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Lightning Jay @lightningjay.bsky.social · Sep 2

The trend is similar in Blue, Red, and Purple states, which suggests there is something about this narrative that is politically palatable. I argue, however, that graduating students who do not know about the defining political movement of their time is a failure of social studies education.

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Lightning Jay @lightningjay.bsky.social · Sep 2

The biggest gap is around social movements, activists, and the individual people, issues, and goals that make up the Right.

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Lightning Jay @lightningjay.bsky.social · Sep 2

I look at the state standards for the 30 most populous states and discover a deep avoidance of the modern conservative movements in most states. There is some discussion of presidential administrations (particularly Nixon and Reagan), but few other politicians.

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Lightning Jay @lightningjay.bsky.social · Sep 2

New Article! What do high school students learn about rightwing history? Not very much. www.tandfonline.com/eprint/C7MT4...

The modern political right in United States history standards

The last decade has seen a global rise in the power of the political Right. In some countries, that has meant a shift towards centre-right traditional conservativism. In others, more radical rightw...

www.tandfonline.com

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Reposted by Lightning Jay

To The Past @tothepast.bsky.social · Aug 27

Good thinkers having good discussions. As we gear up for another year in the classroom, how can we make our classrooms hubs of rich discussion? #sschat #cdnhistory #historyeducation #historicalthinking #bced

Lightning Jay @lightningjay.bsky.social · Jul 22

New podcast!!! You can listen to @abbyreisman.bsky.social and I discuss the importance of discussions in the social studies classroom! It get meta!! visionsofed.com/2025/07/21/e...

Episode 216: Observing Classroom Discussions with Lightning Jay & Abby Reisman

In episode 216, Dan and Michael chat with Lightning Jay and Abby Reisman about their article published in Theory & Research in Social Education, “The social studies discourse instrument: Valida…

visionsofed.com

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Lightning Jay @lightningjay.bsky.social · Aug 26

This link is paywalled, but I'm always happy to share with teachers. Email if interested.

Lightning Jay @lightningjay.bsky.social · Aug 26

Should Project 2025 be required reading for high schoolers? In our new article, @abigailrd.bsky.social and I explore two ways for teachers to bring challenging texts into the classroom. www.socialstudies.org/social-educa...

Social Education September 2025

www.socialstudies.org

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Reposted by Lightning Jay

Joshua Weishart @joshuaweishart.bsky.social · Aug 24

Even as oppression descends, a democratic education campaign can uplift.

Joshua Weishart @joshuaweishart.bsky.social · Aug 11

Blue states should make democracy the prevailing theme of the upcoming school year. Not just civics/social studies classes, but democracy-reinforcing lessons & experiences integrated throughout the curriculum.

Boldly educate through the crisis, don't leave children in despair, teach a better way.

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Lightning Jay @lightningjay.bsky.social · Jul 22

As always, Dan and Michael were amazing hosts on @visionsofed.bsky.social and I'm proud to write with Tim Patterson, Jenni Conrad and
@wendychanw.bsky.social

Lightning Jay @lightningjay.bsky.social · Jul 22

Our conversation is based on this paper. bsky.app/profile/ligh...

Lightning Jay @lightningjay.bsky.social · Jan 31

New Paper! The first validated observation tool for social studies classroom discussions! Introducing the SSDI (social studies discourse instrument) www.tandfonline.com/eprint/ETANM...

The social studies discourse instrument: Validating an observation tool for classroom discussions

This article introduces the Social Studies Discourse Instrument (SSDI), a novel observation tool for capturing whole-class discussions in social studies. This tool assesses three domains of classro...

www.tandfonline.com

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Lightning Jay @lightningjay.bsky.social · Jul 22

New podcast!!! You can listen to @abbyreisman.bsky.social and I discuss the importance of discussions in the social studies classroom! It get meta!! visionsofed.com/2025/07/21/e...

Episode 216: Observing Classroom Discussions with Lightning Jay & Abby Reisman

In episode 216, Dan and Michael chat with Lightning Jay and Abby Reisman about their article published in Theory & Research in Social Education, “The social studies discourse instrument: Valida…

visionsofed.com

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Lightning Jay @lightningjay.bsky.social · Jun 26

As Binghamton and the broader SUNY system invests in community schools, the democratic schools that we dream of depend on our ability to prepare teachers for those contexts. It was great working with Dr. Naorah Rimkunas on this, who has a deep understanding of that work.

Lightning Jay @lightningjay.bsky.social · Jun 26

Most teacher ed. programs don't help teachers learn to work with families. This paper reports on our work at Binghamton U to change that. We found that when preservice teachers talk with parents, it can help teachers AND parents!!

