The following professional development providers have been certified to provide Investigating History professional development during the 2023-24 school year. Certified providers have received training in the Investigating History curriculum and instructional approach and received DESE approval on their professional development offerings. While DESE-developed agendas and materials for Investigating History professional development will be posted free of charge alongside the materials in June, we strongly recommend that districts partner with a certified professional development provider in order to leverage these providers' existing expertise in Investigating History's content, pedagogy, and design.
Most certified providers (except where otherwise noted) have a statewide master service agreement designed to streamline the procurement process for schools and districts choosing to work with them. Please contact Nechama Goldberg for more information about how to use this agreement.
Each certified provider has a unique suite of professional development offerings available to schools, districts, and/or individuals. The table below provides an "at a glance" overview of the services each vendor has been approved to provide; please note that some vendors also have additional professional learning offerings that are not included in this table. Additional information about each vendor, including a complete list of their services, can be found in the directory below.
Part-Day/Full-Day/Multi-Day Training: Professional learning sessions intended for a group of teachers from a school or district and lasting for a partial day, full day, or multiple days. Comprehensive Partnerships: A yearlong package of supports for a school or district including some combination of professional learning sessions for teachers and/or administrators, coaching, professional learning community support, and/or customized consultation and services.
Multi-Day Institute: Multiple-day, synchronous and/or hybrid learning opportunities open to individual teachers Online Courses: Asynchronous, self-paced courses open to individual teachers Individual Coaching: One-on-one sessions for teachers and/or administrators intended to provide them with personalized support
Educurious is a 501(c)(3) organization formed in 2011 by learning scientists from the University of Washington with the support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. For over a decade, they have supported educators and schools with customizable tools, resources, and immersive professional development opportunities. Their products and services have been engaged by 45,300+ educators in 32 states and have impacted over 262,400 students.
As the founding professional learning partner with DESE since the beginning of the Investigating History curriculum project, they are uniquely positioned to provide this curriculum-based professional learning. Educurious has developed and facilitated the professional learning for the grades 5–7 pilot teachers and is also leading the curriculum development for Investigating History grades 3–4. More broadly, the Educurious team has deep content knowledge in the Investigating History curriculum, the Massachusetts History and Social Science Framework, and expertise in the design of professional learning.
To ensure effective implementation of the Investigating History curriculum, Educurious will support school and district systems with comprehensive professional development with an eye towards sustainability of the curriculum. They offer curricular onboarding workshops, targeted coaching support for PLCs and leaders (e.g., practice-focused workshops, lesson study, student artifact review, troubleshooting, observation and feedback, and/or custom support) as well as practice-focused videos that can be used asynchronously and/or with PLCs.
Professional learning can be tailored to meet the priorities of your school or district system. Educurious offers a variety of modalities (e.g., in-person, virtual, video) and can emphasize particular practices such as inquiry, culturally responsive pedagogy, literacy, differentiation, collaboration, assessment, integrating social-emotional learning, and leadership.
Educurious can support each of the two- or three-day offerings a la carte ($3,000/facilitator/day; $1,500/facilitator/half-day), or as part of a comprehensive yearlong partnership ($30,000/facilitator):
Coaching Support: $250/facilitator/hour
Video Coaching: $2,500/video
Lindsay Lyons is an educational justice coach, student voice scholar, and former teacher of emerging multilingual students and students with IEPs. She offers a 2-day journey into each unit of the Investigating History curriculum. Together, participants will unpack the most essential content understandings, skills, and pedagogical moves as well as opportunities for personalization such as making connections to present-day issues, protocols for student-led inquiry, and strategies for discussions about identity and in/justice.
The two-day professional development is ideal for teachers new to the unit. Teachers who have already taught the unit will benefit from attending the second day, as it will support them to strengthen their use of relevant current events, protocols, and civic engagement opportunities. For schools who have one or two new teachers that need to be trained, the self-paced course would be the best fit.
