1: Developing Questions and Planning Inquiries
Dimension 2: Applying Disciplinary Tools and Concepts (Civics, Economics, Geography, and History)
Dimension 3: Evaluating Sources and Using Evidence
Dimension 4: Communicating Conclusions and Taking Informed Action
On of my co-writers when we began the process of the C3 said two really important things: 1) He gave the project a 30% chance of success and 2) if we were successful, wouldn't’t it be great if the document could fit on a bookmark. The good news is we beat the odds, but the better news is that we were able to capture social studies in four big ideas that hang together in what we call an inquiry arc. Essentially, these dimensions are Interlocking and mutually building blocks for inquiry.
Dimension 1 is all about questioning. We talk a lot in education about inquiry but not as much about where inquiries originate. As we know, they begin with gnawing questions that send us in search of answers. In the C3, we call these types of questions “compelling” questions—these are the thorny questions that get under our skin and propel an inquiry forward. We give examples of questions with the framework itself—Was the American Revolution really that revolutionary? Should we build a transcontinental pipeline? Why do we have rules? How bad was the Great Recession? We are pleased that the C3 does some pioneering work in the initiation of an inquiry by acknowledging this forming questions are hard but worth teaching!
Dimension 2 is where the disciplines reside. In this dimension, civics, economics, geography and history are described as unique ways of thinking about questions—they each have disciplinary tools (Geography--mapping-GIS; History—primary sources; Economics—decision making Civics: discourse) and concepts that can be used as lenses for viewing or building knowledge within a inquiry.
Dimension 3 helps to organize the inquiry as an argumentation exercise. Students have a question, they gain knowledge and skills within the discipline, and D3 helps them to look at the variety of sources that will help them to begin answering their questions. In D3, they are sorting and analyzing these sources to eventually build an argument or explanation to their question using evidence they have gathered.
Dimension 4 closes the arc by having students communicate their conclusions in a variety of modalities—written, verbal and using technologies. Dimension 4 also provides space for inquiries to end in sort of action—This student action should be grounded in and informed by the inquiries initiated and sustained within and among the disciplines. In that way, action is then a purposeful, informed, and reflective experience. This action can take many forms—yes, it could be marching on city hall. More likely, it may be writing a letter to a congressman or woman; creating a digital documentary that is shared in a community; it could be working on a recycling project at school. As I said earlier, our greatest hope for students is that they are given opportunities to practice citizenship in all its many forms.

5. C3 Framework Organization
Subsections and progressions…..college and career readiness undergirded with progressions of increasing complexity from K-2 to 9-12.

6. Applying Disciplinary Tools and Concepts
Dimension 2:
Applying Disciplinary Tools and Concepts
Important to note that Dimension 2 is the largest section of the document—the document lays out these disciplines along side one another and makes clear their unique structures and perspectives.

7. History K-12 Pathway
Grade banded indicators that guide students along “pathways”/progressions towards college, career and civic readiness by high school graduation.
Indicators—some would say standards or benchmarks for students K-12.

8. Common Core ELA What is the C3 Framework?
The C3 Framework fully incorporates and extends the expectations for literacy learning put forward in the ELA Common Core. We view the literacy skills detailed in the ELA Common Core as establishing a foundation for inquiry in social studies. These literacy skills are an indispensable part of social studies.
Literacy for a Social Studies purpose;
Skills-based standards ignore the basic fact that language learning must occur in a meaningful context. The basis for higher-level learning — for philosophy, psychology, literature, even political science — is the emotions and impulses people feel every day. If we leave them out of the picture, reading is bled of much of its purpose. Claire Needell Hollander is an English teacher at a public middle school in Manhattan and the author of the young adult novel “Something Right Behind Her.”

9. Common Core ELA What is the C3 Framework?
Foundational, Supportive, and Vital Connections to CC Anchor Standards
Shared Language
e.g., argumentation, evidence, sources, discourse
Graphical and Narrative Explanations threaded throughout C3
Foundational, Supportive and Vital Connections
Shared language
Graphical and Narrative representations.

