Our investigations originate in collaboration with teachers during focused classroom residencies. We assist our collaborating teachers in their classrooms for several weeks to several months. During this time, we…
- research compelling and relevant historical materials
- share planning and teaching responsibilities
- engage in conversation and reflection after each class session
- archive and analyze class discussions and student writing and drawing
In these and other ways, we work to increase the amount and enhance the quality of time the teacher can spend…
- expanding her knowledge of the subject matter
- listening to students and looking closely at their work
- allowing student observations, questions, and ideas to help shape each new activity
Together, we design a responsive curriculum that helps the students’ understandings grow.
Drawing on these experiences, we create resources that will help other teachers cultivate their own students’ thinking. We make these teacher resources available through workshops and through the Investigations section of our website, and we encourage teachers to visit our Teacher Forum to share experiences with and adaptations of the resources.
To learn more about participating in a classroom residency, please contact us.
Most of our teacher workshops are centered on particular topics drawn from our Investigations – either from those already available on our website, or from others still under development. To understand these explorations as students experience them, we begin working with some of the materials much the way we would with a middle school class, making observations and raising questions. Together, we also consider the curriculum itself, sharing and building on each participating teacher’s ideas for customizing the existing resources, and discussing and developing strategies for beginning and sustaining other student investigations.
Workshops are scheduled based on interest for teachers at a single school or from multiple schools. To learn more about hosting or participating in a workshop, please contact us.