Social Studies

Supervisors

August 15, 2016

​

Kris McDaniel

WI DPI Social Studies Consultant

Leadership Slidely

http://slide.ly/view/fb0bcb39256ba3ec5ebd8c9d0979a3ff

http://www.angelamaiers.com/about/

Angela Maiers - You Matter TedTalk

​

​

Leadership Timer

http://safeshare.tv/w/ItrGhEfMvh

You can find everything we talk

about here: http://bit.ly/supermtg

​

​

Use the Padlet to add resources, comments,

or great ideas!

http://bit.ly/superpadlet

Password: supervisors

​

Why this meeting?

• Since I started in 2010, I’ve seen a gap where social studies supervisors and teacher leaders could meet, brainstorm, and network about larger-than-a-single-classroom topics (like an NSSSA for Wisconsin),
• Amazing state organizations are very interested, but overworked and understaffed by volunteer rockstars,
• General national decrease in student access to social studies, especially at the elementary level, and now sneaking into middle school level,
• Overall lack of PK-12 coherence in social studies nationwide,
• Changes in federal law change the focus from math/literacy to “whole child”.

Objectives for today:

Kris’:

• Keep finding more #rockstars.
• Form a core PLC of social studies supervisors and leaders.
• Share information from DPI and key stakeholders/organizations.
• Get feedback on what is needed in social studies state leadership.
• That feel-good feeling!

​

Objectives for today:

Participants:

• Meet people in similar situations as you.
• PLC to brainstorm curriculum, leadership, and advocacy issues.
• That feel good feeling!

​

What are two things that interest you about

attending this meeting?

What are you hoping to get out of attending?

What did you tell me you wanted to focus on?

• Curriculum work, in general and with more specific components (in smaller schools where one teacher has all preps, with days lost due to testing, with shortened schedules, with decreasing budgets)
• Networking
• Resources (how to move away from one textbook, integrating tech K-12) (although some focused on individual classroom resources)
• Seeing how other districts do their own curriculum work
• How to keep social studies as a core content area

​

Focus of the day:

• Updates from me
• Curriculum work
• Advocacy
• Fostering Leadership
• Future of this meeting

​

Curriculum management requires little to no leadership. Do your state required cycle every five years, when time and money run out, you file that sucker away, go in your classroom and shut the door.

​

Curriculum LEADERSHIP is a different beastie.

Curriculum LEADERSHIP looks at longstanding weaknesses in the project and figures out something to fix them. They focus on the purpose and audience of the documents, making them helpful for teachers and administrators. They ask the hard questions (“Why are we still teaching ___ when we know it’s outdated?” “Why are we still doing ___ project when it really doesn’t fit anymore?”, etc).

While public policy can make people do things, it cannot make people do those things well. This is especially salient in education for two reasons. First, state and federal policy makers do not run schools; they merely write laws and regulations telling school districts what principals and teachers ought to do. And second, schooling is a complex, highly personal endeavor, which means that what happens at the individual level—the level of the teacher and the student—is the most crucial factor in separating failure from success. In education, there is often a vast distance between policy and practice.

Rick Hess, The Missing Half of School Reform (2013 National Affairs article)

(My emphasis)

George Couros @gcouros

Change is necessary, and it needs to happen to make our students the best they can possibly be.

Don’t become Blockbuster!

​

George Couros Blog How Quickly Things Change

​

Burning questions you’re dying to ask?

(I have tons that I brought to share, updates and all that, but if there are questions right away, we can go with that!)

BRIEF updates from Kris (see more details in slides 37 through 41)

• I am extremely limited in what I am allowed to “help” you with in terms of curriculum, but I want to help as much as I can.
• What is required by state law?
• Social Studies State Assessment Update
• Elementary Social Studies
• Suggested Instructional Framework for Social Studies
• Access to Information
• What would you like to see in webinars that could be recorded?
• What support is needed statewide, that could be done electronically?
• What else should be included in the listserv beyond announcement?
• What can Kris do to provide more access to info?

