8TH ANNUAL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE
When: January 27th, 2025, from 9 am to 3 pm (registration and breakfast starts at 8 am)
Where: Ohio History Center (800 E 17th Ave. Columbus, Ohio)
Fee: $120, includes breakfast and lunch
The Ohio History Connection and the School & Teacher Support team invite you to our eighth Annual Professional Development Institute. The goal of this workshop is to bring social studies teachers and educators together and provide them with the opportunity to learn and discuss new ideas and resources that can be implemented in their classroom in the coming school year and beyond.
Throughout this day, educators will participate in various sessions focused on best practices for teaching social studies content. This year we are happy to have sessions tailored to social studies standards for elementary grade bands and middle/high school grade bands. To provide a unique and engaging program, we have collaborated with experts from the Myaamia Center, the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center, and the Ohio Center for Law-Related Education.
DISCOUNTS & ADDITIONAL PAYMENT INSTRUCTIONS
Ohio as America Multi-year Subscribers Discounts: Register for free, contact [email protected] for code.
Group Discount: Register 5+ participants, get each fee for $100.
College Students: Email [email protected] with a copy of your student ID card to receive a coupon code for 50% off your registration.
Purchase Order Payment Directions: Contact [email protected] with a copy of your PO in order to receive a coupon code to complete your registration.
For all other inquiries, contact us at [email protected]
SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE
8:00-8:55 am – Welcome/Registration/Breakfast
9:00-9:50 am – Introductory Remarks and Discussion about the State of Social Studies
10:00 – 10:50 am – Concurrent Sessions A
10:55-11:45 am- Concurrent Sessions B
11:50 am-12:50 pm – Lunch – 2nd Floor Plaza
12:55-1:45 pm – Concurrent sessions C
1:50 pm -2:40 pm – Concurrent sessions D
2:50-3 pm – Final remarks/Certificate distribution
Introductory Remarks and Discussion About The State Of Social Studies
9:00 – 9:50 am
Presenters: Carla Mello (Department Manager, School & Teacher Support) at the Ohio History Connection
Elementary Track
Youth History Day 101
Presenter: Alex Eveleth (Manager, Ohio History Day at the Ohio History Connection)
Explore Youth History Day (YHD) and why diving into history through project-based learning is so effective for young learners! In this session, you’ll learn the basics of the YHD program and how project-based learning fosters critical thinking, research skills, and historical empathy. You’ll come away with strategies for fitting YHD into your curriculum, aligning it with standards, and a simple yearly plan. Plus, we’ll share resources and lessons designed specifically with 4th and 5th graders in mind.
Middle/High School Track
Bringing Authenticity Back to Civic Education
Presenter: Ryan Suskey (Ohio Center for Law-Related Education)
In a time when information (and misinformation) is flowing fast, students need more than just a passing understanding of government supplied by their textbooks. Join the Ohio Center for Law-Related Education to learn about the Six Proven Practices of Civic Education and how to incorporate more authentic instruction and assessments into your curriculum. The topics covered will include discussion-based activities, simulations of democratic processes, and rigorous curriculum.
Elementary Track
Using Primary Sources in the Elementary Social Studies Classroom
Presenter: Kevin Lydy (Education Specialist at the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center)
In this session, the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center's Education Specialist will present lessons developed utilizing the museum's archives and collections. The objective of each lesson is to connect students of the Dayton and Miami Valley community to their rich and meaningful history. These lessons revolve around the world-famous elocutionist Hallie Quinn Brown. Moreover, they align with the Ohio Departments of Education's (ODE) Content Standards for Social Studies (from timelines and biographies to primary and secondary sources), allowing teachers to help their students meet the requirements as set forth by ODE. Teachers attending this session will walk away with sample activities and worksheets that can be adjusted and modified to focus on prominent local/regional individuals from their own area.
Middle/High School Track
Core Conversations
Presenter: Trevor Rhodes (Content Coordinator at Ohio History Connection)
The field of social studies is swinging towards civics and connecting the past to the present-day. How can teachers make these connections without inciting controversy? Ohio History Connection brings you Core Conversations- a series designed to help teach current events through a historical lens. In this session, you will learn what Core Conversations are, how this model approaches teaching controversial issues, and how to create versions for your own classroom!
Elementary Track
Ribbonwork Inspired Bookmarks to Teach About a Few Aspects of Myaamia Culture
Presenters: Dr. Stephanie Danker (Faculty Affiliate Myaami Center) & Dr. Luke Meeken (Asst. Prof. of Art Education Miami University)
In this session, two Miami University Art Education professors who collaborate with educators from the Myaamia Center, will discuss curriculum and pedagogical strategies for 4th grade to focus on contemporary Indigenous people. Participants will receive resources and a mini version of the lesson plan, which addresses social studies, art and SEL standards. Each person will create a paper bookmark, inspired by Myaamia ribbonwork, to gain understanding of the art form’s layering technique and how to teach youth about the difference between cultural appropriation vs. cultural appreciation.