10. C3 Literacies What is the C3 Framework? Inquiry Disciplinary
Adapting arguments and explanations
Questioning
Selecting sources
Presenting arguments and explanations
Gathering information from sources
Critiquing arguments and explanations
Evaluating sources
Making claims
Analyzing social problems
Using evidence
Assessing options for action
Constructing arguments and explanations
Taking informed action
Inquiry
Using deliberative processes
Participating in school settings
Following rules
Making economic decisions
Using economic data
Identifying prices in a market
The C3 is hoping to marry two distinct but related literacies—inquiry related skills that are germane to all of the social studies disciplines and those skills that are particular to the disciplines. Most importantly, the C3 Framework is trying to set literacies in the context of social studies.
Disciplinary
Reasoning spatially
Constructing maps
Using geographic data
Classifying historical sources
Determining the purpose of an historical source
Analyzing cause and effect in history

11. Civic Engagement What is the C3 Framework? What is the C3 Framework?
Now more than ever, students need the intellectual power to recognize societal problems, ask good questions and develop robust investigations into them, consider possible solutions and consequences, separate evidence-based claims from parochial opinions, and communicate and act upon what they learn.
What is the C3 Framework?
1—Civic Arc…..the act of inquiry is civic engagement 2—Speaking and Listening 3—Taking informed action Civic Footprint---a) understanding problem b) contribution to solution and c) skills to work within groups.
We don’t recycle to solve problem but to contribute to solution.

12. Civic Engagement What is the C3 Framework? What is the C3 Framework?
The Civic Arc of the C3.
Civil and democratic discourse within a diverse and collaborative context.
e.g., Individually and with others, students will…
e.g., D2.Civ Use appropriate deliberative processes in multiple settings.
Taking Informed Action
What is the C3 Framework?
1—Civic Arc…..the act of inquiry is civic engagement 2—Speaking and Listening 3—Taking informed action Civic Footprint---a) understanding problem b) contribution to solution and c) skills to work within groups.
We don’t recycle to solve problem but to contribute to solution.

13. How will the C3 Framework
be used?
What can the C3 do?
Next Steps
Foundation for new standards
Companion to existing state standards
Recalibrate Relationship with Literacy
Professional Learning (In-service and pre-service) framed by an Instructional Arc
Curriculum and Instruction
Assessment reform
To explain to policy makers: “What is social studies and how does it contribute to the 3 C’s?”
This fellowship has been

14. C3 Shift: Question. Know. Analyze. Express.
A Guide to Inquiry-based Instruction in Social Studies
feat. Smithsonian, Newseum, Smithsonian American History Museum, Library of Congress, Center for Action Civics, National Constitution Center, Bill of Rights Institute, Federal Reserve, and more.

15. C3 Remix: Question. Know. Analyze. Express.
A Guide to Inquiry-based Instruction in Social Studies
feat. Smithsonian, Newseum, Smithsonian American History Museum, Library of Congress, Center for Action Civics, National Constitution Center, Bill of Rights Institute, Federal Reserve, and more.

16. Or Something Else: Question. Know. Analyze. Express.
A Guide to Inquiry-based Instruction in Social Studies
feat. Smithsonian, Newseum, Smithsonian American History Museum, Library of Congress, Center for Action Civics, National Constitution Center, Bill of Rights Institute, Federal Reserve, and more.

17. What have we learned so far?
Curricular partners have strengths and weaknesses when it comes to the “Instructional Arc” of the C3;
Not starting from scratch, but re-mixing or shifting existing resources to align with C3;
Educational reform language is problematic
No teacher wants an extreme makeover;
Identifying key instructional shifts could be helpful for the professional learning of teachers and create awareness of the C3 as an instructional tool.

18. Teachers are ready to shift!
“… To be  honest, I have been worried that the Social Studies standards would be either low quality or ambiguous…The emphasis on inquiry,  evaluation of documents, critical thinking and historical processes is so amazing to see.  It gives me so much hope for this country that if our citizens can become skilled in these tools that we might be able to solve many of our national ills as well as address the global challenges that are plaguing our planet.”

19. An Official C3 Invitation
How will the C3 Framework
be used?
An Official C3 Invitation
Next Steps
Examine your own strengths and weaknesses around facilitating student inquiry. And then Experiment!
Push for more rigorous and authentic assessment that measure inquiry and not just names, dates, and places—even if its in your own classroom!
Be a leader in your school and your PLC around the C3.
Meet with an administrator about using the C3 to measure good social studies.
This fellowship has been

20. Big Finish
C3 Big Finish
Mission statement for an agenda of reform in social studies. Social Studies is tired of being characterized as boring—tired of being marginalized by other content areas that seem to better message how they contribute to college and career. Those of us who have been involved in the C3 project believe our message is clear: Social studies is an indispensible part of a child’s education—without social studies, our students wont be fully prepared for college, career or civic life!