WCSS2019

The goal of this session is simply to highlight some methods and content possibilities that task students with interrogating and analyzing in meaningful ways in a collaborative laboratory setting. Social studies instruction often faced with the tradeoffs between direct instruction and inquiry, where teachers face the difficult balance between depth and broader narratives. This presentation will share a variety of room configurations, examples, and potential source materials that can flexibly get students engaged with documents and targeted media clips in time restricted situations. Additionally, we will explore ways in which the lab can be linked up with other phases of instruction. While the lessons discussed will reflect a high school World History class, the learning scenarios and methods are entirely interdisciplinary, and will hopefully stimulate some valuable professional discussion across all social studies subjects.