"I Would Be Interested to Know...": Fifth-Grade Teachers' Participation in Social Studies Professional Development

• In Event: Empowering Citizens and Teachers: Engaging Social Studies Instruction

Abstract

In this study, I explore what happens when 15 elementary school teachers participate in a year-long, socially-situated professional development (PD). This PD focused on newly-approved state social studies standards, including elements of the C3 Framework (National Council for the Social Studies, 2013). Employing formative experiment design (Reinking & Bradley, 2004), sessions were responsiveness to teachers’ needs evidenced in verbal and written feedback and classroom observations. Sessions included teachers reviewing state standards, critiquing classroom materials, and modeling inquiry-based practices. Findings include (1) a transparency of and vulnerability in teachers’ work as they navigate various initiatives; (2) understanding ways elementary teachers make decisions associated with social studies content, perspectives, and materials; and (3) possibilities for university and PK-12 partnerships.

Author

• Kristy Brugar, University of Oklahoma