Supporting Ongoing, Collective Learning about Teaching Social Studies Inquiry and Argumentation
Implementing LLSS
Table of Contents
LLSS PD can be implemented as a consolidated summer-intensive week to kick off teachers’ learning, followed by days spread across the school year that enable teachers to try out new ideas in their classrooms in between LLSS PD days. We also describe how to pair a Virtual Hour and LLSS PD day to support each RIW investigation throughout the school year.
A Day at-a-Glance
Within one school day, LLSS offers teachers an opportunity to learn new content, co-plan, co-teach, and debrief twice with the same lesson and different groups of students, or co-plan, co-teach, and debrief two different lessons with the same group of students.
A Year at-a-Glance
LLSS PD days are one part of a larger approach to teachers’ professional learning. Consider and select different areas for teacher learning in organizing a coherent set of opportunities for professional learning (see the New Learning page).
After a LLSS PD day, when teachers return to their students and classrooms, they apply what they’ve learned to test out new practices, refine their thinking, and extend their learning. When teachers come together again for the next LLSS PD day, they share their experiences and continue to learn together. Together, the collaborative LLSS PD days and teachers’ individual practice in their classrooms (perhaps alongside Virtual Hours) support their learning as they use the Read.Inquire.Write. curriculum.
We have also organized LLSS in one-week intensive PD that enables teachers to co-teach one whole investigation to the same group of students in a summer school program. This has the benefit of supporting teachers in seeing how an entire inquiry can unfold with one group of students, but does not allow teachers to solidify and apply their learning to their own classrooms and students. Ideally, this kind of summer school immersion would be followed by school-year LLSS PD days to best support teacher learning.
Planning Considerations
Which schools and how many schools to involve? LLSS PD can focus on one school site with teachers at that site learning together in a colleague’s classroom with students they all work with. Alternatively, LLSS can involve a collection of school sites or an entire district, bringing teachers from different buildings together at one host school. More schools open up possibilities for organizing teacher groups and sharing across contexts.
Substitute teachers are needed for all teachers participating in a LLSS PD day during the school year, including the host teacher. This allows everyone to learn new content, co-plan, and debrief together outside of classroom work together with students. Summer school LLSS PD does not require substitute teachers if the host teacher is not a full LLSS PD participant.
Work within or across grade levels? Teachers can work together in groups with others who teach at their grade level – this allows teachers to collaborate on specific investigations, on inquiry routines and tools, or common themes and dilemmas. Teachers can alternatively work together with others at different grade levels – this allows teachers to work on inquiry routines and tools, social studies argumentation practices, supporting all students’ participation, or other common themes and dilemmas.
