5Cs Examples

These examples are meant to act as a guide and by no means should be viewed as the only option when it comes to designing your own assignments, assessing yourself, or implementing the 5Cs. The goal of each Self Designed Assignment is to implement all 5Cs within your product.

Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is often hard to define. Within EMC2, it means asking deeper questions about both what you have learned and what you're going to learn. On a basic level, CT evolves from the need to remember content to the desire to create something new as you analyze further.

Example: Oliver has read a considerable amount on the topic of deer tick migration. From basic information about the insects themselves, to the changing climate conditions of the northeast U.S. since 1900, and outbreaks of Lyme Disease. Based on this, he has asked himself a number of questions that will allow him to break down and examine the information:

• Why does this matter? What are the implications if there is more or less migration?
• Has climate affected the migration of other insects in this or other areas in the past?
• Are there deer ticks in places that have not traditionally seen activity?

Oliver is looking to bring several disciplines into a writing piece broken into the categories of science to explain the changes in weather and species population, history to give the reader an idea of past activity, and effective writing to break down statistics for the reader.

Communication

Everything in EMC2 is hinged to communication. It is the responsibility of each student to communicate assignments in a timely manner. Communicating effectively also means that what you're exploring can be relayed to a larger audience easily and without the need to belabor the point.

Speaking and writing are essential to this course as well. Each time you communicate information, be it written or spoken, it should be done so in a professional manner. This will be important when scheduling and conducting interviews, hosting a podcast, or showcasing examples of your work.

Example: Oliver is conducting an interview with a professor of entomology at a local University. He contacted the professor in an appropriate amount of time. After receiving a response via email, Oliver asked the professor to be part of a podcast, to which he agreed.

Oliver has research interview techniques and listened to several interviews and stories from RadioLab, This American Life, etc. His goal is to ask specific questions to the professor that he is having difficulty finding in online resources. He creates what he thinks is a narrative around the interview so as to act as a collaborator with the professor. The conversation will give Oliver something to analyze as he moves forward. Something to pique his curiosity.

Collaboration

Collaborating with other E=mc2 students and your coordinator is essential. They are, however, not the only people you should collaborate with during the year. Colleagues, teachers, parents, community members, and any other stakeholders are necessary to help you gather information in learning or solidifying a thesis question or big idea. This also extends to interviews throughout the year. You should make a concerted effort to interview individuals that will question your ideas and help you progress. Before you interview or collaborate with someone, it is necessary to ask:

• How can this person help me?
• What is their expertise?
• Do they have a particular skill set (i.e. data mining, stat analysis, survey/research methods experience)?
• Do they have knowledge I can't find in a simple Google search?
• Are they part of a research team or group with a common interest in my topic?
• What are their credentials?
• Why them?

Example: After interviewing a professor, he finds that there is indeed a link between tick migration and warming temperatures in the northeast. He wants to know if the community members are aware of the alarming number of ticks found in their region. In collaboration with the local library and using the information he has gained since he started this project, he will give a short presentation on his findings from research and interviews.

He will survey the group using a simple form with questions he has outlined from his research as well as some questions about how much those in attendance know. Once the survey results are analyzed, Oliver finds that the community is not only uninformed about the migration, but unaware of the dangers associated with Lyme Disease. The community at large understands that the climate is changing. Oliver now must use this to solidify his "So What" portion the project.

Creativity

The hardest to tackle within a project is often creativity. How will you showcase the creative element within exploration? While that question may come to you as you begin to form a more solidified hypothesis or question. Each of the 5Cs should be enveloped into your Self Designed Assignments.

Example: Oliver has just completed his introduction to his thesis on climate change and deer tick migration in the northeast. To display creativity, he has opted to create an infographic on Canva from scratch that compares historical data on deer tick migration dating back to the industrial revolution.

Oliver must not only discuss how this is creative, but how it communicates a message, with whom he collaborated, what critical thinking skills* came into play, and what is still stimulating his curiosity.

Curiosity

The most overlooked facet of learning is curiosity. It's the motivating factor when attempting to learn something new. Each SDA should showcases your curiosity which, if done well, stimulate other's curiosity as well. Allowing your curiosity to wander here can lead you to creating something new that other's, even in the professional field, may have been ignoring. Curiosity is the desire to know and explore.

Example: Oliver's research has led him to realize the community is knowledgeable about climate change, but not about Lyme Disease that is spread by deer ticks. He narrows his topics to Lyme Disease, deer tick migration, and climate change. Oliver decides to use a method of focusing his questions called the Question Formulation Technique (QFT). He writes down as many questions as he can think of, both open and closed, in the span of 2 minutes. He does this with all 3 categories until he finds a theme or focus. This focus will determine which direction he goes to inform his thesis.

Resources on this page:

• Questions Provoking Critical Thinking - https://www.brown.edu/about/administration/sheridan-center/teaching-learning/effective-classroom-practices/discussions-seminars/questions
• How to Deepen Student Learning Using PBL & the QFT - http://rightquestion.org/blog/how-to-deepen-student-learning-using-pbl-and-qft/