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Session 1 - Wednesday, 3 Feb

Before class

  • Buy (borrow, rent) a copy of the textbook
  • Read through the syllabus and get a sense of the assignments; the (approximate) due dates are in CourseSite

During class (ppt)

  • Introductions
  • Tour of course sites, resources
    • Textbook
    • Public face of the course: Wiki
      • Enacted curriculum = Course record, built session-by-session. See previous version of this course for an example.
    • Private face of the course: CourseSite.
      • You're probably familiar with Blackboard; we'll be using a different courseware system called Moodle. Lehigh has named theirs CourseSite.
      • Note that Moodle is a free tool. If you're interested, you can set up your own Moodle and use if for teaching your classes. Think of it as an alternative to Google Classroom, if your school doesn't provide that.
  • Reviewing syllabus
    • Part 1: General overview, expectations
    • Part 2: Assignments
  • Conceptual work
    • What is social studies...particularly in an age of crisis?
      • Why does social studies matter?
    • What is a social studies methods course?
      • Why do social studies methods matter?
    • What does social studies need to look like in the 21st century? Example of shifting needs: Civil Rights Movement: Should we focus on Claudette Colvin and not just Rosa Parks? Should we draw attention to Bayard Rustin? Is Fannie Lou Hamer the hinge between social and political revolution? Or should we look at Emmett Till and juxtapose him with Tamir Rice?
  • How we're going to try doing this course
    • Two conceptual frameworks I'll refer to
      • TPACK (for having an organized way to discuss teacher knowledge)
      • 'Three ring circus' of dispositions (common-ish idea – see Tom Fallace and Bill Gaudelli's writing for an clean articulation of their visions)
        • Traditional
        • Disciplinary
        • Classroom-driven
    • General strategy for class time
      • A rush through the have-to-know / have-to-do sorts of things. (Basically, I'm railroading the class / talking at you)
      • Maximum time for discussion.

After class

  • Reading
    • Chapin, Ch. 1
    • C3 Framework: intro material & history section
    • PDE standards for history
    • Common Core (well, "PA Core") standards for reading & writing in "History and Social Studies"
    • NCSS, 2008. In fact, the whole list of NCSS position statements is probably worth bookmarking!
    • Optional: Mehlinger, 1988; Crocco, 2004
  • Assignments
    • Download and organize relevant standards: C3 Framework, PDE standards on history, geography, civics, & economics, etc.
    • In Slack: I started threads on 'Best' and 'Worst' K-12 social studies lessons that you have ever experienced. I'll model, but: Identify the grade level and topic, briefly describe the content and pedagogy, and tell us why you are picking it out as the best/worst experience of your career as a K-12 social studies learner. In your 'Worst' entry, please don't use any identifying info – I'm not in the business of shaming teacher. (Conversely, in your 'Best' entry, feel free to shout out the teacher!)
    • Complete your first original instructional material and bring it to class next week. Don't forget to include a paragraph explaining its intended use. 
    • Start lining up an HTCE participant


Session 2 - Wednesday, 10 Feb

Before class

  • Complete Writing-to-Learn prompt in Slack (best/worst social studies lessons)
  • Complete and have available your 'Original Instructional Materials' product #1 – we will share and discuss in class
  • Complete other readings (above)
  • Download and organize standards

During class (no ppt tonight)

  • Reminder of two frameworks: TPACK & teacher dispositions (JamBoard)
  • Sharing OIP #1 – place this in context of frameworks? 
  • A little more organizing: JamBoard with 'Big Four' vs. 'Little Three'; different methods for each (to be built as we go)
  • Getting started in the 'Big Four' with history education
    • I would normally do this: standards, associations, look at some textbooks, get into some methods, then into some research
    • Instead: Let's just dive in: We'll do an activity called 'The Story of Aaron'
    • Break down what we just did...
      • Content knowledge (but then again: did our gaps slow us down at all?)
      • Technology used (good ol' slideware)
      • Pedagogy used (what would you call this??)
    • Identifying key methods for history ed – what are the 'signature' pedagogies? (Put it on the JamBoard!)
    • What are other methods for teaching history...but that also span other content areas? (Put it on the JamBoard!)
  • Getting our hands on more history ed resources, approaches
  • Closure

