We’re so excited you’re coming to the BHP Professional Learning Community in Iowa City, IA! Here’s everything you need to know.

P.S. – Still need to register for the event? Take care of that here!

Who: Presenters Rachel Hansen and Monte DeArmoun (veteran BHP Iowa teachers), you, and other teachers from your area who teach the Big History Project

When: Wednesday, August 7, 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.; Happy hour to follow.

Where: Iowa City Public Library, Room D, 123 S. Linn St., Iowa City, IA 52240

What: Summer Professional Learning Community, which includes:

  • BHP course overview, including shiny new updates and improvements to content this year. Yes, even you veterans will discover something new.
  • Concrete understanding for the classroom—a deep dive into the skills, practices, and concepts of the course, and how they can be differentiated for students:
    • Reading
    • Writing
    • Claim testing
    • Determining causation
    • Thinking across scales
    • Integrating multiple disciplines
  • Hands-on, new activities for each skill, practice, and concept (yep, you get to be the student). Bonus: Need to build an initial course plan? Check! This is when we’ll make it happen.
  • Connections—meaningful ones, with peers in your area, and the chance to find out how to stay connected and supported throughout the year via the online BHP Teacher Community on Yammer.

LOGISTICS

  • Happy hour is to follow after the meeting.
  • What to bring: a laptop
  • Directions: Park at the Old Capital Mall Parking Ramp (intersection of Burlington & Clinton) or the Dubuque Street Ramp (intersection of Burlington & Linn/Dubuque). Room D will be located at the end of a hallway near the bathrooms.

PRE-PLC PREP

  • Check out Teaching Big History, our free, online professional development course, before attending the PLC. If you’re a new-to-BHP teacher, you’ll be light-years ahead. If you’re a veteran, you’ll get a helpful refresher.
  • We’ll be covering a lot of ground (um, like 13.8 billion years). Check out and download the specific materials in advance (below), so you can follow along at the PLC.

Questions? Contact BHP Outreach Coordinator Mike Weisensel at michaelw@bighistoryproject.com.

PLC RESOURCES AND DOWNLOADS

Practice Progressions

Activities