Professional Development Institute
When: July 22, 2024, from 9 am to 3 pm (registration and breakfast starts at 8:30 am)
Where: Ohio History Center (800 E 17th Ave. Columbus, Ohio)
Fee: $120, including breakfast and lunch (the event is free of charge for Ohio as America multi-year subscribers)
Group Discount: Register 5 participants and get each fee for $100
College Student Discount: check intructions on our registration page to get a 50% discount
Contact-hours certificate will be provided
The School & Teacher Support team from the Ohio History Connection invites 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.
Event's Program
Introductory remarks and network opportunity - 9:00 – 9:50 am
Presenters: Carla Mello (Department Manager, School & Teacher Support)
Concurrent Sessions A - 10:00 – 10:50 AM
OPTION 1 - For elementary teachers
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.
OPTION 2 - For middle/high school teachers
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!
Concurrent Session B – 11:00-11:50 am
OPTION 1 - For elementary teachers
Youth History Day 101
Presenter: Alex Eveleth (Education Coordinator 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 Doing More with Less: How to Incorporate Native America History into Your Curriculum Presenter: Carla Mello (Department Manager, School & 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 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.
OPTION 2 - For middle/high school teachers
Doing More with Less: How to Incorporate Native America History into Your Curriculum
Presenter: Carla Mello (Department Manager, School & Teacher Support)
Ohio History Connection has worked with Tribal representatives to understand and highlight Native American History, focused specifically on what students should understand about them 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. 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.
Concurrent Session C - 12:50-1:40 pm
OPTION 1 - For elementary teachers
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.
OPTION 2 - For middle/high school teachers
Reconstruction: History or Foreshadowing?
Presenter: Valerie Boyer (School &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.
Concurrent Session D - 1:50-2:40 pm
OPTION 1 - For elementary teachers
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.
OPTION 2 - For middle/high school teachers
Civics Education
Presenter: Ryan Suskey (Ohio Center for Law-Related Education)
Details to come…
Closing remarks/certificates and raffle results - 2:50 – 3:00 pm
Presenters: Carla Mello (Department Manager, School & Teacher Support)
You can contact us at education@ohiohistory.org.