Teaching in Turbulent Times is the Saturday Morning Keynote Topic for FCSS!

Hey, social studies folks! The time is fast approaching for the FCSS annual conference! PLEASE join us in late October (28-30) for what will be a great couple of days of sessions. We have made arrangements with some excellent folks to ensure that Sunday will be devoted at least in part to making sure the needs and desires of Advanced Placement folks are met! And I DO have some more exciting news to share about sessions and speakers and events, but I want to make sure that news about the keynote speaker for Saturday morning is out.

We all know that it can be difficult to teach social studies in a climate that does not often allow for deep discussion and discovery and where inquiry sometimes becomes a dirty word. Our keynote speaker for Saturday is coming to talk to us about that. Dr. Murali Balaji is the  Director of Education and Curriculum Reform for the Hindu American Foundation. In his role, Balaji works on empowering educators in culturally competent pedagogical approaches. He also serves as an advisor to numerous organizations around the country in promoting religious literacy and civic engagement. A Fulbright Specialist and former award-winning journalist, he has taught at Temple University, Penn State University, and Lincoln University, where he served as Chair of the Department of Mass Communications, overseeing assessment and curriculum building efforts. A longtime advocate of minority issues, Dr. Balaji is the author of several books, including The Professor and The Pupil (2007), and the co-editor of the seminal anthologies Desi Rap (2008) and Global Masculinities and Manhood (2011). A native of the Philadelphia area, Balaji earned his B.A. in journalism from the University of Minnesota and his doctorate in Mass Communication from Penn State.

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Dr. Balaji will be talking about ‘Teaching in Turbulent Times: Navigating through the New Normal in Public Education’. I have had the distinct pleasure of attending Dr. Balaji’s sessions at conferences in North Carolina and nationally, and he is an engaging, witty, and insightful speaker on issues relating to public education, controversial topics, and the getting kids (and teachers!) to think critically and intellectually.

We are excited he is able to join us Saturday morning, and I look forward to his keynote!


Florida Council for the Social Studies Annual Conference!

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Have you registered yet for the FCSS Annual Conference in October? If not, why not? They are expecting some excellent sessions this year, including some from the excellent folks at the Fed and from our own old friend from the National Archives, Dr. Charlie Flanagan. You know you all love Charlie! As this is an adoption year, you can also expect that there will be a great many vendors who will have a great deal of swag to share with teachers who take an interest in their booths. And we here at the FJCC will of course be there, and we are planning on having a booth so that we can meet folks we haven’t met before and to share some of the exciting new projects we have on the agenda! So come on, join us at the FCSS Annual Conference in October and find out what your colleagues across the state are doing, what new tools and resources exist, and how you can better help your students become the great citizens we know they can be!

You can register for the conference here!


Florida Council for the Social Studies Annual Conference

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As the planning continues for the FCSS 2016 Annual Conference, we are happy to announce that we will be joined by Lesley Mace from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. Ms. Mace is the Senior Economic and Financial Education Specialist for the branch, and will be joining us for sessions on financial and economic literacy! This is, as always, an area of need and we are excited to have her! Register now for the conference and come network with other high quality social studies educators here in Florida!


The Florida Council for the Social Studies Annual Conference

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The Florida Council for the Social Studies annual conference is looking for quality sessions that will meet the needs of social studies teachers and teacher-educators from across the state and beyond. Do you have an interesting resource to share? A lesson strategy that you have found effective? New research that might be of use for teachers? New ideas for 21st century social studies instruction? Then I hope that you will consider submitting a session proposal to present at the conference.

When and Where?

The conference is October 28, 2016 8:00 AM to October 30, 2016 5:30 PM at Embassy Suites Orlando-Lake Buena Vista South, 4955 Kyngs Heath Road, Kissimmee, FL 34746. 

Sessions include content and pedagogy from across the social studies field and may range from a 50 minute Session or 90 minute Workshop to half day or full day pre-conference clinics.

Who Should Go? Who Should Present? Who Should Exhibit? 

Everyone in social studies. Everyone should go. There are always sessions for every interest, and we encourage K-12 educators and pre-service teachers to attend, network, and learn. You should register to attend.

Everyone in social studies. Everyone should submit a proposal to present. We need YOU to share your expertise with teachers in Florida and beyond. You have experience. You have skills. You should submit a proposal to present. (Please note that you will have to register to attend the conference in order to present).

Everyone in social studies. Well, everyone that has a quality and useful resource for social studies teachers. They are the ones that should register to exhibit at the conference.

This is an adoption year, so attendees can expect that there will be a great many resources available in the exhibit hall and shared in sessions. As session proposals roll in and planning moves forward, I will be sharing updates about exciting sessions and guests that you will find beneficial.

It is the people that make a conference. Without quality sessions, what does a conference offer? Without passionate attendees, what does a conference offer? Please join us at the Florida Council for the Social Studies conference in October and help make sure that social studies continues to matter in this state. 


Upcoming Florida Council for the Social Studies Conference

It’s that time of year again! The Florida Council for the Social Studies Annual Conference is approaching, and now is the time to register for the event held from Oct 2-4 here in Orlando. As always, there will no doubt be sessions dedicated to areas across the social studies curriculum.

FCSSTo register for the conference, visit the online registration link and be prepared to enjoy yourself and meet with other social studies educators from across the state! And those of you in higher education, don’t forget that FCSS now has a branch of CUFA!!!


