SHEG is one of the most respected national models for inquiry and one of JCPS's most popular aspects of the JCPS Living Democracy Curriculum. SHEG transitioned into a nonprofit under a new name, Digital Inquiry Group. DIG will continue to be a research-based organization that provides inquiry-based lessons for free. Over time, I will update any tags on lessons and website links from SHEG to DIG to show this change. 

In other Digital Inquiry Group (DIG) news, at NCSS this December Sam Wineburg announced that they are piloting an elementary inquiry-based curriculum. I spoke to Sam Wineburg, co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer of DIG, after the session and he said that the curriculum will likely go public in "12-18 months" (from December 2023). 

• FAQ: Transition to the Digital Inquiry Group

Teachers looking to build skills in teaching the Holocaust and related content are invited to register for spring 2023 workshops. In 2018, the Kentucky state legislature passed the Ann Klein and Fred Gross Holocaust Education Act, which mandates Holocaust education in all public middle and high schools. Our workshops are designed to support Kentucky teachers in meeting that mandate.

Workshops are interactive and include ten total hours of content through both live workshop sessions (at least six hours) and asynchronous activities (no more than four hours). Workshops are available both in-person and virtually via Zoom. Please note that some workshops occur over the course of multiple days while others are one-day events.

Teachers, para-educators, librarians, and other instructional staff serving grades 6-12 (of both public and private schools) can opt to participate in these workshops for a stipend of $250 dollars ($25/hour) or for professional development hours. Stipends are limited by the amount of grant money available and will be awarded based on order of registration. If you hope to receive a stipend for your participation, please register as soon as possible. Teachers and instructional staff serving grades that fall outside the mandate can still register for workshops and receive professional development for their participation. Previous experience teaching the Holocaust is not required to attend these workshops.

Workshops will be facilitated by experienced teachers from across the Commonwealth trained as UK-JHF Initiative teacher leaders as well as University of Kentucky professors from the Colleges of Arts & Sciences and Education. Each workshop will vary slightly in featured sessions but will generally explore a range of topics such as Jewish history in Kentucky; strategies for dealing with antisemitism; active learning and inquiry; attention to thoughtful language; trauma-informed teaching; using the arts to teach the Holocaust; and more.

Includes observer "look fors" and possible examples to prepare the observer before the walkthrough. The walkthrough tool is standards and instructional framework aligned. The tool now also comes with a Google Form version for data collection, a detailed version with examples, a single-page version.

This project was requested and created by partnering with elementary teachers. Standards-aligned feedback comments were created to support the standards-aligned rubric criteria. Feedback is written in student-friendly terms and written as next steps suggestions for future writing. The rubric comments may be changed over time from the provided comment bank (not exhaustive)  depending on need and always provide space for writing specialized, individual feedback.

The Kentucky Historical Society is seeking input from active Kentucky teachers that are currently teaching social studies in grades K-12. Please complete this brief questionnaire to share feedback on student programming and professional development needs in the social studies fields. KHS values Kentucky teachers and is grateful to those that take just a few minutes to help us remain an integral education resource and partner. Any questions about the questionnaire or KHS programming can be submitted to Katie.Turer@ky.gov  Teacher Resource Manager for the Kentucky Historical Society.

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Direct district support options with the JCPS Social Studies team:

• Just-in-Time PL: Ongoing, differentiated professional learning opportunities. Choose three dates for 1-hour of before or after school professional learning around the topic of your choice. PD Credit & District Stipend available. Schedule through the Upcoming PD Page.

• Embedded PL: Need based professional learning during or after school for groups, departments, or schools. Contact Vincent Tinker with any questions.

• Individual Coaching: Need based professional learning during or after school. Contact Vincent Tinker with any questions.