After class

  • In Slack: Write a history of the world! Just to prevent anyone from getting too ambitious, you have to do it in 300 words or less! (Ok, you can cheat a little...but not by an order of magnitude!)
  • Look at the history ed resources you're assigned (one of the three buckets above) and pick out at least two things to show in class next week
  • Prep your 'History Through a Child's Eyes' prep (that is, the image set. See the syllabus for details, but don't let this task drive you too crazy.)
  • Reading
    • Barton & Levstik, 1996 ('Back when God was around') – this is the study from which we derive History Through a Child's Eyes assignment (yay!)
    • History standards
      • C3 standards – read through the history section
      • PDE standards – see 'Academic Standards for History (Secondary)' 
      • Chapin chapter on History (Ch. 6)


Session 3 - Wednesday, 17 Feb

Before class

  • Complete and turn in HTCE prep work. It might help to read Barton & Levstik, 1996 before you do this.
  • Complete WTL in Slack ("history of the world")
  • Complete reading


During class (ppt)

  • Conceptual work
    • Let's start back on our JamBoard of methods, specifically the one where we were trying to organize some different methods for history education
    • Talking through our history ed databases from last week
    • Why are primary sources so central to history education?
    • More playing with primary sources: King Phillip's War
    • History ed as a source of harm? See work of Sam Wineburg
    • So why teach history ed?
  • Closure


After class

  • Reading
    • Textbook: Chapin, Ch. 3 & 4
    • Barton & Levstik, 2003 (challenges of sourcework)
    • Optional: Wineburg, 1991 (sourcework)
    • Optional: Hicks, Doolittle & Ewing, 2004
    • Optional: Lee & Clark, 2004 (digital history, SCIM-C)
    • Gross-Loh, 2016 (article from The Atlantic) on a history class at Harvard – lots of great, quick exposure to issues in history ed, some good thoughts on methods
  • Assignments
    • Complete and turn in OIP #2, don’t forget to include *reflection*
    • In Slack: I'd like to hear a rationale from everyone about 'why teach history'? Most debates about history ed get into fights over what history to teach...but I think you first have to answer WHY teach any history at all....


Session 4 - Wednesday, 24 Feb

Before class

  • Complete and turn in OIP #2, don't forget reflection. See syllabus for details. 
  • Complete WTL in Slack ("why teach history")
  • Complete reading


During class (ppt)

  • Conceptual work
    • Last week we talked about the traditional vs. disciplinary stance. Let's make sure we have these anchored in your head. Tell me which video goes best with which? (This is somewhat a trick question that can be argued either way)
    • We didn't get to the third stance, the one I'm labeling 'classroom-focused'. How would you characterize it? 
    • To explore more thoroughly, we're going to do some activities in Wikipedia, using a couple of jumping-off points
    • To bring this around full-circle: Can Wikipedia be used for...
      • Traditional teaching? 
      • Disciplinary teaching? 
      • Classroom-focused teaching? 
    • And to draw another loop: If you were to use a film or video in a classroom-focused way, what would it look like? (Here's one possible output, from the now-defunct PrimaryAccess: skip to the 2:30 mark here: Japanese-American internment
  • Closure: We need to move on from history, but...
    • What's in your methods toolbox? 
    • What do you look like as a history teacher? Describe yourself teaching a lesson
    •  Try on the three different stances – can you briefly describe a lesson (content + method, plus any related technologies) that you might teach in each of these stances?

