Professional Development

September 27, 2023 @ 7:00p-8:00p EST – Free Online

Creating an Environment for Student Agency +

Guest Speaker: Christopher Tomlin

Christopher Tomlin is a 9th grade social studies teacher and 17 year student government advisor at a rural regional high school in Connecticut. He is the executive director of the Connecticut Association for Student Councils, supporting young people as they build the capacity for civic engagement.

During this session, participants will learn from Chris’s experiences cultivating an environment for student agency through teaching and student government. They will gain best practices and walk away with activities for student agency applicable to the civics classroom. This webinar is appropriate for middle and high school civics educators and those instructors interested in learning more about creating opportunities for student agency and civic engagement.

October 25, 2023 @ 7:00p-8:00p  EST  –  Free Online

A Civics of Technology from the Printing Press to ChatGPT

Guest Speaker: Daniel G. Krutka

Dr. Krutka is a former high school social studies teacher who is currently Associate Professor of Social Studies Education at the University of North Texas. His research concerns intersections of technology, education, and democracy. He is founder of the Civics of Technology project (https://www.civicsoftechnology.org/) and hosts the Visions of Education podcast (https://visionsofed.com/) in partnership with NCSS.

In this session, participants will learn strategies for teaching students to think critically about technologies from the printing press to ChatGPT. The session will include five “technoskeptical” questions you can use in your classroom and other resources from the Civics of Technology project (https://www.civicsoftechnology.org/). The session will provide critical ways for helping students think about how technology affects citizenship and democracy.

This session is relevant for middle and high school civics educators, or any educator interested in addressing the role of technologies in our personal and civic lives. From smartphones to metaverses to Generative AI, 21st century citizens will need to be able to enact a civics of technology as democratic citizens. This session will offer educators tools to help students make sense of our tools.

September 22, 2022

Guest Speaker: Stephen Armstrong
Stephen Armstrong is the social studies consultant for the Connecticut State Department of Education and Past President of the National Council for the Social Studies (Bio link). During this session, participants will learn strategies for teaching the 2022 midterm elections. Major issues confronting voters in the midterms will be analyzed; strategies for teaching these and other controversial issues in the classroom will also be discussed. Civics teachers, U.S. history, and other teachers teaching the midterm elections and the American political system will benefit from this session.

October 20, 2022

Guest Speaker: Dr. Tiffany Packer
In this presentation, Dr. Tiffany Packer (Bio link) will discuss strategies for approaching government, history, and citizenship. She will share ways to make topics relevant, relatable, and fun for middle and high school students. Educators will walk away with tangible examples for teaching civics alongside current events, making the connections for students between classroom content and their broader social and political world.

November 17, 2022

Guest Speaker: Dr. Leah Bueso
Leah Bueso is a postdoctoral scholar with the Civic Engagement Research Group based out of the University of California, Riverside (bio link). In this webinar, Leah will explore the current landscape of civic education with a focus on the inequitable distribution of high-quality civic learning opportunities for students with disabilities. This webinar is relevant for K-12 educators, researchers, and policymakers. Participants will learn about a framework for introducing civic action projects in the classroom as well as strategies to make these projects more inclusive and accessible to students with disabilities.

December 15, 2022 

Guest Speaker: Dr. Lindsay DiCuirci
Lindsay DiCuirci is an associate professor of English at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and the Director of the Inclusion Imperative Humanities Teaching Labs. In this webinar, Dr. DiCuirci will share from her own innovative pedagogy for working with primary sources. Participants will learn strategies for working with digital archives and for encouraging students to interpret, contextualize, and creatively engage with primary sources in new ways. This session is relevant for any middle and high school educator interested in working with primary source texts to enhance student learning in the civics classroom.

February 09, 2023

Civic Leadership: Building Community One Step at a Time

Guest Speaker: Nichelle Pinkney

Nichelle Pinkney is an educator and author (Bio). In this webinar, she will share the importance of building community and empathy in the classroom to have impactful civil discourse. This talk is relevant for 6-12th grade social science teachers. Participants will learn strategies to build empathy and community and how to respond when these things may shift.

March 09, 2023

Civic Education as a Matter of National Security – Civic Learning Week Webinar 

Guest Panelists:

• Holly Brown, Ph.D., STEM Program Analyst Contractor, DoD STEM, National Defense Education Program (moderator)
• Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) Walter Henry, JROTC Instructor, Mobile County, AL
• Ashley Scott, Policy and Innovation Coordinator, Blue Star Families
• Claire Gibson, President-elect, Military Spouse JD Network

Civics is not simply an education issue but a matter of national security. Overcoming domestic divisiveness that threatens national security requires a citizenry that independently processes information, engages effectively with different viewpoints, and commits to the betterment of the whole; E Pluribus Unum. Educators and members of the military community play a critical role in fostering a healthy democracy through civics education. They serve as valued leaders whose skills and perspectives help chart the path forward for all of us. During this panel, you will learn from individuals in the military and educator community as they share their perspectives on the importance of civics education in today’s moment; and how we work with the next generation to foster civic skills and dispositions through service and leadership.

This webinar is part of Civic Learning Week.

Visit https://civiclearningweek.org/events/ to learn more or contact us at clw@icivics.org for questions.

April 20th, 2023

The Research & Practice of Student Voice in Classrooms & Schools 

Guest Speakers: Dr. Erica Hodgin & Ms. Mildred Garcia Gomez

Dr. Erica Hodgin and Ms. Mildred Garcia Gomez will present on the importance of student voice. Dr. Hodgin is the Co-Director of the Civic Engagement Research Group (CERG) at the University of California, Riverside. Ms. Garcia Gomez is a Guatemalan woman raised in Chicago, IL, a full-time mom, and the Student Voice and Leadership Specialist for Chicago Public Schools. In this webinar learn about educator responsiveness to student voice; and the work happening in Chicago Public Schools. This session is relevant for school leaders, teachers, and educators broadly. Participants will learn what it is, research on its student impact, as well as approaches and considerations in responsiveness. A reflection tool, The Student Voice Spectrum, will be used as an example for participants to incorporate in their classrooms.

May 18th, 2023

Teaching Media Literacy to Combat Misinformation

Guest Speaker: Dr. Jimmeka Anderson

Dr. Jimmeka Anderson (Bio Link) is a media literacy educator and project manager for the National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE). In this webinar, she will be guiding educators with a framework for incorporating media literacy skills in the classroom. This session is relevant for middle and high school educators. Participants will learn the importance of using media literacy to teach students skills to combat online misinformation/disinformation as well as engage in discourse about public issues. Participants will walk away with a new free resource to use, the Cyber Citizenship Initiative website, and strategies for engaging students with media literacy and cyber citizenship skills.