Earlier this year, the State of Iowa adopted new social studies standards for grades K-12. According to the State, the new standards reflect practices that define disciplinary thinking and promote skills necessary for critical thinking about global issues. Recently, six Panorama staff members attended the Mid Iowa School Improvement Consortium (MISIC) social studies workshop to focus on instructional changes as a result of the new standards.

Staff in attendance learned new tools and resources to help effectively teach the standards. The standards stress inquiry-based and student-centered learning. Staff members also learned four main steps to inquiry-based instruction. Those steps include: developing the compelling question that students are hungry to answer, researching the question and finding evidence to support their conclusion, presenting what they have learned, and reflecting on what worked in the process and what didn’t.

There will be further MISIC trainings to increase teachers’ knowledge of social studies standards, instructional practices, and inquiry-based instruction.