After class

  • Reading
    • Textbook, Ch. 2 (planning)
    • "What is an Essential Question?"
    • At least take a brief dip into the folder of materials from Virginia. Look at the standards document first (SOLs), then the framework document. Notice how the standards have been re-framed into the concepts from Wiggins & McTighe / Backwards Design (essential understandings, essential questions, essential knowledge, etc.). It's not all super-awesome, but it's definitely a more useful document than anything you'll find at the state level in Pennsylvania. Finally, look at the scope-and-sequence document – pretty dry, and I'd hate to see someone implement it as-if, but again – it's a good starting point. 
  • Assignments
    • Complete course plan  #1.
      • Take a look at the course catalog from Liberty High School (or another school, preferably one in Pennsylvania) and pick out a class that you would LOVE to teach. 
      • Don't forget to check the syllabus for the requirements, and don't forget the reflection component.
      • And feel free to look at my (partial) sample course plan (linked in CourseSite) to give you a sense of the grain-size on this assignment. This is a VERY exploratory assignment – you're walking around in the space, you're sketching out trial balloons....


Session 5 - Wednesday, 3 March

Before class

  • Complete and turn in your first course plan
  • Complete reading

During class (ppt)

  • Opening up civics ed
    • Connections between civics and history 
    • Civics as a "high-stakes" content area:
    • Opening salvos on content, methods
      • Analyzing visual images about the branches of government
      • Mock elections, mock polling
      • Draw the Lines PA
  • What makes civics special?

After class

  • Reading
    • Civics standards: PDE, C3 – read and mark up!
    • Chapin, Ch. 7 (Civic Education and Global Education)
    • Optional: Fallace, 2010 (written for professors, not students, but this is the origin / parallel-thinking of the three stances framework)
  • Assignments
    • Complete and turn in second course plan
    • Complete WTL in Slack (Spanish-American War from three different stances + any civics implications?)


Session 6 - Wednesday, 10 March

Before class

  • Complete reading. Please *DO* mark up the civics standards. This is a bigger deal than usual!!
  • Complete WTL

During class (ppt)

After class


Session 07 - Wednesday, 17 March


Before class

  • Complete reading, watch linked videos

During class (ppt)

After class

  • Reading
    • Hammond & Manfra, 2009 (at long last!)
  • Assignments
    • Check out at least one game from iCivics.org
    • WTL: Civics ed, give three lesson ideas (one G, one P, one M) on a topic. (Feel free to use an iCivics game as one of your ideas)
    • Work on your CURRICULUM MAP – see templates, sample in CourseSite!

Session 8 - Wednesday, 24 Mar

Before class

  • Complete reading
  • Complete WTL

During class (ppt)

  • Conceptual work: Assessment & social studies
    • Generic purposes & assumptions of assessment: sequestered, individual tasks; assessment OF learning vs. assessment FOR learning; accountability / the 'bottom line' vs. the challenges of failure (or being passed along)
    • Reviewing things you (may?) already know – formative v. summative, etc.
    • Assessment in the context of social studies: What's the bottom line, again? Significance of schema, level of non-information in traditional assessments.
    • Examination of the work of Sam Wineburg, Gabriel Reich. Test items as text: compare primary source heuristics & test-wiseness
    • Examples of non-traditional assessment: Quick look back at example of a digital documentary. (This was made using the gone-but-not-forgotten PrimaryAccess.) Other tools: Glogster, Prezi, good ol' powerpoint (albeit perhaps used non-traditionally), a discussion board, a JamBoard, etc. 

    • Assessment resources

      • PDE SAS section on Project-Based Assessment (used to be labeled "Fair Assessment"). None of these are for social studies, but check out the ones on Literature. The "Follow, Follow, Follow" assessment has a particular resonance for today....
      • NAEP Questions Toolkit  – all of the "Big Four" social studies disciplines get their own assessments! Grades 4, 8, and 12
        • NAEP reports, if you want to see how these things have played out over time – for example, how did students fare on the 2010 vs. 2014 assessments? 

  • Closure: Don't forget that you will be assessed, too! Taking a look at the Praxis.

