The NCDPI leadership and OER Project believe that teachers are the key to providing students with the skills and knowledge necessary to lead our country into the future. In that spirit, we are collaborating to provide a series of workshops for teachers looking to add a few new tools to their toolbox. Developing students’ skills in any social studies classroom is imperative for understanding the content. These sessions will dive deep into a particular skill and leave you with ideas and tools that can be implemented immediately in your classroom. OER Project team members will work with the NCDPI to design each session with your needs in mind. We are excited to begin this partnership and look forward to learning together throughout the school year.
April 2, 2024 from 4 to 5:30 p.m. ET
Who and what are maps for? What do they tell us about the people who made them? How can we use maps to better understand the world around us? OER Project’s approach to geography and the use of maps offers students a window on the worlds and minds of mapmakers while providing them with a clear understanding of the power of place. In this session, educators will explore some of OER Project’s collection of maps and practice strategies to assist students in using these sources to analyze the places that shape our understanding of world history.
Recorded March 5, 2024
How do we help students understand the time and place in which events, individuals, and sources exist? During this session, educators will look at the role of contextualization in world-history instruction, and practice strategies that empower students to view their units of study with the appropriate context and level of criticism.
RECORDED FEBRUARY 6, 2024
How can we help students recognize the shifts and constants that present themselves during their exploration of world history? Identifying and understanding the significance of continuities and changes over time is something students must be able to do if they are going to meaningfully compare the same location, idea, or historical process over a period of time. During this session, educators will examine the concept of continuity and change over time and review techniques for engaging their learners.
Recorded November 7, 2023
Comparison is a skill that students learn from a very young age, but comparing historical events and processes is far more complicated than comparing apples and oranges. Helping students understand the historical thinking practice of comparison will help them grapple with various historical events. Being able to describe, compare, and contrast events in the same era or across periods is vital to a student’s broader understanding of history. Do not miss out on your chance to learn a few techniques for engaging in activities that will support your students’ acquisition of this skill.
Recorded October 3, 2023
While reading and writing are integral to any social studies course, it is also important to develop student’s historical thinking practices. Causation is a skill that is often misrepresented by students and, many adults, to be honest. How can we help students understand the differences between long-term causes, short-term causes, and triggering events? How students use this skill to gain a greater historical perspective? You will be excited by the buzz that is created in your classroom when you begin to implement a few simple activities that strike at the heart of causation.
Recorded September 5, 2023
Doing the work of a historian takes skilled thinking and problem-solving that require both training and practice. Teaching students how to find a problem, locate evidence, and craft a clear solution takes careful coaching and a set of critical learning tools. Join members of the OER Project to discuss the importance of historical inquiry, strengthen your practice around helping students develop these core competencies, and walk away with a few tools to share in your classroom.