BCPS Encourages Educators to Dig Into Social Studies Instruction

BCPS Archeology program in action – Months before the NCSS conference, George Brauer from BCPS Center for Archeology is shown overseeing teachers on a dig.

Many conferences involve spending a lot of time in large anonymous meeting rooms. But thanks to Baltimore County Public Schools, some participants at the 2004 National Council for the Social Studies Annual Conference spent an afternoon in a much different environment. They convened in a lab at Oregon Ridge Park examining and discussing the artifacts that Baltimore County high school students had unearthed, analyzed, and prepared for display.

They were participants in a pre-conference clinic on Archeology and Critical Thinking led by George Brauer, teacher/archeologist at the BCPS Center for Archeology. The BCPS archeology program, which provides learning experiences for students and professional development opportunities for teachers, won the prestigious NCSS Program of Excellence Award in 1994. At the BCPS Center for Archeology, students adhere to the criteria and follow the procedures employed by professional and academic archeologists.

Marie Erline and Barbara Yingling from the elementary social studies office working behind the volunteers table

Brauer was one of several BCPS administrators and teachers who contributed to the success of the National Council for the Social Studies’ largest conference ever. Based at the Baltimore Convention Center from November 19 – 21, the conference, which focused on Democracy and Diversity, attracted more than 4,000 participants, including many BCPS staff, and featured more than 300 sessions. High-profile speakers at the conference included NAACP Chairman Julian Bond, John Stossel of ABC News, and Pulitzer Prize winners Garry Wills and Samantha Powers.

“Presenting at conferences such as this affirms the work that we are doing,” says Rex Shepard, coordinator of social studies secondary programs for BCPS. “Maryland and Baltimore County are really in the lead in social studies instruction. Conferences like this also provide a chance for us to share with colleagues and learn from our counterparts.”

“One of the things that makes our social studies program so strong,” Shepard adds, “is that our teachers are always seeking new ideas and approaches – by going to conferences and taking courses. We also reach beyond our school system and engage in fruitful partnerships with others, such as our Teaching American History project with UMBC. Another important factor is the commitment of our system to curricular development and involving teachers in that process.”

BCPS Archeology program in action – Months before the NCSS conference, George Brauer from BCPS Center for Archeology discusses finds with teachers.

Besides the archeology pre-clinic, other sessions led by BCPS staff included:

• Outside Reading: Beyond the Textbook. Presented by Kathy Nye, supervisor of social studies secondary programs, Mark McDonald, social studies chair at Perry Hall Middle School, and Nancy Boyd, a former social studies coordinator, this session focused on strategies and activities to foster independent reading and offered an annotated bibliography.
  
• Integrating Fine Art into Social Science Instruction. Led by Renee Baylin, social studies teacher at the Carver Center for Arts and Technology, and Meg Heubeck, former social studies chair at Carver, this session explored strategies for integrating fine art into the government, history, and psychology instruction.
  
• Designing Effective U.S. History Instruction for the K-12 Classroom. Tina Nelson, social studies chair at Deer Park Middle, Wendy Schanberger, social studies chair at Hereford Middle, Bruce Lesh, social studies chair at Franklin High, and Rex Shepard, coordinator of social studies secondary programs, directed this session along with Dan Ritschel and Rachel Brubaker of the Center for History Education at UMBC. During the session, presenters shared research-based teaching strategies, exemplary lesson plans, and an innovative model of professional development, which have grown out of collaboration between UMBC and BCPS funded by a $1 million Teaching American History grant from the U.S. Department of Education.
  
• Using Reading to Teach Economics with Books. In this session, Barbara Yingling, coordinator of social studies elementary programs, and Maria Erline, resource teacher for social studies elementary programs, showed teachers how to use children’s books to develop ideas about economic concepts like production, resources, and scarcity. They also shared with session participants a preview of an ongoing project, with the Historical Society of Baltimore County, to develop hands-on history and economics kits. In addition, Yingling helped present a session with other social studies educators from around the state about Maryland’s Black Saga program, which encourages students to develop study skills while learning more about the African-American experience.
  
• A World in Your Hands: Geography for Primary Students– This session was presented by William Fitzhugh, a teacher at Reisterstown Elementary and instructor at the University of Maryland. He also joined with other K-6 educators to present A Festival of Elementary Social Studies Lessons, exemplary, powerful social studies lessons that use community, literary, and Internet resources to examine changes in the world and democratic ideals and practices. Fitzhugh is a past winner of the NCSS Elementary Teacher of the Year Award.

In addition to serving as presenters, Baltimore County teachers and social studies administrators pitched in to help as volunteers. Jesus Garcia, president of NCSS, praised all of the volunteers for their part in making the conference so successful.

Spotlight posted December 2, 2004

Story by Diana L. Spencer, Communications Officer Photos by the Social Studies Department