After class 

  • Reading: Chapin, Ch. 5; Reich, 2009
  • Review NAEP & Praxis links (above)
  • Complete and turn in your curriculum map assignment


Session 09 - Wednesday, 31 March 

Before class

  • Complete reading
  • Preview the instructional unit assignment
  • Complete and turn in curriculum map assignment

During class (ppt)

  • Getting into geography education. Here are a few links that will be handy
    • I'll be referencing my "What's in a (State) Name?" activity – see it halfway down this page on computational thinking.  
    • Some maps I'm working on for a 9th grade social studies class in Philadelphia
      • Philadelphia neighborhoods – what are they? Where are they? What are they called?? https://arcg.is/0aKeOT
      • Sample student maps of neighborhood inventory – I can only share this one: https://arcg.is/m0iX10
      • Regions of the United States ... how to define them? https://arcg.is/0fnCSj0
      • ...and for when folks are really  ready to get into geospatial inquiry: looking at the legacy of redlining, urban heat islands, gentrification.... https://arcg.is/1KW58u0
  • Some tools for geography education
    • Google Earth = free, beautiful, and great for getting a sense of place: https://www.google.com/earth/  --note that it can also run via a browser, but I think the client-side version gives you more options
    • Lehigh's ArcGIS Online server: https://lu.maps.arcgis.com/home/index.html --note that you can get this for free as a K-12 teacher. Lehigh (and govts and businesses) has to pay for it.


After class

  • More geography activities!
    • Sketchmaps: Pick TWO of the following and make a sketchmap – no more than 5 minutes each
      • Map of Mountaintop campus
      • Map of Southside Bethlehem
      • Map of the Lehigh Valley
      • Map of the United States
      • Map of the world
    • Types of maps – I posted a page of links; please explore each and identify what type of map you're seeing in each set. We will discuss at our next class meeting
    • Map projections – read this page that I created for TLT 368
  • Reading
    • Chapin, Ch. 8
    • Materials about writing objectives (see CourseSite for today's session)
    • optional: Alibrandi & Sarnoff, 2006 – I found this very influential in my thinking about what could/should be done with geospatial tools in a social studies class
  • Assignment: THINK ABOUT and/or work on unit overview; I've moved back the deadline


Session 10 -  - Wednesday, 7 April 

Before class

  • Complete reading
  • Think about / work on unit overview. We will discuss tonight
  • Complete the out-of-class activities that I requested (look at materials about maps & map projections; make a couple of sketchmaps)


During class (no ppt – but note the links below to various files)

  • Geography ed: Discussing independent activities from last week's follow-up
    • ArcGIS work
    • Types of maps
    • Map projections – why is this important? What stance does it fit into?
    • Sketchmaps – why is this useful? Again, what stance does it fit into?
  • Linking up to our themes
    • What's in your JamBoard of methods for geography? (link to the usual JamBoard file, geography page)
    • I've periodically made arguments about the different disciplines being special. History is special because...; civics is special because... – what about geography? What makes geography special? Or different? (We'll work this out in the JamBoard, too)
  • Geography ed resources, standards
    • What's in C3 – anything unexpected? 
    • What's in PDE? Same stuff? Not quite: check out the Five Themes of Geography
      • And now try this: Start typing a Google Search for "geography" – what are the auto-completes? Now try typing "Five themes" – what are the autocompletes?
  • Fun geography ed things that we can't do properly
    • Geography ed + social media --> Population density enactive
    • Scaffolded geocache
    • Community needs activity
  • One thing that IS built for online work: Walking to Water activity
    • Instructional frame: Check out this Story Map about water scarcity, created by a local teacher; he then created a second Story Map on Access to Water (for various purposes: drinking, hand water, sanitation)
    • And this thing keeps getting bigger! Because the students had zero concept of where their water came from, I made a map of water sources for Bethlehem; I later made a similar map for students in Wilmington, DE (Wilmington Water Infrastructure) that we've used as an intro to a unit about water. In fact, it replaced a field trip that the teacher used to take students on...before the pandemic....
  • And one last plug about why I think GEOGRAPHY IS SPECIAL – it got me to make a certain argument about social studies...and science. Science & social studies: A reciprocal relationship (slides)

