The 5C's - What are they?
The 5C's are Island School's framework of competencies, attitudes, values and habits which underpin students' learning and growth across the curriculum and co-curriculum up through the years. Lessons and activities are structured to help develop these 'skills' amongst students. Students are often required to reflect upon their understanding and development of the 5C's throughout the school year. On this page you can find more details about each of the 5C's and suggested questions to help you reflect upon your own skill development.
1. Organising my Learning
Examples |
Reflection Questions / Evidence to Look For |
Key Words |
I can organise my time to meet deadlines |
How do you organize your time? Do you set yourself realistic deadlines? |
prioritise, deadline |
I can plan ways to complete assignments and projects |
How do you use criteria to make decisions? Do you break longer tasks down effectively? How do you prioritise? |
criteria, rubrics, break down, prioritise |
I organise my resources to maximise learning |
Do you bring what you need to lessons? How is your work space organized for effective learning at home? How are your books, folders and computer files organised? |
equipment, work space, organise |
I can make useful notes |
Do you choose the best method of making notes for specific purposes? Will you understand your notes when returning to them? |
bullet point, heading, mind-map, graphic organiser, Cornell notes |
2. Managing Myself
Examples |
Reflection Questions / Evidence to Look For |
Key Words |
I can focus |
How do you overcome distractions? How do you stay focused on the task? |
Priorities, Goals, Time Management, Vision |
I show perseverance |
Do you learn from your mistakes? How do you react to failure and disappointment? |
Reflection, dedication, stamina, perspective |
I show resilience |
How do you cope with uncomfortable situations? How do you deal with new situations? |
Confidence, Humility, Awareness, Challenge |
I show initiative |
How do you seek help if needed? How do you make decisions about independent learning? How often do you go beyond the bare minimum? Are you inquisitive? How often do you look things up for yourself? |
Risk taking, curious, decision making, ownership, leadership |
I make good decisions about my own life |
What do you make your own decisions about? How do you make the right decision? How do you talk to friends and adults to help you make decisions? |
Empathy, Vocalise, Direction |
3. Reflecting on my Learning
Examples |
Reflection Questions |
Key Words |
I can identify strengths and areas for improvement in my learning |
How do you act upon feedback and self-evaluation? How do you learn from others? During longer tasks how do you reflect on your progress and make decisions based on this? Do you understand how you learn best? Have you found what motivates you? |
Humility, Awareness, Self-Criticism, Honesty, Evaluative |
I am aware of my personal strengths and my developing sense of identity |
Do you know what your weaknesses are? How do you find support to help you? Can you articulate what your strengths are? How do you overcome particular challenges? |
Meta-Cognition, Self Awareness, Belief, Confidence, Purpose |
4. Directing my own Learning
Examples |
Reflection Questions / Evidence to Look For |
Key Words |
I can ask good questions |
How do you decide upon your question? Is your question worthy of investigation? Is your research question realistic? Is your area for research clearly defined? |
Significant, Debatable, Focused, Answerable, Evidenced, Objective |
I can plan my own learning |
How do you set objectives for yourself? How do you manage time and other resources? How do you break down the project into stages? |
project cycle, inquiry cycle, creative cycle, research, plan, develop, make/do/act, review, revise, report, question |
I can find and select information |
How do you use appropriate ways to find information? How do you choose sources? How do you extract relevant information? How do you organise your research notes? |
primary data, secondary data, qualitative data, quantitative data, reliability, relevance, authority, objectivity, currency, source, bias, referencing |
I can interpret information |
How do you interpret information to make conclusions or hypotheses? How do you act on your findings? How do you interpret your findings to ask further questions? How do you evaluate your findings to suggest areas for further research? |
correlation, causality, conclusion, hypothesis, limitation, further research |
1. Interpreting
Examples |
Reflection Questions / Evidence to Look For |
Key Words |
I can identify ideas expressed |
What are the main ideas and the sub-texts? Which strategies do you use for understanding the big picture and the detail? How can you identify the perspective of the creator? How does your prior knowledge of the topic or context help you understand the text more fully? |
explicit, implicit, perspective, bias, context, skim and scan, context, prior knowledge |
I can understand the purpose and how it is achieved |
What is the purpose? Why do you think so? How successful is the text at achieving this purpose? |
inform, entertain, persuade, argue, instruct, describe, review, explain, confuse, inspire, move, provoke |
I can understand the features that make it suitable for its intended audience |
How does the writer create a level of formality in this text? How close does the audience feel to the creator? How does the creator achieve this? |
vocabulary, formality |
I can understand how the form helps to convey meaning |
How do literary devices enhance the meaning? How does organisation enhance clarity of meaning? How do media choices enhance the meaning? |
genre, code, convention, exclamation, repetition, rhetorical question, simile, metaphor, imagery, paragraph, topic sentence, point/example/explanation, sound, editing, perspective, space, scale, movement, angle, position, balance, light, shade, colour |
2. Creating
Examples |
Reflection Questions / Evidence to Look For |
Key Words |
I can select appropriate media tools for audience and purpose |
How do you justify the choice of this media tool? Which other tools did you consider and why did you choose this one? |
Value |
I can create a piece of communication that achieves its purpose |
What is the main purpose and how do you attempt to achieve this? How accurate is the vocabulary and sentence structure? How is the style or approach aligned with the purpose? |
inform, entertain, persuade, argue, instruct, describe, review, explain, confuse, inspire, move, provoke |
I can create a piece of communication for a specific audience |
How do you create a relationship with the audience? How do you elicit a response from the audience? To what extent do you consider the level of understanding of the audience? What aspects are included because you have considered the needs of the audience? How do you control the level of formality? |
relationship, response, understanding, vocabulary, formality |
I can use a suitable form to help convey meaning |