​

What’s going on?

At the National level...

• ESSA
• Civics Test Requirement (I’ll come back to this)
• C3 (I’ll come back to this, too)

​

ESSA Highlights (as we understand them)

(Note - rule has not yet been finalized for ESSA, nor have appropriations been finalized - in other words, LOTS can still change)

• Significant changes:
• Greatly decreases the role of the federal government in K-12 education
• Much more focused on “whole child”, rather than two specific content areas only
• No AYP, no HQT, no CCR, no federal EE requirement (we love our acronyms…)
• Social Studies:
• Still not in required standards or federal testing
• “Well rounded” education specifically includes American history, civics, economics, geography, and government.

​

ESSA Grant Opportunity Highlights

(as they stand - remember, NO FUNDING YET)

• Student Support & Academic Enrichment Grants
• Provide all students with a “well rounded” education/improve school conditions for learning/improve the use of technology
• 95% of funding must go to school districts - woo hoo!
• Presidential Academies for American History & Civics
• Institute for teachers, up to 12 funded, with 50-300 teachers per academy
• Congressional Academies for American History & Civics
• 2-6 weeks, for rising juniors & seniors
• Based on Sandra Day O’Connor Act
• promote new and existing evidence-based strategies for innovation in the social studies
• specifically for underserved populations

C3

​

• 8 states + DC officially using to guide standards writing and implementation

​

• New York State - FREE C3 Inquiry Toolkit helpful for educators teaching and writing at any level - www.c3teachers.org/newyork

C3 as an Instructional Framework

What do I mean by this?

The Big Picture

Civics Test Graduation Requirement

Standards Policy and Process

New State Assessment Opportunity on the Horizon

State Standards Policy & Procedures

The State Superintendent and his cabinet are working on an agency-level procedure for updating state standards.

This work is still so under construction that I don’t even have a draft for you!

Until it’s complete...we won’t get new social studies standards.

New State Assessment Opportunity

(Social Studies Only)

If you were King/Queen of the World of Social Studies, what would a state assessment look like?

This is the question we are playing with.

“Think outside the box...in fact, think like there is no box” - Assistant State Superintendent Lynette Russell (Division for Student & School Success) (The Assessment Person)

Open discussion on state level assessments

Agency Initiatives

Agenda 2017

Achievement Gap

Yes, we know there’s lots on your plate

​

http://dpi.wi.gov/statesupt/agenda-2017

https://youtu.be/3B4SnAM7Zho

​

https://media.dpi.wi.gov/excforall/ecourse/story.html - Achievement Gap e-course

WISELearn

http://dpi.wi.gov/wiselearn

Lots Going On

We know there are many initiatives, requirements, and issues.

A lot of the work we are doing now is to try to help show how initiatives work together in many ways (EE + SLO + Disciplinary Literacy + License Renewal, for example).

​

​

What have I been working on?

• Elementary Social Studies
• Authentic Assessment for Social Studies at the state level
• Providing access to information and ideas to educators who may not be able to travel/go to conferences/etc
• Big picture curriculum work - how can I help?

Elementary Social Studies

How do we make social studies meaningful at the elementary grades when:

• We have documented, researched, national loss of teaching time in social studies, grades K-4;
• We have peer teachers who do not have content background and are trained as generalists (and so therefore may not recognize what “social studies” is);
• There is such a huge emphasis on literacy (and mathematics) that now I hear “but we incorporated our social studies into literacy time!” (proudly) - a lot.

Authentic Assessment for Social Studies

What if we had portfolios?

What if districts and teachers had a choice how their students would be assessed in social studies?

What if we had an inquiry-based social studies assessment, done at the classroom level?

What if…?

Access

What would you like to see in webinars that could be recorded?

What support is needed statewide, that could be done electronically?

What online chats should our teachers be accessing, just because they’re so awesome?