In the workshop, participants will experience a demo lesson, reflect on their strengths and areas for growth in relation to pedagogical principles, and unpack the lessons and assessments with specific attention to current events connections, fine-tuning protocols, and opportunities for students to apply their learning through taking action. Participants will leave with the materials they need to teach the first lesson(s) of the unit.
Two-Day Workshop (in-person or virtual): $10,000 One-Day Workshop (in-person or virtual): $5,000 Self-Paced Course: $250 per person Leadership Coaching (Four, 60-minute 1:1 virtual sessions): $2,000 per person
Learn more about these offerings.
Lindsay Lyons, hello@lindsaybethlyons.com
To schedule a call
Local Civics is an award-winning civics and social studies provider dedicated to supporting educators and schools in bringing inquiry-based learning and experiential learning to students. They support schools that are adopting the Investigating History curriculum in 5th, 6th, and 7th grade, and they design various implementation models from classroom pilots to district-wide adoption. Local Civics supports schools and districts across multiple states in launching new inquiry-based and project-based curricula, in aligning new curricula to state standards, and in preparing educators for success.
For Investigating History, Local Civics partners with educators for district-wide trainings, professional learning communities, online learning modules, and curricular coaching sessions. They customize professional development services based on the needs of districts, schools, and educators.
Introduction to Investigating History Summit: $800/hr Scaling Investigating History Summit: $800/hr Cross-District Professional Learning Community: $200/hr Online Learning Modules: $500/educator Individual Curricular Coaching: $200/hr
Comprehensive Summits and Coaching Package: $20,740+ Pilot Year Summit and Coaching Package: $12,580+ Customized Curricular Coaching Package: $9,350+ Curricular Coaching for Pilot Implementation Package: $2,550+ Individual Educator Professional Learning Package: $500/person
Since 1791, the Massachusetts Historical Society (MHS) has sought to promote understanding of the history of Massachusetts and the nation by collecting and communicating materials and resources that foster historical knowledge. Located in Boston's Back Bay, the Society's Education department serves K–12 teachers and students in Massachusetts, and beyond.
As a DESE Investigating History PD Provider, the MHS seeks to partner with districts and teachers to support the implementation of the Grade 5 curriculum. Specifically, for school year 2023-2024, the MHS will be offering PD and teacher workshops to deepen content knowledge of and primary source analysis skills and strategies for Unit 5.2: Revolution and Principles of U.S. Government, which covers the time period beginning in the 1750s and ending with the ratification of the Bill of Rights in 1791.
The MHS offers full-day sessions on Grade 5, Unit 2 (Revolution and Foundations of US Government) that will deepen teachers' content knowledge while sharing strategies for teaching analysis of visual and text-based primary sources, such as synthesizing information and interpreting point of view. They also offer shorter, 2-hour sessions on deep dives into specific topics in the unit. Their workshops are designed for teachers who have already piloted Investigating History and are eager to deepen their content knowledge and delve deeply into primary source analysis.
Full-day session for a district: $200/teacher Half-day session for a district: $100/teacher Multi-day workshop open to any Grade 5 Investigating History teacher: $200/teacher
Primary Source, the organization that authored Investigating History Grades 5–7, has multiple professional development opportunities to support Investigating History implementation. Their centerpiece offerings are two new professional Learning courses: one focused on the Grade 5 curriculum and one focused on the Grades 6 and 7 curriculum. Each course will be offered on three learning tracks:
These courses, offered as live and hybrid programs, provide a deep dive into the content, structure, and pedagogical practices of Investigating History. Sessions will include presentations from scholars and classroom practitioners, curriculum internalization with Primary Source program directors, and opportunities to work collaboratively with peers from around the state. Educators can take these courses for graduate credit or PDPs.
Primary Source will also host a virtual session in fall 2023 intended for administrators supporting grades 5–7. Finally, Primary Source offers other relevant content-focused professional development opportunities throughout the year that can support Investigating History.