After class

  • Extension activities
    • Social media: Find three social media artifacts that you might use to teach geography. Try Flickr, YouTube, Instagram – I'm not picky. Post them in the Slack channel I created for Geography work
    • Scaffolded geocache
      • Download and install this app on your phone: My GPS Coordinates (Android, iOS)
      • Go outside and start the app.
      • Figure out which way is north; take ten big steps. Which way did your latitude change? Why?
      • Take ten big steps to the east. Which way did your longitude change? Why?
      • If you are really committed to this bit, get some sidewalk chalk and draw out a compass rose. Include the coordinates. Then go find a target and note its its coordinates. Get a friend or family member to start at the compass rose with you and then go locate the target, using the coordinates.
    • Community needs activity: Grab your phone and go outside. See if you can document one or more resources within walking distance of your house for meeting the following community needs
      • Shelter
      • Food
      • Water
      • Transportation
      • Communication
      • Sanitation & hygiene
      • Governance
      • Spirituality
      • Safety
      • Medical care
      • Education
      • Recreation & leisure
  • Reading
    • Geography standards: PDE, C3 (see CourseSite folder)
    • If you liked the scaffolded geocache: Hammond, Bodzin, & Stanlick, 2014
    • If you liked the community needs activity: Zoning & Built Environment manuscript
    • (Added after class! Gah!) Don't forget to turn in your unit overview. Don't stress, just make your best effort on it.  


Session 11 - Wednesday, 14 April 

Before class

  • Complete reading
  • Complete and turn in unit overview
  • Complete the out-of-class activities that I requested (social media about geography, lat-lon coordinates activity, community resources activity)

During class (again, no ppt – but note the links below to various files)

  • Discussing fun geography ed things that we can't do properly – did you get a chance to mess with this? 
    • Geography ed + social media (note that if we were face to face, I'd set up a population density enactive)
    • Scaffolded geocache (or just messing with lat-lon)
    • Community needs activity – in fact, this activity got started today in a 9th grade class in Philly
  • Something that IS built for online work: Walking to Water activity
    • Instructional frame: Check out this Story Map about water scarcity, created by a local teacher; he then created a second Story Map on Access to Water (for various purposes: drinking, hand water, sanitation)
    • And this thing keeps getting bigger! Because the students had zero concept of where their water came from, I made a map of water sources for Bethlehem; I later made a similar map for students in Wilmington, DE (Wilmington Water Infrastructure) that we've used as an intro to a unit about water. In fact, it replaced a field trip that the teacher used to take students on...before the pandemic....
  • And let's revisit the JamBoard for why 'Geography is special', with one additional, one last plug about why I think GEOGRAPHY IS SPECIAL – it got me to make a certain argument about social studies...and science. Science & social studies: A reciprocal relationship (slides)
  • Re-visiting (via same JamBoard file) geography methods...and concepts
  • Discussion of how we'll handle the microteaching and field paper assignments
    • Microteaching: Prep and run an online lesson. I will model next week; can everyone else be ready to run a lesson on April 28? Syllabus specifies a set of resources to work from; I'm releasing from this. Choose what you like...but do try to mix up your methods. 
    • Field work: We aren't all able to get into field placements. So: We'll have a group discussion of the topics in the paper, and then everyone will write a (short) version of the paper)
  • And a check in on HTCE work – how is it coming? 

After class

  • Work on microteaching: Make a post in Slack 'microteaching' channel – what's your topic? What's your planned pedagogy? What technologies will you use? 
  • Prepare to discuss fieldwork topics (see syllabus)
  • For class next week: Have some Play Doh handy! We'll need it for an activity.


Session 12 - Wednesday, 21 April 

Before class

  • Complete reading
  • Post about your microteaching, using the channel I set up in Slack
  • Prep for discussing fieldwork (first half of topics in the syllabus)
  • Get some Play-Doh! Have it handy for classtime! I'm serious!

During class (ppt)


After class

  • Prep your micro-teaching!
  • Work on your final assignments! (HTCE, instructional unit)




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