Learning for Justice Teaching Hard History

Teaching Hard History
Professional Learning Cohorts Fall 2022 Syllabus
Overview statement:As participants in a Teaching Hard History Professional Learning Cohorts, educators engage with the Learning for Justice Teaching Hard History: American Slavery (THH) framework and learn how to use it to enrich their lessons on American enslavement, build students’ civic engagement and critical thinking, and deepen their mindsets around inclusion and empathy. THH Cohorts provide educators, free of charge, the chance to deeply engage with THH, collaborate with LFJ staff and 25 other cohort members across the country, and gain insights and feedback on implementation. There will be four cohorts offered in the fall of 2022: two elementary (K-5) cohorts and two secondary (6-12) cohorts. After three months of learning in community, including seven synchronous sessions via Zoom, educators will have an opportunity to showcase their work.
Overarching objectives:
1. Educators will practice strategies to prepare their students to participate in challenging
conversations.
2. Educators will gain the skills to analyze resources and practices in order to prepare their students to
engage critically with narratives surrounding the history of American slavery.
3. Educators will learn to navigate and implement THH and other resources available through the
Learning for Justice website.
4. Educators will advocate for teaching honest histories by creating a project showcasing their
learnings from the THH cohorts.
Eligibility Requirements:
1. In order to be considered for a THH cohort, applicants must be an educator that will use the THH frameworks for either K-5 or 6-12 students (for example, through a classroom, non-profit or museum setting, etc.).
2. Educators across the nation are encouraged to apply, but there will be preference given to those teaching in Southern Poverty Law Center states: Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi or Louisiana.
Requirements
- Synchronous sessions: Educators must commit to participating in 7 synchronous cohort sessions via Zoom from August - December, 2022. All sessions will be held from 5:00 - 7:00 pm Central / 6:00 - 8:00 pm Eastern. Synchronous sessions will be led by THH Trainers, alumni of past THH cohorts who have been selected for their content knowledge and facilitation skill.
- Showcase: Educators will showcase their learnings on January 11th via Zoom.
- Asynchronous Work: Educators must be willing to dedicate time outside of synchronous sessions to
exploring and implementing THH resources and working on their showcase project (expect about
1-1.5 hours a week).
- Post cohort: Educators will use what they learned during the THH cohort with their students, such
as creating new lesson plans or documenting student reflections/learnings within a calendar year.

Showcase Information
- Prior to the showcase, educators will have an opportunity to collaborate with Learning for Justice staff and other cohort members to help craft their projects.
- The showcase will be held on Wednesday, January 11th from 6-8 pm ET on Zoom.
- This showcase will present educators with a unique opportunity to apply what they learned, such as designing a community project, a learning plan or professional development for other teachers, that
highlights participants’ contributions to the field of teaching honest history about American enslavement.
Certificate of Completion
- Participants will receive a signed certificate of completion that shows their hours of engagement (approximately 26 hours) upon completion and presentation of their showcase project.
Google Classroom
- Each cohort will use a Google Classroom to communicate and collaborate with one another and their THH Trainers.
- Each Google Classroom functions as the centralized location for all logistical and programmatic information, including calendar of cohort times and office hours, slides and resources from previous sessions, showcase artifacts, upcoming professional development opportunities and more.
Office Hours (Optional)
- THH Trainers will host virtual office hours every other week from the first cohort meeting through the final showcase.
- During office hours, THH Trainers will be there to help with processing, implementation, troubleshooting, creation of project artifacts or resources and answer any questions from cohort participants in a one-on-one setting.
*See next page for an overview of the synchronous sessions, including dates, times and objectives for each.