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Lightning Jay @lightningjay.bsky.social · Jun 26

There's a lot of evidence that collaboration between teachers and families is one of the most powerful levers in education, BUT real collaboration is tricky.

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Lightning Jay @lightningjay.bsky.social · Jun 26

New paper! Real Talk: Designing Practice-Based Teacher Education for Family Communication www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/15...

www.mdpi.com

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Lightning Jay @lightningjay.bsky.social · Apr 30

As always, I'm so lucky to get to work with @abbyreisman.bsky.social Tim Patterson Jenni Conrad and @wendychanw.bsky.social

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Lightning Jay @lightningjay.bsky.social · Apr 30

The paper is our work on the Social Studies Discourse Instrument, which is a new validated observation tool for social studies classroom discussions. We're really hoping that it can help social studies teachers, scholars, and educators think more collaboratively. www.tandfonline.com/eprint/ETANM...

The social studies discourse instrument: Validating an observation tool for classroom discussions

This article introduces the Social Studies Discourse Instrument (SSDI), a novel observation tool for capturing whole-class discussions in social studies. This tool assesses three domains of classro...

www.tandfonline.com

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Lightning Jay @lightningjay.bsky.social · Apr 30

#AERA is such an intense conference. I always come back with so many ideas. This year, I'm also coming back with an award! So grateful to the Social Studies SIG and my co-authors for the Outstanding Paper recognition.

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Reposted by Lightning Jay

Adam "I Was Hoping We Could Keep It" Laats @adamlaats.bsky.social · Apr 23

School people, bad news from SCOTUS.

This case is a big deal. Yes, LGBTQ rights, but much more:

It threatens basic school functions:
1.) Children's right to get the best knowledge;
2.) Schools' ability to do basic administration.
Here's an explainer thread: (1/)
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/22/u...

Supreme Court Seems Set to Allow Opt-Outs From L.G.B.T.Q. Stories in Schools (Gift Article)

In a lively and sometimes heated argument, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority appeared poised to rule for parents with religious objections to storybooks with gay and transgender characters.

www.nytimes.com

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Lightning Jay @lightningjay.bsky.social · Apr 10

I'm late to the party here. Things are moving so quickly that it's hard to find the right resources. I'll keep my eye out.

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Lightning Jay @lightningjay.bsky.social · Apr 10

Some great news!

AERA Social Studies Research SIG @ssr-sig.bsky.social · Apr 8

The Outstanding Paper Award goes to @lightningjay.bsky.social, @abbyreisman.bsky.social, Timothy Patterson, @wendychanw.bsky.social, and Jenni Conrad for their paper "The Social Studies Discourse Instrument: Validating an Observation Tool for Classroom Discussion." 2/5

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Reposted by Lightning Jay

History Education Research Journal @histedresearch.bsky.social · Mar 21

HERJ has a #CallForPapers on Shifting Practices in #HistoryEducation in Africa: Critical Perspectives and New Directions.

For more information, including how to contribute, read the full call here:
journals.uclpress.co.uk/herj/news/25/

Articles will publish #OpenAccess and without APC

The call for papers on Shifting Practices in History Education in Africa: Critical Perspectives and New Directions
Edited by Abigail Branford, Denise Bentrovato, Johan Wasserman and Joanna Wojdon

For publication from early 2026

Expressions of interest due: 1 May 2025
Due date for paper submission: 2 September 2025

Calls for improving the teaching of African history across the continent have been made by academics, activists, UNESCO, the popular press, and teachers and students themselves. These calls have identified issues such as the dominance of European history and the history of ‘great men’; the exclusion of marginalised groups; the lack of critical narratives; and the prevalence of rote-learning and teaching-to-test pedagogies. This special theme presents an opportunity to take stock of history education practices across African contexts, to identify shifts and resistance in addressing such issues. It also seeks to explore the role of different actors such as policy-makers, textbook authors, teachers and students in creating affordances and constraints in the history education space.

The special theme also aspires to emphasise the voices of history teachers and students at all levels of education. Whilst curricula and policy play an important role in structuring history education, too often it is assumed rather than investigated how these are experienced by teachers and students. This special series seeks to ask how histories are navigated, internalised, ignored or resisted by teachers and students. This also includes teachers-in-training, as initial teacher education is a vital but under-emphasised arena which shapes later classroom interactions. Voices from these spaces can shed light on changing pedagogical interactions beyond the assumptions of official documents. Submit expressions of interest by May 1 2025.

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Lightning Jay @lightningjay.bsky.social · Mar 22

That's a great analogy. I think great histories do all the above, they provide knowledge and show how the knowledge is produced, what sources and questions etc. To me, the problem is making this accessible to students, not needing to create a new pathway.