The 5Cs Framework: Close the Communication Gap, Transform Student Expression

Outline

Session (60 min)

1. Grounding and Introduction: Setting the Gap (5 min)

Process: Compass Points Activity (Initial Engagement): Participants engage in a quick, peer-to-peer share (3 min total). They respond to: “What worries you about student communication?” and “What do you need to know about communicating ideas.

2. Unpacking the 5Cs Framework: Core Components & Tools (25 min)

Process: Mini-Demonstrations & Think-Pair-Share: After explaining the pedagogy and tools for each C, participants engage in a 30-second Think-Pair-Share with a neighbor: “How could this C immediately enhance a lesson you are already familiar with?"

3. Compass Points: Excitement (5 min)

Process: Compass Points Activity (Transition): Participants use Mentimeter to answer: “What excites you most about the 5Cs Framework?

4. A Deeper Dive into Implementing the 5 Cs Choice Board(10 min)

Process: Guided Digital Reflection Activity: Participants access the provided Choice Board on their own devices. They spend 5 minutes exploring the choice board and customizing one activity idea on the board for their specific educational setting.

5. Action Planning: Your "Educator's Edge" (10 min)

Process: Compass Points Reflection (Closing/Commitment): Participants complete a personal commitment statement using Stance to establish their Educator's Edge on a shared Padlet.

Outcomes

After this session, participants will be able to:

- Apply the 5Cs Framework (Clickable, Choice, Curation, Connection, and Collaborative) to transform student communication.

- Design learning tasks that provide students with accessible ways to share their thinking, actively ensuring equity and accommodating learner variability.

- Develop a personalized toolkit of actionable strategies to immediately transform student expression in their educational setting.

Supporting research

UDL Cast Guidelines: https://udlguidelines.cast.org/
John Spencer: https://youtu.be/L08wNizulOY and https://youtu.be/BYBJQ5rIFjA
Edutopia: https://www.edutopia.org/article/how-make-student-choice-work
National Education Technology Plan: https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/128694/overview
ISTE articles: - https://www.iste.org/explore/classroom/focus-udl-when-using-classroom-technology and https://www.iste.org/explore/In-the-classroom/UDL-is-not-just-for-students