1. Thank you for joining us today! Tell us about your involvement with NCSS over the years.

Brandie Benton: In 2008, I accepted a faculty position in the education department at my institution.  I was charged with teaching the Special Methods in Social Studies course for secondary candidates and responsible for collecting data for the SPA review process.  Knowing little about program review, my dean at the time encouraged me to sign up to be a reviewer and sent me to the NCSS National Conference for training. I became a reviewer the following spring and continued to serve in that capacity for many years. In the summer of 2014, I was approached about serving as the SPA coordinator for NCSS, which I was happy to accept as this service has been some of the most enjoyable and rewarding work of my career in academia.

In 2015, NCSS began drafting new standards to replace those adopted in 2004. As a member of the standards committee, I was able to work with leading social studies educators to draft a set of standards that we knew would influence social studies education for many years to come. When the 2017 revision of the National Standards for the Preparation of Social Studies Teachers became operational on January 1, 2018, I could not have been more proud of the work the committee had accomplished and was excited to begin supporting social studies programs across the nation as they transitioned their curricula and assessments to the new standards. The standards represented a true paradigm shift in how NCSS measures social studies teacher effectiveness. We’ve been pleased with the overwhelming support we’ve received from teacher preparation programs regarding how much more manageable and flexible the standards allow them to be.

Alvin Peters: My involvement began with my work with NEA/KNEA. Through those organizations, I began doing program reviews and accreditation visits for the Kansas Department of Education in 1993 and have continued for the past 27 years. From 2001 to 2004, I did accreditation visits for the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). After finishing a three-year term on their Board of Examiners, I decided to look into doing program reviews with NCSS. I signed up for the training at the National Conference in Baltimore in 2004 and began reviewing with the spring cycle in 2005 (the last cycle where the reviewers met and worked face-to-face). I have reviewed programs every fall and spring since. Since 2016 I have also been doing accreditation visits again for CAEP. (CAEP stands for Council for the Accreditation of Education Preparers and is the successor of NCATE.) In 2018, I began serving on the CAEP SPA Standards Review Committee. The Standards Review Committee reviews and makes suggestions/recommendations concerning updates to the teacher preparation standards of the Specialized Professional Associations. I am currently NCSS’ representative on the committee.

In addition to the above activities relating to college teacher preparation programs, I served from 2014 to 2017 as a member of the NCSS Awards Committee and since 2019, I have been one of the co-chairs (along with Kim O’Neil, former NCSS president) of the National Board Certified Teaching Community of NCSS.

2. Tell us about the National Standards for the Preparation of Social Studies Teachers. Specifically, what do the Standards help teachers do?

Brandie: The National Standards for the Preparation of Social Studies Teachers serve as the framework for curricular and assessment decisions for high-quality social studies programs across the nation. Programs that hold themselves to this level of accountability are going above and beyond to ensure that their social studies program completers are equipped to be effective and impactful classroom teachers. The standards ensure that new teachers who graduate from programs of study that are National Recognized by NCSS possess strong content knowledge across the five disciplinary themes: history, geography, civics, economics, and the social/behavioral sciences, and more importantly, that they can use these concepts, facts, and tools to support student learning and personal growth. These teachers are focused on planning and assessment intentionally designed to measure this growth, but to also be used to assess their own impacts as educators on student learning. Standard 5, in particular, calls on social studies educators to examine their own cultural lenses, and to seek ways to grow professionally and to initiate meaningful change by taking informed action within their communities. Now, more than ever, this is critical to ensure that a diverse student population is served and empowered to reach their full potential. The 2017 standards help institutions of higher ed prepare future teachers to this end.

3. Could you tell us about the history of the National Standards? How were they developed?

Alvin: The process of the current Standards began with NCSS recognizing the need to review and update the 2004 Standards. To that end the Board appointed a task force chaired by Alexander Cuenca to do the review. After reviewing the most recent research, the task force developed a draft of the newer standards. These were then sent to the CAEP SPA Standards Review Committee (note that this is before I was on the committee) for feedback. The draft standards were also presented at the national conference and made available online for input from members and the general public. The task force took all the feedback from all the sources and revised the draft. Once the Standards were fairly well finalized, subcommittees were formed from the task force members and the members of the program review audit team to develop sample assessments to show that the standards could be measured through the use of six to eight assessments. These sample assessments are made available to the program providers should they choose to use them for guidance.

