As schools and educators transitioned to distance learning during the spring and early summer of 2020, I started a series of professional development opportunities for educators to support best practices in social studies education during these difficult times. In the end, eighty-three sessions were hosted and recorded. Those sessions have been sorted and cross connected across the fifteen subcategories below.
Professional Development Sorted By Category:
- Teaching with Culturally Responsive Practices
- Teaching About Maine Native Americans
- COVID19/Distance Learning Strategies & Reentry Supports
- Interdisciplinary Connections
- Social Studies in Elementary Classrooms
- Disciplinary Literacy for Social Studies
- Social Studies Pedagogy in Practice
- Civics & Government
- Distance Learning & Resources Supported by Maine Organizations
- Distance Learning & Resources Supported by National Organizations
- Maine History & Topics
- Maine Social Studies Teacher Leaders
- Strategies, Tips, and Tricks from Award Winning Teachers
- Using Primary Sources in the Classroom
- Civically Engaged Students & Student Voice
- News Literacy & Teaching Current Events
Teaching Maine History with Primary Sources
Looking for ways to connect your students with national issues and events through a local lens? Having trouble finding time to navigate all the information and websites out there? This workshop series provides an interactive exploration of some great (and free) resources for Maine-based documents, images, and artifacts.
Following an introduction to teaching with primary sources by the Maine Department of Education, the Maine State Archives, Maine State Library, Maine State Museum, and Maine Historical Society will showcase the tools and online resources they have available to educators.
Part 1: Diving into Maine History with Primary Sources
- Archives Presentation
- Historical Society Presentation
- Library Presentation
- Museum Online Database Guide
Part 2: Webinar - Teaching with the "Freedom & Captivity" Primary Source Set
Part 3: Webinar - Teaching with the "Maine's Bicentennial" Primary Source Set
Part 4: Webinar - Teaching with the "Maine Pandemics" Primary Source Set
MOOSE Module Webinars
During the summer of 2020, the Maine DOE worked in collaboration with curriculum coordinators, Maine educational community organizations, museums, learning centers, and Maine educators to develop learning modules as part of the MOOSE initiative. The purpose of these modules is to provide anytime, anywhere learning options and resources for educators, students and their families that are aligned to Maine’s Learning Results.
Integrated across subject areas and project-based, these asynchronous modules ensure that learning is active, engaging, and continuous. Modules could be utilized for enhancing lessons, remediation, enrichment, credit recovery, or for use during remote learning – whenever a student cannot access classroom instruction. Each module is designed around the essential question, “How do I Interact with and Impact My World?” Modules are organized by grade level in grades pk-5 and by grade span for grades 6-8 and 9-12. The webinars below are led by some of the educators who worked to create the modules. They share their work, the thought process behind the module, and ideas about how to incorporate the modules into your classroom curriculum.
- Elementary Webinar MOOSE Webinar with Bethany Meehan-Poulin (RSU 56) & Stephanie Connors (RSU 38) - MOOSE module: How One Little Moose Learned to Change Her World
- Middle School MOOSE Webinar with Deb White (RSU 26) & Jamie Karaffa (RSU 16) - MOOSE module: Freedom of Speech
- High School MOOSE Webinar with Amy White (MSAD 17) & Geoff Wingard (Bangor) - MOOSE modules: Exercising Freedom Using the Arts and Leaders and Their Communities
Student YouTube Live Discussion
Social Studies Specialist Joe Schmidt hosted Emma Humphries (iCivics & CivXNow) to answer questions submitted by Maine students about the upcoming election and to share resources for students and teachers to use to learn more.
Check out the recording of the session: Getting From "Can't Vote. Don't Care" to "Count Me In"
Teacher Leader Webinar Series
- The Electoral College and Maine's Role in It (Led by Neal Young - MSAD #49)
- ESRI/ArcGIS Student Map Competition (Led by Brandi LeRoy - Bangor HS)
- Current Events in the Social Studies Classroom (Led by Derek Carroll - Falmouth Middle School)
- Using Children's Literature in Teaching Elementary Social Studies (Led by Stephanie Nichols - Narragansett Elementary School/Gorham)
- Integrating Books and Other Texts into Social Studies (Led by Crystal Polk - Strong Elementary/MSAD #58
- Teaching Wabanaki Studies in Elementary School (Led by Brianne Lolar - Old Town Elementary/RSU #34 w/ Kaya Lolar)
- Interdisciplinary Integration of Polar Studies - Social Studies/Science/Visual & Performing Arts (Led by Erin Towns - Edward Little HS/Auburn)
- Teaching with National Geographic Resources (Led by Sarah Bailey - South Portland High School)
- Social Studies in the Elementary Classroom - The American Revolution (Led Stephanie Connors - Mt. Vernon Elementary/RSU #38)
- The Electoral College & Maine - How Should States Distribute Electors? (Led by Jamie Karaffa - Bruce M. Whittier MS/RSU #16)
- Writing in the History Classroom (Led by Dennis Edmondson - Mt. Ararat HS/MSAD #75)
- Teaching Global Competencies (Led by Bobbie Thibodeau - Grey New Gloucester HS/SAD #15)
Social Studies Expert Webinar Series
- Youth Voting & Why It's Important to Start in K-12 (Led by Abby Kiesa from the CIRCLE Institute at Tufts University)
- How Do We Teach Using Culturally Relevant Pedagogy and the Brain? (Led by Dr. Dean Vesperman - UW-River Falls)
- Pivoting Practice: Online Strategies for Best Practices in Social Studies (Led by Beth Ratway - American Institutes in Research)
