3S Understanding
Encyclopedia
Subject Matter
3S Understanding is a mixture of three components that can be diagrammed as a triangle. The three Ss are subject, self, and social. The subject is the base curriculum and standards that are used by the school, state, and nation. They are inherent in every curriculum but James Henderson goes further in describing what he sees as subject. He says, “Teaching for democratic living requires the use of thinking-centered, performance-based activities". Teaching subject matter is important but it needs to focus on student thinking and assessment. Henderson gives many forms of performance-based learning which I included in my assessment plan: Collaborative learning, peer teaching, project-based learning, understanding performances, infusion of critical and creative thinking, and authentic problems that have real-world significance. Henderson also discusses the importance of constructivist learning and how drawing from past experiences and applying it to the present is important. The students will gain more meaning from the material if it has some meaning to them.Self-Learning
The second S is for Self-Learning and it represents the students’ view of themselves as lifelong learners. It is important for students to see themselves as constantly learning from others and from themselves. Everything that a student experiences, every person that they talk to, and everything they do impacts their beliefs and knowledge. If a teacher can help a student to realize that then they can help the student to grow to be active participants in a democratic society. Henderson also talks about social-emotional growth and how it can be accomplished by fostering, “caring and supportive learning environments that invite active student participation in classroom and school management activities”. It is important for students to make good choices and to know how to express emotion.Social Learning
The third S stands for Social Learning which gives the student understanding of their society. It helps them think about “equity, diversity, and civility issues”. Equity has to do with the equality of people and the ideas of fair and just. Henderson suggests that stereotypes are squashed at an early age and that grading should encourage all students. Diversity should celebrate human differences and diversity should be seen as something good. Civility focuses on the right to have different opinions and to listen to everyone’s opinions even if it is different.Paradigms
3S Understanding is built upon the curriculum wisdom paradigm which is an expansion of the constructivist best practice paradigm. The paradigm that Henderson is looking to get away from is the standardized management paradigm. He compares the two by saying standardized management’s problem solving cycle is, “goal-setting, decision-making, and reflecting activities aligned to high-stakes standardized tests” while curriculum wisdom’s is “goal-setting, decision-making, and reflecting activities that facilitate student’s subject matter meaning making in a context of active democratic living”. The difference is the last part of each explanation. One focuses on the high-stakes standardized tests while the other focuses on taking what the student is learning and applying it to themselves and the society they live in.Henderson and Kessen’s Curriculum Wisdom book is about one of the three educational paradigms that Henderson says are inherent in one another; they are the standardized management paradigm, the constructivist best practice paradigm, and the curriculum wisdom paradigm. Curriculum wisdom has to do with expanding upon the subject matter the student is learning. The curriculum wisdom paradigm is a “concise way to convey the subtle and complex challenges of approaching curriculum work as envisioning and enacting a good educational journey”. It is putting the subject matter in context with how it is meaningful to their lives. In essence the argument is that people need to know the subject matter, how to use it in their lives, and how to be a good member of society.