Curriculum Planning, Inquiry, and the C3 Framework Connecticut Council for Social Studies Summer Workshops, July 1, 2015 Chad D. Ellis, Ph.D. Dept. Supervisor,

Curriculum Planning, Inquiry, and the C3 Framework

Connecticut Council for Social StudiesSummer Workshops, July 1, 2015

Chad D. Ellis, Ph.D.Dept. Supervisor, History & Social StudiesWest Hartford Public Schools

The focus of session and target audience • Response to requests from

districts for assistance• Target audience: • those “new” to C3 and state

frameworks • non-social studies people

responsible for social studies planning• preK-12 teachers, related

supervisors

Curriculum: G.I.G.O. in action?• How many of you have complete

curriculum documents for all of your courses?• Do you/your colleagues know

where to find them?• How useful are they?• Are they used in planning?

• If the answer to any of these is NO, why?

How many of you have experienced curriculum

writing sessions like these?

Too many sheep, not enough shepherds.

(Or sometimes the converse?)

The “we can’t get rid of THAT!” session—content hoarding?)

Or this? (“What do we do next? IDK, what does the text book say?”)

These approaches tend to lead to curricula that are

• Intellectually shallow• Focusing on telling the story of

“stuff about things.”• Overflowing and full of low-level

knowledge and simple comprehension, “just to get through”• Sacrifice disciplinary literacies

and inquiry “in the interest of the discipline”

The net result?

Meanwhile, in social studies…

Whereas, C3 and the state frameworks

• Tap into the motivational power of natural human curiosity• Intellectually rich, higher order

thinking• Students practice doing what

historians and social scientists do!• Values content and integrates

knowledge with discipline-specific and general literacy skills

Social studies… whoa!

Learning intentions for this session• An overview of curriculum planning for

aligning courses with C3 and the Connecticut Frameworks• Ways to develop curriculum and units

aligned with C3 and the state frameworks• An overview of Concept Based Curriculum &

Instruction• Take away a template that can be used in

developing unit design

Key components of aligned curricula

• Prominence of inquiry throughout• Compelling and supporting

questions• Disciplinary-specific skills and

literacies• Generalizations (enduring

understandings)• Essential content and themes• Assured learning experiences• Assessments

Frequently Asked Questions• What does inquiry “look like?”• What is the difference between

compelling and supporting questions?• How do I know if my compelling

question is “good?”• How can we plan for content AND

skills? (alternately, themes “vs.” content?)• There is so much I have to cover…

how can we do this?

Operationalizing C3• Developing units and lessons

grounded in C3 and frameworks• Building inquiry into the

documents• Finding a useful and workable

format for curriculum documents

A recommendation for where to start

• Concept-Based Curriculum & Instruction• Dr. H. Lynn Erickson • Dr. Lois Lanning (ELA)• Provides cognitive

framework and format that aligns with our planning goals

C3 & CBCI: a match made in heaven!

• Common points of emphasis:• Organized around compelling and supporting questions• Provides conceptual focus to make units (“content coverage”) do-able• Recognizes and values essential content and skills (not either/or)• Grounded in essential literacies (discipline-specific and general)

• Value to the teacher:• If designed properly, is immediately useful• Provides “freedom with fences”• Ensures content AND skills

Transferable generalizations(Enduring understandings)

“Themes,” discipline-specific concepts

“Content”

Erickson’s “Structure of Knowledge” (1995)

Concepts and generalizations• Concepts: “timeless, universal, one or two words, abstract to different degrees”

(macro vs. micro concepts)• Examples:• Macro concepts (broad)— modernization, movement, commerce, family• Micro concepts (more specific)—collective action, supply and demand, separation of

powers

• Generalizations: statements of conceptual relationships which are transferable across time, cultures, situations• Example: People may immigrate to different areas in order to pursue economic

opportunity.

• Generalizations provide the “so what?” of why we study social studies and make it useful beyond trivia—the “lessons of history.”