What else should be included in the listserv beyond announcement?

What can Kris do to provide more access to info?

District-Level Curriculum Work

• “I don’t want to cut corners on this [social studies] realignment process in my district. This meeting will hopefully keep us in the loop and consider different practices and/or areas of focus.”
• “I’ve never been directly involved with curriculum development on a large scale yet, but the need is arising for teacher leaders to make things happen in our district. Despite my willingness and interest, I feel unprepared for this role and would love to build my awareness and confidence by listening and networking.”
• “What SHOULD we be doing?”

District-Level Curriculum Work

• What is required by state law?
• Scope & Sequence Net
• Curriculum Framework v. Instructional Framework

​

Do you know?

If not, let’s

Kahoot.it

​

WI Education Standards

(“20 Standards”)

• General set up and requirements of school districts
• Statute 121.01(1)(a) through (t)
• Outline things such as licensure, staff development, counseling services, days & hours of instruction, curriculum and instruction requirements, etc.

​

http://dpi.wi.gov/sites/default/files/imce/cal/pdf/wi-edstds.pdf

Standard K - Curriculum

• Maintain a written, sequential curriculum plan...in… [K-12] social studies.
• Each sequential curriculum plan shall specify objectives, course sequence, course content, resources, and objective process of determining whether pupils attain the specific objectives, and an allocation of instructional time by week, semester, and school term.

​

http://dpi.wi.gov/sites/default/files/imce/cal/pdf/wi-edstds.pdf

Standard K - Curriculum

• Each sequential curriculum plan shall include a program evaluation method which provides that components of the sequential curriculum plan shall be monitored continuously. The overall program evaluation method shall be reviewed at least once every five years and revised as appropriate to ensure that pupils meet the curriculum objectives.

http://dpi.wi.gov/sites/default/files/imce/cal/pdf/wi-edstds.pdf

Standard L - Instruction

• In the elementary grades, provide regular instruction in ...social studies. In grades 5 to 8, provide regular instruction in ...social studies.
• In this subdivision, “regular instruction” means instruction each week for the entire school term in sufficient frequency and length to achieve the objectives and allocation of instructional time identified in the curriculum plans developed under…[Standard] K.

http://dpi.wi.gov/sites/default/files/imce/cal/pdf/wi-edstds.pdf

Standard L - Instruction

• Beginning September 1, 1991, as part of the social studies curriculum, include instruction in the history, culture, and tribal sovereignty of the federally recognized American Indian tribes and bands located in this state at least twice in the elementary grades and at least once in the high school grades.

http://dpi.wi.gov/sites/default/files/imce/cal/pdf/wi-edstds.pdf

Other education laws related to social studies

• You have to have social studies standards (WMAS, national content standards, write your own, but you have to have them),
• Citizenship s.118.01(2)(c) - basic understanding of government, federalism, founding documents, functions of organizations, resources, history, and understanding of different values and cultures.
• S.118.06 Flag, Pledge of Allegiance, and National Anthem

http://dpi.wi.gov/social-studies/laws

Civics Test Graduation Requirement

http://dpi.wi.gov/social-studies/civics

Any students graduating from a Wisconsin high school (starting with the class of 2017) "takes a civics test comprised of 100 questions that are identical to the 100 questions that may be asked of an individual during the process of applying for U.S. citizenship by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services and the pupil correctly answers at least 60 of those questions." (Section 3266R, 118.33(1m)(a)1.)

(WI 2015 Act 55 - State 2015-17 Biennial Budget)

Civics Test Graduation Requirement - Main Points

• This is not a state assessment. There is no requirement to send in test scores, there is NOT an “official” state test, and there is no “opt out”. It is a graduation requirement.
• Students with IEP’s must complete the test, but do not have to pass it.
• Students identified as LEP may take the test in the language of choice.
• There is no accommodation mentioned for students with federal 504 plans.