- Assessing Students While Teaching Online (Led by Peter Paccone - HS Teacher & PBS Digital Innovator)
- Teaching the 2020 Election with iCivics (Led by Emma Humphries - Chief Education Officer for iCivics)
- High Leverage Practices in Social Studies (Led by Stefanie Wager - Social Studies Consultant/Iowa DOE & NCSS President)
- Teaching Maine’s Relationship to Global Slavery with Primary Sources (Led by Kate McMahon/Smithsonian & Kate Webber/Maine State Museum)
- Using Civics + History as a Path Forward for Teaching Social Justice (Led by Natacha Scott/iCivics Director of Educator Engagement)
- ThinkerAnalytix Webinar Series
- Civics in Real Life: Resources for Virtual Instruction (Led by the Lou Frey Institute)
- Pandemics in Maine: Primary Sources - An Interdisciplinary Approach to Teaching (Led by DOE Content Specialists and the Maine State Museum)
- Activating Critical Consciousness through Culturally Responsive Practices (Led by Newsela)
- The Impact of Racial Discrimination on Black American Lives in the Jim Crow Era 1944-1960 (Led by the National Archives Foundation)
- Teaching with Graphic Biographies (Led by the OER Project)
- Using Technology to Build Culturally Responsive Classrooms (Led by EVERFI)
Virtual Professional Development with Joe Schmidt
- Forum 2021- Social Studies in the Elementary Classroom (Led by Joe Schmidt - Social Studies Specialist & Maine Teacher Leaders, Stephanie Nichols/Gorham Schools, Melissa Knight/RSU #57, and Stephanie Connors/RSU #38)
- Teaching About Maine Native Americans (Led by Joe Schmidt - Social Studies Specialist
- Understanding Contentious Topics When Reviewing Your Social Studies Curriculum (Led by Joe Schmidt - Social Studies Specialist)
- Best Practices in Social Studies: Disciplinary Literacy & Inquiry (Led by Joe Schmidt - Social Studies Specialist)
- Best Practices in Social Studies: Assessment & Curriculum Planning (Led by Joe Schmidt - Social Studies Specialist)
- Formative Assessments in Social Studies: Part One - Inquiry & Thinking (Led by Joe Schmidt - Social Studies Specialist)
- Formative Assessments in Social Studies: Part Two - Speaking, Listening, Reading, and Writing (Led by Joe Schmidt - Social Studies Specialist)
- Tools to Differentiate Reading of Primary Sources & Current Events (Led by Joe Schmidt - Social Studies Specialist)
- Virtual Hands on History (Led Joe Schmidt - Social Studies Specialist)
- Exploring Different Types of Primary Sources in Social Studies (Led by Joe Schmidt - Social Studies Specialist)
- Personal Primary Sources For Student Learning (Led by Joe Schmidt - Social Studies Specialist)
- Resources for Teaching Personal Finance Both In Person and Remote Learning for Grades 9-12 (Led by Joe Schmidt - Social Studies Specialist)
- Resources for Teaching Personal Finance Both In Person and Remote Learning for Grades K-8 (Led by Joe Schmidt - Social Studies Specialist)
- Cultural Competency: Maine Native Americans (Led by Joe Schmidt - Maine Department of Education)
- Confronting Bias In and With Your Curriculum (Led by Joe Schmidt - Social Studies Specialist)
The Maine Department of Education offers the following professional development opportunities for Maine teachers. These events can be hour long, two-hour long, half-day, or full-day events. For more information, please contact Joe Schmidt.
Research-Based Best Practices in the Social Studies Classroom
A general overview of the research-based best practices in social studies and how they connect to each other and what you are doing in your classroom. The two-day workshop has time to create/adapt lessons.
GOAL: Initial preparation and professional development programs that are rigorous, relevant, and data-driven.
Disciplinary Literacy in Social Studies
Disciplinary literacy is not just reading in the content area. Learn what disciplinary literacy looks like in the social studies.
GOAL: Rigorous standards and aligned curricula.
Engaging Students Using Primary Sources
Bring social studies alive by having students explore primary sources and come to their own conclusions.
GOAL: Learner-centered instructional practices.
The Inquiry-Based Social Studies Classroom
Allow students to learn social studies in ways that they are curious about while developing the skills necessary to show proficiency in their learning.
GOAL: Student voice and choice in the demonstration of learning.
Curriculum and Standards Review
Examine how your curriculum scope and sequence aligns with skills and standards to review where adjustments can be made.
GOAL: Rigorous standards and aligned curricula.
DBQs in the Classroom
Learn about how DBQs support disciplinary literacy while addressing content and skills.
GOAL: Learner-centered instructional practices.
Using CCSS in your Social Studies Classroom
Using CCSS for Literacy in the social studies and ELA to improve your students' reading, writing, and speaking skills in the classroom.
GOAL: Rigorous standards and aligned curricula.
Using the Arts to Teach Social Studies
Doing a close read of art and photographs can support student learning about people, places, and events throughout history.
GOAL: Rigorous standards and aligned curricula.
Tech-Based Resources in the Social Studies Classroom
With so many resources available, learn about some of the best ways to integrate technology in social studies.
GOAL: Comprehensive integration of technology.
Learning from Great Teachers on Twitter
Learn how to develop a professional learning community online with Twitter that allows you to learn from the best educators from around the world every day.
GOAL: Communities of practice designed to foster continuous improvement.
Questions are the New Answers
Instead of having students give you answers, challenge them to ask questions that show their understanding of topics.
GOAL: Student voice and choice in the demonstration of learning.