Westward Movement

The Structure of Knowledge (Erickson,

1995)

© 2010 H. Lynn Erickson

(U.S Example)

People migrate to meet a variety of needs.Migration may lead to new opportunities or greater freedom.

• Migration • Opportunity• Needs • Hardship

Early American settlers migrated west.

Early American settlers looked for new opportunities.

Moving into more sophisticated generalizations• 3 Levels of generalizations

• Level 1: simple statement of relationship between/among concepts

• Level 2: incorporates an explanation of “why/how?”

• Level 3: provides a statement of the significance of the generalization. (often two sentences)

Example:• Level 1: “If you give a mouse a cookie, he’ll want a glass of milk.”

• Level 2: “If you give a mouse a cookie, he’ll want a glass of milk, because when successful getting something one wants, there is often a desire to see how much more one can get.”

• Level 3: “If you give a mouse a cookie, he’ll want a glass of milk, because when successful getting something one wants, there is often a desire to see how much more one can get. This can lead to…”

“… annexation of the Crimea.”

EEK!

Let’s

Directions:1. Pick a unit that you currently teach

2. Make a list of CONCEPTS that you emphasize in that unit

3. Create a “level 1” generalization that you might want students to understand

4. Kick it up a notch, to level 2—explain “why/how?”

5. Stretch—can you get to level 3? “What’s the significance?”

Aligning curriculum to the Frameworks using CBCI: unit template

CBCI curriculum framework format• Essential components

• Unit title• “Conceptual lens” (theme or concept of focus)• Unit overview (narrative)• Unit organizer (diagram)• Matrix: generalizations paired with guiding (supporting) questions• Matrix: critical content and key skills• Suggested unit map (sequence, timeline for lessons, assured learning

experiences, suggested activities)• Unit assessment and rubric

Getting there, Step One: Unit Organizer

Brainstorming…• Find a small group (4-5) people who teach the same/similar grade or

subject.• Identify a unit that you might teach• Sketch out a brainstorm unit map

Sample: Generalizations and Guiding questions (draft sample,

non-CT MS)

Critical content and skillsCritical Content Critical Skills

In this column, list CRITICAL/ESSENTIAL content.

Includes:Key concepts, topics, facts, content vocabulary, etc.

This represents the non-negotiable content

This column lists discipline-specific skills (map skills, graphing supply-demand curves, document analysis)

Also, related CCSS skills

The Kitchen Sink!!!

Unit map/Lesson matrixLesson topic Guiding questions Resources Assessment(s) Suggested strategies

(ASSURED LEARNING EXPERIENCES in bold)

This column would be where you include reference to specific lessons. This is your “map” of what gets taught.

Make sure you include everything you list in the content and skills.

Include the questions you identified in the section on Generalizations and Guiding questions.

What resources will you need?

Include titles, documents, etc.

How are you measuring understanding for each item?

Are you assessing skills as well as content?

Performance Assessment Tasks can measure both!

What strategies are suggested?

Assured Learning Experiences are agreed upon, non-negotiable common experiences. (e.g. debate, essay, presentation, etc.)

Inquiry check!• Self-audit your curriculum/unit map. Questions to consider…

• Can you find inquiry-based learning? Where? How many?• Quality of integration? True integration or add-on?• What is the depth of inquiry-based learning activities?• Do assessments support inquiry?• Are inquiry activities included in assured learning experiences?

Unit Assessment• The final component of the unit

is the unit assessment• Unit assessment should measure

conceptual understanding but require student use of content• Performance Assessment Tasks

are a good fit

The Coverage Conundrum…• The difficult (and ugly?)

conversation• Prune the hedges• 5-10% retention rate for

reading & lecture• “what’s the takeaway?”• “so what?”• Meaningful and useful for

students

Please remember…• The state frameworks provide

suggested guidelines NOT a prescriptive recipe.• Units and themes listed are

options, not mandates

• “Something’s gotta give, something’s gotta give, some-things, gotta give.” --Johnny Mercer, 1954

What are YOUR needs?

Contact info:Chad D. [email protected](office) 860-929-5148(cell) 860-904-3885