​

Civics Test Graduation Requirement - Main Points

​

Districts are responsible for:

• Obtaining/procuring the test,
• Determining format,
• Determining where it fits in the local curriculum/scope & sequence,
• Scoring the test and keeping records of who passed,
• Establishing student success on transcripts.

Civics Test Graduation Requirement

There is one “sanctioned” test, found at:

http://www.uscis.gov/citizenship

​

If you get a test from someone else, make sure it is up to date - there are local questions, and there are questions that will change with elections!!

Civics Test Graduation Requirement

“Like” groups:

• How are you fitting everything in?
• What is your individual scope & sequence? Do you have a document online that you can share in Padlet or send to Kris? Would a state-wide “scope and sequence net” help you?
• Are you using C3? How? Are you getting it to “work” as a curriculum document? How?
• Curricular resources - are you moving away from textbooks? What are you using?

District-Level Curriculum Work

• What is required by state law?
• Scope & Sequence Net
• Curriculum Framework v. Instructional Framework

​

​

Scope & Sequence Net

• Sent out to listserv (early 2013)
• 16 responses (426 school districts)
• Self-reported

​

• Includes: size of district, athletic conference, name of Curriculum Director, name of who was filling the form out, email address, what is taught in each grade K-8, what is required to be taken in HS, electives offered, AP classes offered, when is your curric cycle up

Scope & Sequence Net

• Sent out to listserv (early 2013)
• 16 responses (426 school districts)
• Self-reported

​

• Includes: size of district, athletic conference, name of Curriculum Director, name of who was filling the form out, email address, what is taught in each grade K-8, what is required to be taken in HS, electives offered, AP classes offered, when is your curric cycle up

District-Level Curriculum Work

• What is required by state law?
• Scope & Sequence Net
• Curriculum Framework v. Instructional Framework

​

What is the difference between curriculum and instruction?

District-Level Curriculum Work

What is the difference between curriculum and instruction?

• Curriculum is a broad range of student experiences over a range of time (grade levels).
• Instruction is the delivery of those experiences to specific students.

​

**BOTH should be living documents that shift over time!

As you work on curriculum, see if you can consider the Inquiry Cycle as an Instructional Framework instead of a Curriculum Framework

Curriculum Guidance

You now know my limitations (by law) - what do you need from me to help with curriculum work?

Lunch

How many of you have room to grow as leaders?

If leaders are learners, what do you do to support and enhance your own learning?

Mastery is Myth

What is your leadership role as an individual or group in the district, state, orgs, and the country?

Is it obvious to you and others what your role is and what you stand for?

Is your benchmark for success clear and understood by all?

Do you, as the leader, clearly reflect your vision and standards to such a degree that reading them is unnecessary?

Do you HAVE a vision and standards for leadership?

Fostering Leadership & Advocacy

• What does leadership in social studies look like?
• What problems do you face right now as a leader in your district?
• How do you continue your professional learning in leadership?
• What do you need in support from Kris and state organizations?
• How can we advocate for social studies at the district, state, and national level?

State Org Updates

• WI Council for the Social Studies
• WI Geographic Alliance
• WI Media Lab
• BadgerLink

Pulling it all together

• What type(s) of PLCs can be formed for support? What do they look like?
• What is the future of this group?

Connecting...

• Social Studies Listserv - contact me if you are interested in being added
• All listserv posts are put on Blogger, which automatically post to my G+ profile and Twitter
• Twitter - @wisdpisocstu
• G+ Communities
• WI DPI K-16 Social Studies PLC
• WI DPI Social Studies Assessment
• WI DPI Writing in Social Studies
• WI DPI Personal Financial Literacy
• Website: http://dpi.wi.gov/social-studies
• Scoop.It - all automatically post to Twitter
• Social Studies Education
• Primary Source Analysis
• Professional Development for Wisconsin Social Studies Teachers

​

Thanks so much!

Kris McDaniel

kristen.mcdaniel@dpi.wi.gov

608-266-2207

​

​

​