EdTechTeacher is so thrilled to welcome Dr. Catherine Atkinson to our team of summer instructors. Catherine Atkinson is an experienced classroom teacher, curriculum designer, presenter, and technology coach. She taught history/social science and ELA to English language, gifted, and special education students for 27 years at the middle school level. Catherine has taught in a 1:1 classroom since 2008 where her students used MacBooks, iPads, and Chromebooks to collaboratively and creatively demonstrate their learning. She has served in a variety of leadership positions: history/social science department chair, technology coordinator, master teacher, mentor teacher, and member of the instructional leadership team.

Below, Catherine shares her ideas about bringing history alive for students.

The study of history can be a fascinating endeavor if one moves away from rote memorization of names, dates, and places. In fact, the study of history is rich with dark tales, monumental challenges, triumphant victories, and the unexpected twists and turns that make up the human experience. The key is how to hook your students into wanting to learn more, delve deeper, and discover fresh perspectives about our collective human past.

If you are interested in learning how to bring history alive to your students, come join me for my session “Inquiry & Reflection: History is a Verb” on June 20, 21, and 23 as I share best practices on how to help students develop questioning skills as well as ways to reflect on their learning that champion student voice and choice. I will also guide you through a framework on how to design a learning experience for your students that is meaningful and engaging. History does not have to be boring. Come see how I was able to make history a verb in my social science classroom. 

To register for Catherine’s session, please head to https://edtechteacher.org/event/inquiry-and-reflection-history-is-a-verb/ or to our general Summer Workshops page: edtechteacher.org/summer.