Educator Programs
WSCSS Spring 2023 Conference
Registration now open!
March 3-5th 2023 | Campbell’s Lodge | Chelan, WA
The Washington State Council for the Social Studies has sponsored an annual retreat at Campbell’s Resort in Chelan, Washington for many years. 2023 will be the first time the conference will be held in person again since the pandemic. WSCSSis an all-volunteer organization of social studies educators. It provides professional development programs for K to 12 teachers and works to promote social studies in the schools. Wendy Ewbank, a veteran teacher from Seattle Girls School has been conference chair for over twelve years.
The conference dates are from the evening of Friday, March 3 through the morning of Sunday, March 5, 2023. The theme is “No Easy Answers” – a theme broad enough to include many possible topics. Sessions do not need to adhere to this theme, but a passing reference to it would be appreciated. Here is the link to the proposal form.
For more details on the conference, click below.
About WSCSS
The Washington State Council for the Social Studies is a nonprofit/volunteer organization led by Social Studies teachers throughout Washington State. We aim to be the premier resource for connecting Washington’s Social Studies educators to high quality professional development, developing professional relationships, and advocating for the advancement and funding of the Social Studies in Washington State.
Past conferences:
WSCSS Fall 2022
Join us at the Gates Discovery Center in Seattle for our Fall Conference, “Let’s Celebrate Social Studies Together.”
Participation in the Fall Conference is FREE for 2022-2023 annual *WSCSS Members. 2022-2023 WSCSS membership is $25 per school year.
Space is limited to 150. Register today!
The Keynote this year is Jerad Koepp, the 2022 Washington State Teacher of the Year and the first Native American to hold the honor, and first Native Educator.
Learn more and register here.
WSCSS Fall 2021
Fact or Fake:
Navigating the New Information Landscape
The Washington State Council for the Social Studies (WSCSS) fall conference was held on November 6, 2021, frm 9 AM – 1 PM PST. It was free, online, and educators had the opportunity to earn clock hour credit for the first three hours of the conference. The conference brought together a dynamic group of speakers, including a keynote session from the Center for an Informed Public at University of Washington. Click here to learn more.
Fall 2021 Agenda
9:00 AM – Keynote Address and Question and Answer Session
Center for an Informed Public at University of Washington
At the Center for an Informed Public, we have assembled world-class researchers, labs, thought leaders, and practitioners to translate research about misinformation and disinformation into policy, technology design, curriculum development, and public engagement. We want to shorten the cycle between research and implementation. We do this through our strong network of urban and rural libraries, national network of educators, and institutional partners. Our nonpartisan Center brings together diverse voices from across industry, government, nonprofits, other institutions, as well as those from communities and populations typically underrepresented in research and practice in this field.
This interdisciplinary effort at the University of Washington is led by the Information School, Human Centered Design & Engineering and the School of Law, with collaboration from numerous other university and community partners.
9:50 AM – Break
10:00 AM – Teaching Students the Fact-Checking Skills No One Taught Us
Liz Crouse and Shawn Lee, Teachers for an Informed Public
America’s ability to move on from the Covid-19 pandemic has been hindered by misinformation. The effectiveness of vaccines, masks and public health institutions has been undermined on social media platforms where misinformation spreads to destructive ends. Misinformation on this massive scale is a new challenge. It presents an urgent need to teach students skills that we as teachers weren’t taught ourselves. We are not powerless, we can protect our communities from this health crisis by teaching our students to determine what’s real and what’s fake. We will demonstrate how we have taught students to evaluate sources and claims online for the past three years, share information literacy resources, and examine student work. 6-12
10:50 AM – Break
11:00 AM – Scenes from a Marriage (between Social Studies & Information Literacy)
Lesley James, Information Literacy Educator
When you set out to teach students how to fight misinformation, you may encounter obstacles. This session is all about overcoming those obstacles—or at least being aware of them so they don’t take you by surprise. The obstacles may be caused by the developmental stages your students are going through; or by errors and assumptions you’re making because they never taught you about this in teaching school and you’re doing the best you can. Also, the world of information is convoluted and constantly changing. The solutions I’ll suggest are ones I’ve figured out the hard way, as well as from experiences, observations, and conversations with students. I’ve also learned what not to do by watching my husband, a high school social studies teacher, make mistakes. This will be an opportunity to really dig into what he’s done wrong.
12:10 PM – Optional Lunch Viewing Party
Grab your lunch and get ready to share your thoughts about these video clips! We’ll watch them together and discuss how they could be used in the classroom. This session is not eligible for clock hours.
“If Facebook were a Real Place” – Daily Show (5 min) – June 2018 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbNkuETJTK8
PBS Newshour “Junk News” (10 min) – May 2018 https://www.pbs.org/newshour/tag/junk-news and https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/why-we-should-be-more-like-cats-than-dogs-when-it-comes-to-social-media