Tuesday, May 21, 2019

May Board of Ed from the Malden Public Library: history, social studies, and civics update

back up is here
Peske: one year since approval of new standards
Michelle Ryan (herself a former Randolph history and social studies teacher):

DESE Efforts in support:
2018 Civics Education Institute: 3 days last July
regional instructional support network
"Framework on Tour": Pittsfield to the Cape
instructional planning and implementation grant $200K; 33 districts out of 105
two additional conferences this summer: civics conference in June at EMK institute; professional learning institute at Harvard Law
issuing documents on implementations, parent guides (what should you expect your child to know and be able to do over the course of the year), vertical progressions and quick reference guides

Patrick Daly of Assistant Superintendent in North Reading
thanks Commissioner for being so approachable"feel a shift from in the department from compliance and mandates"
making shift K-8; implementation of civics for eighth grade
"not changing just this year for high school"
electronic portfolios in elementary
"we need to think about what is different and how we make those shifts"
have a four year requirement of history in high school; already have a senior civics requirement
how can we view U.S. history through a world lens?
"this is a great opportunity" to do something different as they have discussed assessment
"no one wants another bubble test"
"not just have another assessment, but a new way of assessment"
"what does it mean to be a global citizen?"

Jenny Chung: History instructional coach in Cambridge
Democratic knowledge project: what is our vision for our course in eighth grade?
"how do we lift up hidden narratives in our curriculum?"
approaching philosophical foundations of democracy through Prince Hall, for example
"trying to be really thoughtful and deliberate" in approach with students

Natacha Scott, Director of history and social studies in Boston
consider how we are supporting teachers as they understand this framework
took it on tour in Boston
not immediately diving into content, but looking at it at a higher level
shifting to looking at three pillars of framework
social studies and history starts with youngest learners
focus on civic education; strengthen collaboration with civic organizations

West: what level of "reliability" needed to include in school and district report cards?
how should we think about tradeoff?
Daly: I think there's ways to do this; projects based on frameworks
something done at the schools with a representative sample taken at the schools
"more embedded on a daily basis"

McKenna: teachers have welcomed putting civics back in the curriculum
"there's a lot of stuff around...but it's so hard to access"
hope DESE will make it easy for teachers to find the resources they need
time-efficient way to find quality resources
Ryan: our number one priority for phase two of this

Moriarty: one of the most encouraging panels I've seen in awhile
references West's podcast
"having a both/and approach"
broad panopaly
feel there is a broad excitement about civics in broader community; outreach for resources

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