January 25, 2024
Welcome to the Second Annual West Texas Social Studies Congress!
2024 Digital Program
The Education Service Center- Region 19 is proud to host the second annual West Texas Social Studies Congress. This year's theme is "A Blast from the Past."
Keynote Speakers
Founders of 4QM (Four Question Method)
08:15 - 09:15 AM
Rio Grande Room #1
Jon Bassett and Gary Shiffman are good friends who have been arguing about how to teach history ever since Jon hired Gary at Newton North High School in Newton, Massachusetts in 2002. Eventually their arguing led to the creation of the Four Question Method, which allows both teachers and students to identify and practice the key thinking skills of history and the social sciences. 4QM was developed over years of classroom practice and observation, so it acknowledges the practical demands of teaching and actually works with real teachers and real kids.
Keynote Address
From Story to Judgment: The Four Question Method for Teaching and Learning Social Studies
In their keynote address, Jon and Gary will introduce attendees to the Four Questions that drive effective teaching and learning in social studies classes. Jon and Gary will show how the Four Questions clarify the tasks of unit and lesson planning while promoting engagement, clear thinking, and deep recall among their students. They will share sample unit guides and storyboards keyed to the Four Questions.
Jon Bassett wanted to be a history teacher ever since he was in middle school. He began his career at a Catholic girls high school in the South Bronx (Saint Pius V), then spent over twenty years in the Boston suburbs, at Dover-Sherborn Regional High School and Newton North High School, where he served as chair of the history department and helped found the Newton Teacher Residency. In 2018 Jon returned to urban classrooms, and currently teaches world history at the Match Charter Public High School in Boston. Jon has taught students in grades nine through twelve and on every academic level, and has won two teaching awards. He has a B.A. in history from Columbia, an M.A.T. in history teaching from Brown, and an Ed.D. in curriculum and teaching from Boston University.
Gary Shiffman became a high school teacher at age 39. That summer he interned at Madison Park High School in Boston. In the fall, he began teaching 9th and 10th graders at Newton North High School, where Jon Bassett had hired him on a lark. He taught at Newton North for four years and then became Social Studies Curriculum Coordinator (a.k.a. department chair) at Brookline High School, where his two daughters, his wife (Class of ’80), and his friend Jon (Class of ’84) all attended. After seventeen years in that position, he stepped down to devote himself full time to spreading the word about the Four Question Method. Gary has a B.A. in Political Science from SUNY Binghamton, a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Michigan, and is a former Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of California, San Diego.
From Story To Judgment is an overview of the Four Question Method, with practical advice about how to make it come to life in the classroom. Each chapter focuses on one of the Four Questions, and gives specific teaching examples from U.S. and world history. This is the foundational text for 4QM Teaching.
Program Schedule
January 25, 2024