Middle/High School Track
Doing more with less: how to incorporate Native America History into your curriculum
Presenter(s): Carla Mello (Department Manager, School and Teacher Support at the Ohio History Connection)
Ohio History Connection has worked with Tribal representatives to understand and highlight Native American History, focused specifically on what students should understand about them and the past. In this session we will share the resulting pedagogy document that includes best practices, definitions, standards, and sources that you can use in your middle and high school classes. This session will be an opportunity to reflect, discuss, and brainstorm how to incorporate this history into your classroom, as part of the Ohio Social Studies Standards. Come prepare to share and engage with fellow teachers.
Elementary Track
What Happens If I Push This Button?
Presenter: Becky Sicking (Ohio as America Digital Curricula Manager at Ohio History Connection)
This is your chance to take a deeper look into our award-winning digital curriculum, Ohio as America. We will discuss how to integrate the curriculum with Google classroom, highlight favorite content and activities within the program, and showcase the latest updates. Additionally, this is your chance to get information directly from the manager of the curriculum, so a Q&A session will complete the presentation, allowing you to get the most out of Ohio as America for your classroom.
OR
Guided Look at the Ohio History Center
Presenter: Morgan McQueen (Education Coordinator, Ohio History Connection)
Explore the different exhibits in the Ohio History Center and consider how they connect to your social studies standards. Learn more about the other supports the Ohio History Center can offer to bring the museum into your own classroom!
Middle/High School Track
Reconstruction: History or Foreshadowing?
Presenter: Valerie Boyer (School and Inclusive Community Programs Coordinator at the Ohio History Connection)
The way we approach the Reconstruction Era is in the process of deconstructing, reconstructing, and it's about as messy as the Reconstruction period is supposed to be. And that's okay! How can we tell the truth, add choreography to the chaos, meaning to messiness, and ultimately lead scholars into a future and a present that makes sense? Ohio History Connection brings you Reconstruction: History or Foreshadowing? a session designed to help teach the Reconstruction Era, by making cultural and sociological connections to the present day. You will learn how to not run from the controversy of that period's more under-discussed topics, but rather make them a friend, an ally, and a tool for learning.
Inquiry is an active learning process that allows students to investigate questions linked to curriculum standards and specific teaching objectives. When an inquiry process is enhanced by using objects, we can cover specific concepts while supporting students' curiosity through observation and reflection. Participants will be exposed to three lesson plans that focus on specific ODE social studies, SEL and ELA learning standards, and that use objects as the main inspiration for inquiry. Together we will discuss the effectiveness of this approach.
This is your chance to take a deeper look into our award-winning digital curriculum. If you have questions about managing assessments, grading, and additional features of our online curriculum, this is your chance to get information directly from our new content coordinator.
Inclusive history includes multiple perspectives and highlight the voices, experiences and stories that have been left out of traditional textbooks and other educational resources. In this workshop we will provide practical ideas and inclusive history best practices that you can utilize in your classroom and in your curriculum.
How does the Science of Reading support Social Studies instruction and vice-versa? In this session we will learn about the connection between these two subjects and discuss actionable strategies that you can use in your classroom to support comprehension in both ELA and social studies. This session is tailored by grade-level band and offers practical examples of how to intentionally incorporate the Science of Reading with Social Studies.
Integrating science and social studies curricula is easier than you think. With these engaging, and hands-on lesson plans you can combine social studies content with STEM education. We'll share ideas to show step-by-step how to create and implement interdisciplinarity to your classroom. We will share information about useful and free STEM resources that can help social studies teachers to incorporate hands-on activities that go well with social studies content standards. Additionally we will discuss the benefits and challenges of interdisciplinary approaches.
Project-based learning can be a powerful tool to upgrade student inquiries to be more authentic and focused on taking action. Teachers will discover how PBL doesn’t just engage students in inquiry, but gives them the tools to identify and nurture their passions and unique interests. During the session’s accompanying activity, teachers will get a hands-on lesson to get them thinking and talking about PBL –as well as ways to incorporate PBL into their classroom.
Whether it’s a simulation in the classroom, a family night of board games, or a video game at home, the medium of games is essential to learning through experience. How can teachers bring this medium to the classroom? The curriculum creators at Ohio History Connection will connect teachers to resources through this workshop! Teachers will learn about game-learning theory and play with a myriad of tabletop games, board games, video games, and simulations that can be applied to the classroom. Whether you are a kindergarten teacher looking for a way to roleplay social-emotional learning or an APUSH teacher wanting to simulate the American Revolution, this workshop will equip teachers to instruct through the most entertaining medium possible.