Florida CUFA October Conference Call for Proposals!

Good morning, friends in Civics and Social Studies. Dr. Scott Waring, who leads the new College and University Faculty Assembly branch of the Florida Council for the Social Studies, has asked me to share a call for proposals for the upcoming October conference. Please take the time to review the call, and if you are interested, you can click at the end of this sentence to download the FL-CUFA_Proposal_15. All proposals should be sent directly to Dr. Waring at swaring@ucf.edu. I encourage you to consider joining us in October!

Presentation Formats

Paper Presentations (50 minutes)

An individual paper presentation gives authors an opportunity to present abbreviated versions of their empirical or theoretical/conceptual scholarship. After the papers are presented, a discussant will offer commentary on key revelations, vexations, and themes raised by the papers, and a chairperson will moderate questions and responses by audience members. For the sake of effective presentation and discussion, individual papers should be limited to 3,000 words, excluding references. The typical structure for a session with two papers includes a brief introduction by the chairperson, 15 minutes for each author’s presentation, 10 minutes for the discussant’s commentary, and 10 minutes of audience participation.

Symposium Sessions (50 minutes)

A symposium offers presenters, discussants, and audience members the opportunity to explore a particular problem or theme from various perspectives. Organizers of symposium sessions typically establish the topic, identify and solicit participation from appropriate scholars, and assemble and submit a single proposal representing the collective work of participants. Symposium proposals should include no more than four participants. The organizer must obtain permission and input from each individual represented in a symposium proposal. Symposium proposals must specify a discussant for the session. All presenters in a symposium should submit to the discussant a paper or commentary addressing the central theme or questions under consideration; symposium papers should be limited to 3,000 words. The chair, presenters, and discussant will determine how time is to be allocated during symposiums.

Contemporary Issues Dialogue (50 minutes)

The contemporary issues dialogue format offers conference attendees an opportunity to explore contemporary issues or dilemmas in social education via a unique forum not represented by paper sessions and symposiums. Contemporary issues dialogues can include informal discussions, town hall meetings, roundtables, papers-in-progress, structured poster sessions, research planning and methodological activities, video presentations and performances, and book talks. Sessions that promote active participation and open dialogue among audience members are strongly encouraged. Proposal authors will determine how time is to be allocated during contemporary issues dialogues.

Research-Into-Practice Sessions (50 minutes)

Research-into-practice sessions offer FL-CUFA members the opportunity to discuss and demonstrate the implications of research for educational practice. Given their association with the regular FCSS Conference program, audience members typically are classroom teachers, teacher educators, supervisors, and school administrators. With that audience in mind, presentations should feature scholarly, yet accessible, discussions and activities of interest to practicing educators. Proposal authors will determine how time is to be allocated during research into practice sessions.

Submission Guidelines

Presenters must provide, in an email to the Program Chair, Scott Waring (swaring@ucf.edu), the following:

  1. The names of all presenters and corresponding affiliations
  2. Lead presenter’s mailing address, email, and phone number
  3. A PDF or Microsoft Word compatible document, as described below, that includes a narrative of 3,000 words or fewer, excluding title, abstract, and references.

Because proposals will be reviewed in a blind peer review process, please do not include the names or affiliations of authors and presenters in the proposal document and ensure that no identifying information is embedded in the proposal document as metadata.

The Program Chair reserves the right to reject without review any proposal that exceeds the 3,000-word limit. The Program Chair reserves the right to disqualify submissions in which authors’ identifying information is revealed.

The submission deadline is Monday, August 31, 2015 11:59 p.m. No submissions will be accepted after that date and time.

Individual Paper and Symposium Proposal Contents

Each proposal should include the following elements: a) the title; b) an abstract of 35 words or less; c) the purposes and/or objectives of the study; d) the theoretical framework or perspective; e) research design and/or methods of inquiry; f) findings or arguments and their warrants; g) the importance of the work’s contribution to scholarship; and h) references. To preserve the integrity of the blind peer review process, please do not include the names or affiliations of authors and presenters in the proposal document. The Program Chair reserves the right to disqualify submissions in which authors’ identifying information is revealed. The review criteria will incorporate the clarity, organization, and perceived scholarly significance of elements c) through g) above.

Contemporary Issues Dialogue and Research Into Practice (RIP) Proposal Contents

Contemporary Issues Dialogue and RIP session proposals should include the following elements, as appropriate: a) the title of ten words or less; b) an abstract of 35 words or less; c) the purposes and objectives of the session; d) theory and research in which the session is grounded; e) methods of presentation or modes of activity for the session; f) findings or arguments and their warrants; and g) references.

To preserve the integrity of the blind peer review process, please do not include the names or affiliations of authors and presenters in the proposal document. The Program Chair reserves the right to disqualify submissions in which authors’ identifying information is revealed. The review criteria will incorporate the clarity, organization, and perceived significance of elements c) through f) above.

Participation Requirements

It is expected that all authors or presenters represented in a proposal will register for the FCSS Annual Meeting and attend and participate in conference sessions. If an emergency or other unforeseen circumstance precludes a participant from attending, she or he should immediately contact the Program Chair, Scott Waring, at swaring@ucf.edu. To promote diversity among perspectives and participants, no presenter shall appear as author or co-author on more than two proposals, or as chair or discussant on more than two proposals.