Schedule

Schedule Overview

Plenary Descriptions

“The Space that We Were In”: Navigating Ideals and Realities of the Revolutionary Era

We are honored to welcome Professor Christy Clark-Pujara to open the summit with an exploration of the complexity of the people, places, values, and experiences of the time leading up to and after the American Revolution. Drawing directly from primary sources, including the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Northwest Ordinance, and the 1848 Wisconsin Constitution, Dr. Clark-Pujara will ground our learning with an examination of the questions, perspectives, and actions that shaped our histories, as both a new nation and later a state, and how those histories connect to our lives today.

PRESENTER

Christy Clark-Pujara

Christy Clark-Pujara is the Chair and a Professor of History in the Department of African American Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a historian of colonial North America and the early American Republic. Her research focuses on the experiences of Black people in French and British North America in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. She is particularly interested in retrieving the hidden and unexplored histories of African Americans in areas that historians have not sufficiently examined—small towns and cities in the North and Midwest.

America@250: Sparking Inquiry around Our Past, Present, and Future

Join us for an inspiring educator panel connecting the American Revolution and possibilities for inquiry-based learning. During the session, we’ll highlight educational resources made to accompany the new documentary THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION from Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein, and David Schmidt, as well as an episode of The Look Back that explores Wisconsin history during the Revolutionary Era. We’ll share insights around how we can leverage the America@250 milestone to engage learners in asking questions, exploring ideas and information, and developing new understandings around our past, present, and future.

Schedule Overview

Plenary Descriptions

News Literacy in the Classroom: How can educators support students in becoming informed participants in our democracy?

Students have access to an unprecedented amount of information online, but becoming discerning consumers of news can seem harder than ever. Join us for a panel discussion on the news landscape and how educators can support students in becoming informed consumers of news and information. We will discuss topics such as media literacy, political polarization, fact-checking, the role of educators in supporting civic engagement, and tips for identifying high quality sources of news and information.

Strengthening Democracy Through The Discussion of Controversial Political Issues

We are thrilled to welcome nationally recognized civics education expert Diana Hess to close the summit with an interactive session on the essential role educators play in building and sustaining our country’s civic health. Dr. Hess will explore how teachers strengthen understanding of democratic principles through nonpartisan political education, helping students develop skills for informed participation. A structured small group activity will use classroom-based case studies to invite participants to discuss practical strategies for fostering academically rigorous environments that are ideologically diverse. You’ll leave the summit inspired with ideas about how to help learners see themselves as not only students of history, but also as active participants in shaping American democracy today.

Moderator

Kate Ullman

Executive Director of Legislative Semester and co-chair of the Wisconsin Civic Learning Coalition

speaker

Diana E. Hess

Diana E. Hess is dean emerita of the School of Education at UW–Madison and a member of the National Academy of Education. She co-created The Discussion Project, a professional development program that helps educators create inclusive, engaging, and academically rigorous discussions in schools and co-created UW–Madison’s Deliberation Dinners, a project to provide undergraduates with opportunities to deliberate controversial political issues in ideologically diverse groups. She has authored two award winning books: Controversy in the Classroom: The Democratic Power of Discussion and The Political Classroom: Evidence and Ethics in Democratic Education. Dr. Hess began her career as a high school social studies teacher.

Concurrent sessions are still being confirmed. Check back for additions!