4. If someone is interested in reviewing the National Standards, how can they get involved? Are there requirements to become a reviewer?

Alvin: The easiest way to become a reviewer is to contact Brandie and let her know you are interested. She does the initial training. My personal recommendation is to try to go through the training at the national conference because it is face-to-face, and the give and take/questions and answers are very helpful in the process. When you have finished the training, you can be assigned to a team. You will feel completely unprepared for the job, but that’s normal. Brandie likes to assign new reviewers to teams with highly experienced lead reviewers. She also lets the team lead know if any of the reviewers are new. My personal preference as a lead reviewer when there is a new reviewer is to have each of us review and write separate reports, then arrange for a phone conversation to write the team report. During the phone call, we walk through the team report together to compare what we saw and reach final agreement. I find this makes the new reviewer feel more comfortable. When there is a new reviewer, I also try to have my individual report finished first because the other reviewers on the team can see the report then and have an idea of what I am seeing. It is not uncommon for the new reviewer to find something I missed.

In terms of requirements, all a reviewer needs is an interest in quality social studies education and a willingness to serve the profession. It is not necessary to be a college faculty member. I taught 7-12 from 1978 to 2012, then started my current position with Emporia State University in 2012. I am currently in the rather unique position of being, to my knowledge, the only member of the audit committee for reviews who has never written a report for a review.

5. Are there any upcoming events that will help prepare educators to become reviewers for the National Standards?

Brandie: In a normal year, the review team would meet at the National Conference and provide a full-day pre-conference clinic for program report preparers.  Additionally, NCSS SPA reviewer training would be available to anyone interested in this service opportunity.  Due to Covid-19, these in-person opportunities are not available. However, NCSS regularly offers webinars for those who need support in preparing their SPA reports. Beginning in January 2021, this training will be offered every other month on the third Friday until September (Jan, March, May, July, Sept). Registration links will be posted to the NCSS Website in early January.  Additionally, on January 15th, those interested in learning more about volunteering to become a reviewer will be able to sign up for a free webinar. I would encourage anyone who wants to improve their social studies teacher preparation programs to sign up to attend. 

6. What other resources would you recommend to those who want to become social studies educators?

Brandie: As a former social studies methods professor and educator, I believe that the best resources are available directly through or endorsed by NCSS. The National Conference - coming up soon - provides opportunities for teachers of varied backgrounds to expand their knowledge and network with other professionals from across the nation and beyond. The conference is even more accessible this year because it will be hosted virtually. The keynote speakers and session presenters will inspire all who attend to want to improve their teaching for the betterment of their students and society as a whole. Attendees are able to select sessions tailored to their individual professional development needs and that will best support their own professional growth goals. I would also encourage young social studies teachers to get involved early in their careers.  While the relationships they build with others in their school districts is critical to their success, they will find that extending their networks beyond their school communities by looking for opportunities to serve at the state and national levels will ensure they have the supports in place to cultivate a continued desire to reach their students in new ways and make a difference in the world.

Alvin: If they are part of the educator preparation program for a college or university, I recommend they go through the training to be reviewers. This will make them more familiar with the standards and how to approach writing the report. I also recommend they do it at least three years before they need to begin writing the report. Doing it that far out will allow them to be certain they have the assessments they need to be aligned to the standards and can gather the required data in time. My best advice is don’t wait until the last minute.

Current P-12 educators should become familiar with the NBPTS for Social Studies-History. They are written to describe what accomplished teachers who have been in the profession for at least five years should know and be able to do.

Teacher candidates currently in higher education working toward licensure should become familiar with the C3 Framework and their state’s P-12 social studies standards so they know what the expectations will be when they are teaching. They will find that, in most cases, the C3 Framework and their state’s standards mesh nicely.