Teaching Impeachment

In this first episode of Teachable Moments, award-winning educator, and former social studies teacher turned college professor, shares research-based guidance on teaching impeachment in the classroom. She begins by explaining why it’s so important for social studies, history and civics teachers to lean into this historic and critical teachable moment to model high-quality disagreement in the classroom. #sschat #socialstudies #historyteacher #civics #medialiteracy #apgov #iCivicsEdNet

Diana Hess became dean of UW-Madison’s School of Education on Aug. 1, 2015. Hess is only the ninth dean of the School of Education since its founding in 1930. Since 1997, she has been researching how teachers engage their students in discussions of highly controversial political and constitutional issues, and what impact this approach to civic education has on what young people learn. Her first book on this topic, Controversy in the Classroom: The Democratic Power of Discussion won the National Council for the Social Studies Exemplary Research Award in 2009. Her most recent book, The Political Classroom: Evidence and Ethics in Democratic Education, co-authored with Paula McAvoy, won the American Educational Research Association’s Outstanding Book Award in 2016 and the prestigious Grawemeyer Award in 2017. Also in 2017, Diana Hess was recognized by the National Council on Social Studies with Grambs Distinguished Career Award for Research. Professor Hess is deeply committed to working with teachers to improve the quality of democratic education in schools.

Can we talk? This week we kick off a series on leading difficult, risky, candid conversations in school. Conversations that are important academically, socially, civically, and personally, but have the potential to spiral out of control. How do we teach and learn the skills to discuss tough issues while maintaining our relationships with students and peers?

Follow on Twitter: @gustafsonbrad @benjamingilpin @bamradionetwork

Brad Gustafson is the principal and lead learner at Greenwood Elementary in Minnesota and author of Renegade Leadership: Creating Innovative Schools for Digital Age Learners. Ben Gilpin is currently the principal at Warner Elementary School in Spring Arbor. He has a Master’s in education from Spring Arbor University and has an Educational Leadership Certification through Eastern Michigan University.

Our guests say that connecting our classroom lessons to current events makes learning more relevant, engaging and meaningful to students. Join us as we look at the dos and don’ts for effectively teaching with current events.

Follow on Twitter: @Mrs_Koppers @suzieboss @larryferlazzo @bamradionetworkKristen Koppers, NBCT, MA is a blogger, presenter, author, self-published author, and high school educator as well as an adjunct professor at a local junior college. She has been teaching for more than seventeen years and is currently teaching high school English in Illinois. She is a National Board Certified Teacher with a Master’s degree in English and a second Master’s degree in Education Administration. Kristen wrote the book Differentiated Instruction in the Teacher Profession. Suzie Boss, education writer and consultant, is the author of several books, including Reinventing Project-Based Learning and Bringing Innovation to School. She is a regular contributor to Edutopia and the Stanford Social Innovation Review, and a member of the Buck Institute for Education National Faculty.

It’s times like these that scream out for us to discuss with our students what’s going on in the world around us. Are we prepared to teach at this most critical teachable moment?

Follow on Twitter: @eduflack @bamradionetwork

Patrick Riccards is chief communications and strategy officer for the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. He is also the author of the nationally recognized Eduflack blog and its companion Twitter feed. PR News named Pat the Not-for-Profit Communications Professional of the Year for his work in teacher preparation and higher education transformation (2015). A former local school board chairman, Patrick is also the author of the award-winning Dadprovement.

We’re teaching in a world where facts, alternative facts, spin and fake news are seamlessly living next to credible sources. Join us for our premiere episode of Digital Truth, your guide to teaching digital literacy and critical thinking.
Follow on Twitter: @msrowse @julnilsmith @bamradionetwork

Julie Rowse teaches journalism and Popular Culture Studies in Bellevue, Nebraska. She has an MA in Popular Culture. She is the author of the memoir Lies Jane Austen Told Me and hosts the podcast Teachers Talking TV. Julie Smith has taught media literacy at the university level since 1997 and is the author of Master the Media: How Teaching Media Literacy Can Save our Plugged-In World. She’s on a mission to make media literacy a 21st Century Survival Skill.

We check in with a social studies teacher for guidance on how to discuss an election that has become disrespectful and vulgar.

Follow on Twitter: @coolcatteacher @dtrentashcraft @Bloomzapp

Trent Ashcraft is a Social Studies teacher at a private Christian school in Louisville, KY where he teaches AP US History, AP US Government, and Economics. He is married and has an awesome 2 year old son.

We are now in an age of misinformation where even established sources of information are being labeled as biased or fake. How do we teach our students to discern credible information from deceptive and blatantly false?

Follow on Twitter: @PeterD_Adams @julnilsmith @bamradionetwork

Peter Adams is the News Literacy Project’s senior vice president for educational programs. He leads NLP’s curriculum and resource development, provides teacher training and oversees the classroom and digital programs, including the new checkology™ virtual classroom. Julie Smith has taught media literacy at the university level since 1997. Twitter: @PeterD_Adams

The need to help students do high-quality research begins with teaching students how to distinguish between fake news, bias, truth and credible sources.
Follow on Twitter: @erik_palmer @runnin26 @GRADECAM @ASCD @bamradionetwork


Erik Palmer is a professional speaker and educational consultant from Denver, Colo., who spent 21 years in the classroom, primarily as an English teacher but also as a teacher of math, science, and civics. He is the author of the ASCD books "Researching in a Digital World: How do I teach my students to conduct quality online research?" and "Teaching the Core Skills of Listening and Speaking." Rachael George is the principal of Sandy Grade School in the Oregon Trail School District and an ASCD Emerging Leader.