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Social Studies

A compass-style infographic with Earth at the center, surrounded by the words "act, inquire, evaluate, investigate" and symbolic icons representing various concepts.

Summary

Within the PRSD Strategic Plan, long-term and short-term goals outlined in the Teaching and Learning category form the foundation for continuous improvement. One of the short-term goals for 2016 - 2017 was to design and pilot an in-depth program review process for two of our departments (i.e., science and health & physical education). That initial work led to a final report and set of recommendations for program improvement. The process itself was refined and used in 2017 - 2018 in the areas of mathematics and business & computer science.

For the 2018 - 2019 school year, we reviewed the PR Social Studies Department and also modified the process for programming related to gifted and highly-achieving students. This report outlines the process, findings, and recommendations from that work related to the K-12 Social Studies Program. As an organization, it is understood that the pace of change may be dependent upon the impact of that change on other aspects of the educational program.

The committee utilized the action-priority matrix to evaluate each recommendation and established an implementation timeline with associated cost estimates. One element of the in-depth program review was the establishment of a departmental philosophy and vision. For social studies, the department reflected upon the goals of the programming and alignment with the research and philosophy of the National Council for Social Studies. As a result, the vision is captured through the above image and words.

Report