Where have conventions of the media form been used in your work and how well have they been applied? What are the similarities and differences between your work and another in the same form or genre? How have you organised ideas so that the logic of your thinking is apparent to the audience? How do the visuals help the audience to understand? How does your body language enhance communication? |
genre, code, convention, exclamation, repetition, rhetorical question, simile, metaphor, imagery, paragraph, topic sentence, point/example/explanation, sound, editing, perspective, space, scale, movement, angle, position, balance, light, shade, colour |
1. Being Connected
Example |
Reflection Questions / Evidence to Look For |
Key Words |
I can identify behaviours and practices that influence the world around me |
Do you monitor the news the news? Do you volunteer for any projects of moral importance? Do you follow the Island School code? Are you actively aware of others’ needs? Do you participate in the Island School community? |
moral compass, community, behaviour, influence, Island School code |
I base my decisions on a range of ideas and opinions |
Do you think about all the interested parties when making decisions? Do you listen actively to other opinions? Do you consider people who are different to yourself? Do you look to gather opinions from a wide range of places? |
active listening, opinions, perspective, interested parties |
I consider the implications of my decisions |
Do you consider the environmental implications of your decisions? Do you consider the effect of your decision on your community? Do you consider the impact your decisions have on yourself? |
environment, impact, effect, moral compass |
I make and fulfil commitments |
How are you involved with the school community? How are you involved in other comunities? Do you finish activities that you have started? Do you communicate effectively with others? Do you manage your time effectively? Do you avoid letting others down? |
responsibility, finish, communicate, time management |
2. Being Socially Aware
Example |
Reflection Questions / Evidence to Look For |
Key Words |
I take responsibility for my actions |
Do you understand that all decisions can have a positive or negative outcome? Do you understand that your decisions will have consequences and can affect others? |
outcome, consequences, expected behaviour, unexpected behaviour |
I have a positive impact on those around me |
Do you treat others as you would like to be treated? Do you look at things in a positive way? Do you believe in the rights of others? Can you identify strengths and weaknesses in other people? Do you know how to get the best out of other people? |
positive, rights, personality, leadership |
I can resolve disagreements |
Are you able to step back from issues in order to see a bigger picture? Do you seek to use restorative practices? |
Restorative practices, conflict |
I demonstrate empathy |
Do you understand the needs and feelings of others? Do you seek to understand the views of others? Do others seek you out for guidance? |
others, understanding, empathy, guidance |
1. Collaborating with Empathy
Examples |
Reflection Questions / Evidence to Look For |
Key Words |
I can help my group to work positively together |
How do you demonstrate the social dispositions? How do you speak up for your own rights and needs within a group? How do you show sensitivity to others’ feelings, needs and cultures? How do you give sensitive feedback to others? How do you react to feedback from others? |
active listener energiser excellence controller total observer perfectionist attention seeker blocker |
I can monitor the group and resolve conflict when necessary |
How do you demonstrate conflict-resolution dispositions? |
translator harmonize relations manager |
2. Collaborating Effectively
Examples |
Reflection Questions / Evidence to Look For |
Key Words |
I can help my group complete a project by taking on roles and tasks |
How do you accept responsibility for your own contribution to group work? How do you give meaningful feedback to others? How do you act upon feedback that you receive from others? How well do you help your group to make decisions? How do you demonstrate task dispositions? |
thinking out-of-the-box shaping ideas reality making evaluating specialist contribute discuss |
I can demonstrate leadership when appropriate |
How do you decide when to lead, when to co-lead and when to follow? How do you decide when to talk and when to listen? How can you act as a chair? How do you manage resources? How can you ensure that your group makes clear and fair decisions? How well can you ensure that your group achieves its aim? |
time management physical resources physical environment technology delegate support lead by example |
1. Generating Ideas
Examples |
Reflection Questions / Evidence to Look For |
Key Words |
I can generate ideas |
How open are you to new ideas? How can you generate alternative, unexpected and different ideas through play and experimentation? How freely, and without judgment can you share ideas? How can you generate ideas through curiosity towards the world? |
imagine, idea, alternative, different, new, original |
2. Analysing Ideas
Examples |
Reflection Questions / Evidence to Look For |
Key Words |
I can analyse ideas |
How can you use analogies and metaphors to think and to express ideas? How can you think about things from different perspectives? How can you justify your ideas? How can you break down your ideas into component parts to make clear how they may be structured, related or connected to other ideas? How can you distinguish and prioritise ideas? |
analogy, metaphor, perspective, break down, distinguish, prioritise, order, justify, arrange, classify, divide |
3. Applying Ideas
Examples |
Reflection Questions / Evidence to Look For |
Key Words |
I can apply ideas |
How do you apply thinking strategies to shape your ideas? How can you use ideas to achieve an outcome? |
illustrate, apply, demonstrate, show, solve, classify, discover |
4. Synthesising Ideas
Examples |
Reflection Questions / Evidence to Look For |
Key Words |
I can synthesise ideas |
How can you make connections between different ideas? How can you incorporate different strategies? How can you put different ideas together to form theories or draw conclusions? How can you combine ideas to create something new to you? |
interrogate, modify, rearrange, substitute, plan, create, design, invent, incorporate |
5. Evaluating Ideas
Examples |
Reflection Questions / Evidence to Look For |
Key Words |
I can evaluate ideas |
How can you explain your thinking, and how you arrived at an idea? How do you evaluate your ideas and others’ ideas? How can you give and act upon valuable feedback? How can you use graphic organisers as an evaluative tool? What considerations do you give to the limitations in your appraisal of the process? How do you act on your thinking? |
reflect, appraise, defend, compare, recommend, rank, test, decide, measure, assess |