Comprehensive Professional Learning Courses: $1,250/teacher
Understanding Grade 5–7 Curriculum for Administrators: $200/participant
Relevant content professional development seminar series*, $750 Relevant content professional development one-day seminars*, $200 Relevant content professional development 4 to 8-week online course*, $400–$750
Custom In-District Workshops: $2,500 half-day/$4,000 full-day Consulting Services: Price varies depending on contract
info@primarysource.org
Interest Form
SchoolKit has provided professional learning services and school improvement partnerships to schools, districts, and state education agencies for the past 10 years. They are based in Washington, DC, but have staff located across the country and have partnered with school, district, and state clients in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Texas, New Mexico, Louisiana, Washington DC, Colorado, Nebraska, Oklahoma, California, Pennsylvania, Arkansas and elsewhere. They are a team of experienced educators who believe that excellent instruction is the foundation of equitable schools. Their mission is to work in partnership with local educators to improve instruction and leadership and create schools and systems that help all students succeed.
SchoolKit trains and coaches teachers and leaders on standards-aligned instructional practices and specializes in professional learning using high-quality instructional materials. Schoolkit will work with partners to customize a scope of Investigating History professional learning and coaching that meets the needs of pilot, gradual or full implementation plans. Offerings include full-, half- and multi-day sessions along with coaching that support teachers and leaders with:
Full-Day Training, Onsite: $4,180 Half-Day Training, Onsite: $3,520 Full-Day Training, Remote: $3,080 Half-Day Training, Remote: $2,420
Full-Day Coaching, Onsite: $4,180 Half-Day Coaching, Onsite: $3,520 Full-Day Coaching, Remote: $3,080
Full-Day Strategic Planning and Assessment, Onsite: $4,180 Half-Day Strategic Planning and Assessment, Onsite: $3,520 Full-Day Strategic Planning and Assessment, Remote: $3,080
Learn more about these offerings by reaching out to Ethan Mitnick .
Shed Education offers comprehensive support to schools and districts that recognizes and expands local teacher expertise. They seek to advance inquiry, equity, disciplinary literacy, and student engagement in social studies classrooms. Their approach to professional development values customization, yearlong-embedded supports, and teacher collaborative agency. They have experience supporting a variety of schools, but are especially focused on districts where the majority of students receive free or reduced lunch and/or are below grade-level proficiency in ELA.
They offer a comprehensive partnership designed to support full implementation which includes a customized plan, daylong trainings to help teachers internalize and adapt unit plans, ongoing virtual PD, and support for ongoing local work. They also offer smaller partnerships, instructional and leadership coaching, and online PD workshops focused on making inquiry accessible to all learners. For more detail, visit the website linked below.
The lead PD provider for Shed Education is Eric Soto-Shed. Soto-Shed partners with talented veteran teachers and administrators to deliver professional districts. Soto-Shed is a former history teacher, a founding member of Stanford History Education Group (SHEG), and currently a teacher educator at Harvard University. He has offered nationwide teacher training through the National Council of Social Studies and the Library of Congress. He has supported curriculum development and implementation in Massachusetts at the district level and state level.
Yearlong Comprehensive District/Network Partnership: $35,000* Gradual Rollout Multi-Day Trainings: $10,000 for one unit; $15,000 for two units*
One-on-One Coaching: $200/hour "Making Inquiry Accessible" Workshop Series: $99/participant
*up to 60 teachers; districts seeking to train more than 60 teachers can reach out to Shed Education to explore alternative options.
DESE has issued a bid opportunity for vendors interested in becoming certified professional development providers, which is open until September 30, 2024, through COMMBUYS, the state's procurement system. Please contact InvestigatingHistory@mass.gov with any questions.
Reference in this website to any specific commercial products, processes, or services, or the use of any trade, firm, or corporation name is for the information and convenience of the public and does not constitute endorsement or recommendation by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). Our office is not responsible for and does not in any way guarantee the accuracy of information in other sites accessible through links herein. DESE may supplement this list with other services and products that meet the specified criteria.
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 75 Pleasant Street, Malden, MA 02148-4906
Voice: (781) 338-3000 TTY: (800) 439-2370
Disclaimer: A reference in this website to any specific commercial products, processes, or services, or the use of any trade, firm, or corporation name is for the information and convenience of the public and does not constitute endorsement or recommendation by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.