Metroplex SS Conference

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Mark your calendar for Tuesday, June 18, 2024

Region 10 Spring Valley Conference Center

400 East Spring Valley Road, Richardson, Texas 75081

Join us for a celebration of the stories that inspire, empower, and unite us in our collective mission to nurture inclusive, compassionate learners. Together, let's explore the transformative potential of stories and rediscover the common threads that bind us as educators, learners, and community builders.

THIS IS AN IN-PERSON EVENT ONLY

Breakfast & Lunch Will Be Provided

See Conference Schedule Here

Registration

Registration Fee

$25.00 for districts in Region 10 and 11 Cooperative Packages

$175.00 for districts not in Region 10 and 11 Cooperative Packages

Announcing Our Keynote Speakers

Jon Bassett and Gary Shiffman

Authors of From Story to Judgment: The Four Question Method for Teaching and Learning Social Studies and Founders of 4QM Teaching

Gary Shiffman

Jon Bassett

The Four Question Method (4QM) is a way of planning and teaching history courses that makes them engaging, meaningful, and fun. Teachers who use the 4QM plan units and lessons around Four Questions that are at the heart of our discipline. Students who learn the 4QM are able to think clearly and well about history and social studies. They can more easily remember key information, because every event, person, or idea that they learn is related to the story of the unit they're studying, and to their own judgment of history. Our ultimate goal is to graduate Philosopher-Citizens.

Join us for breakout sessions exploring the transformative power of stories and inquiry.

Using Stories to Connect Learning

Digital Literacy

Historical Thinking

Global Citizenship/

Multiple Perspectives

Inquiry

Civil Discourse

Featured Breakout Presentations

Question One: Storytelling for Social Studies Students (and Teachers!)

Storytelling is the best technology we have for engaging students’ curiosity about other people, including the ones who made the history we teach in school. In this workshop, attendees will practice some of the techniques Jon and Gary use to guide their students both in *getting* the story in a social studies lesson and then in narrating their own accurate and skillful version of that story in their responses to Question One: What happened?

Nothing gives us a better window into the minds of other people than a skillful examination of the meaningful artifacts those people created. In this workshop, attendees will practice techniques Jon and Gary use to get their students to wrestle successfully with primary sources as they build and defend an answer to Question Two: What were they thinking?

What Were They Thinking? Using Primary Sources to Answer Question Two

There Are Three Parts to Cause and Effect

Why Historical Thinking Skills Work

In this brave new world where students can Google anything and use AI to generate products, it is all the more crucial to teach students how to do true critical thinking to ensure they are more employable than an algorithm in a 21st century workforce. Learn how intentional instruction of historical thinking skills creates an environment where students are empowered to engage in complex cognition and develop a growth mindset.

Causation (Cause and Effect) is one of the most basic critical thinking skills we need to understand the world around us, but did you know there are actually THREE parts to this skill? That third part is what forces the students to really analyze, and not just copy from their notes. See how this historical thinking skill can be used to elevate your teaching and challenge your students to think harder thoughts!

Become a Partner!

This is an opportunity to connect with Metroplex area Social Studies classroom teachers and coordinators. The following are our sponsorship levels and prices. All sponsorships will include a table in our vendor area. The vendor area will be open during registration in the morning, in-between breakout sessions and lunch. If you are interested in being a sponsor, please complete this form.

We also encourage or sponsors to donate door prizes or giveaways. Sponsors will also be able to present at select breakout sessions. If you would like to be a presenter, please complete the presenter proposal form linked here.

Below you will find our sponsorship levels:

Bronze Level

$300