Four Things Museum Educators Should Know about the New Massachusetts History and Social Science Curriculum Framework
Kristin Gallas, Project Manager for Education Development, Tsongas Industrial History Center
Aligning school programs to state curriculum frameworks is nothing new. Actually, it should be standard practice for museum educators at all types of museums. Teachers rely on framework connections to help them chose programs that fit with their curriculum units and to justify their field trips to school administration.
The Framework – Big Picture
Before I get into specifics, here’s a bit of background information. Last summer the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) released their new History and Social Science (HSS) curriculum framework. The new framework has three complimentary pillars applied across the grade-levels and social science disciplines:
- Content Standards: Each grade level, pre-kindergarten through high school, has its own set of content that builds on the knowledge and skills of the previous year’s content.
- Standards for History and Social Science Practice: Seven practices outline inquiry and research skills integral the study of social science disciplines.
- Literacy Standards for History and Social Science: Highlights the reading, writing, speaking and listening standards designed to support literacy skills and practices.
These three pillars provide teachers with guidance on how and what to teach in the classroom, but they can also serve museum educators in similar ways. First and foremost, the content. This is one of the main reasons teachers choose to go on field trips – we’ve got the real stuff and give students the chance to immerse themselves in historical content. Second, it’s not enough to throw a bunch of content at students. They won’t retain it all anyway. By incorporating historical skills and practices into our programs, museums provide students the opportunity to exercise those skills in the real world … with real stuff! Third, building literacy skills is so important. Whether reading, writing, speaking, or listening, museums can provide teachers and students with some really great content on which to apply those skills. Think of all the documents in your collection … there’s got to be something in there that’s accessible to students and can help them make connections between themselves and the past.
The Tsongas Industrial History Center, an education partnership between the University of Massachusetts Lowell College of Education and Lowell National Historical Park, was established to provide teachers and students with experiential learning programs on the Industrial Revolution that aligned with what they were studying in the classroom. Founded in 1992, the Center’s development team did not have any history curriculum standards to work from, as the first DESE history and social science framework were released in 1997. In 1997, and then again in 2003, the Center adapted its programs to meet the current set of content and practice standards. Last year, after reading through an early draft of the framework, we knew there would opportunities for us to adapt our programs to meet the new standards, so we got to work. We’ve spent nearly two years researching the framework, attending DESE sponsored conferences, and talking with teachers, and have pulled out four main take-aways that will be useful to for other museums.
Civics are everywhere. The new framework incorporates civics knowledge and skills throughout all the grade levels, with a year-long focus in 8th grade. Don’t think of this as just founding documents and government – it’s also about the rights and responsibilities of citizens, community-building, and civil rights. There are so many angles to approach the civics content. Not part of the framework, but also important is the new state law mandating action civics projects in 8th grade and high school. The projects require students to design and execute projects that bring about change in their community. This is a great opportunity for museums, schools, and communities to work together.
Multiple Voices and Points of View. The framework explicitly includes content related to previously unheard stories and requires the use of perspectives from people with different identities and points of view; women, indigenous people, enslaved people, the LGBTQ community, immigrants, refugees, and people of color. When you’re developing your programs, consider from who’s perspective you are currently telling the story … then see who else’s lens can be used to view the story. If you don’t have the documents to share a different perspective, research other people’s archives for related stories, or have students discuss how they think other people might view a historical episode.
Historical thinking practices. The historical skills and practices outlined in the framework are important to how we design our programs. Such skills as learning how to ask good questions, developing and supporting an argument, or evaluating a source for credibility can easily be incorporated into museum programs. These skills are transferable to other disciplines, so it’s important that students have a chance to try them out in different settings. They are more likely to retain content if they’ve practiced it along with a skill rather than just being told it. Exercising skills helps develop understanding and makes content stick.
Districts are Scrambling to Adapt. Having attended several DESE professional development sessions this past school year, I learned that districts are in various stages of planning and adoption. DESE was hoping that schools would fully adopt the standards during the 2019-2020 school year, but most districts are staging the adoption by grade level over the next couple of years. Many districts are starting with the 5th and 8th grade standards and reorganizing high school courses. Some districts are adopting the frameworks wholesale, while others are keeping their existing Pre-K to 4th grade and 6th-7th-grade curriculum with some minor tweaks. What we heard the most is that districts are looking for resources – historic documents, lesson plans, etc. – that will help them meet the needs of the new framework. Providing these resources is one way we can be helpful to teachers.
For some museums, the new History and Social Science Framework will have little impact and for others it will mean a lot of change. We need to adapt to accommodate the needs of our teachers and students. If you have yet to read the framework, do so ASAP – from cover to cover. Next, call up your local district’s social studies coordinator. Set up a meeting with them and their teachers to find out how they are adopting the new framework. The Tsongas Industrial History Center has had ongoing discussions with teachers and coordinators from the districts that visit us. These conversations have been a big help as we change to meet the new standards. We’ve also been in touch with other museums and historic sites in the state to find out what they are doing.
The new History and Social Science Framework is a great opportunity for us to grow and change. There will be challenges, but also opportunities. Visitation in one grade may dip, while another might rise. Most importantly, we need to keep our teacher and student audience at the center of all we do.