College of Education’s ‘Team Social Studies’ wins statewide award of excellence, launches peer-reviewed journal
A multidisciplinary group of College of Education (COE) professors, affably referred to as “Team Social Studies,” recently won the 2023 Georgia Council for Social Studies (GCSS) Program of Excellence Award at the organization’s annual conference, which was held in Athens, Georgia.
The group is comprised of Ariel Cornett, Ph.D., and Erin Piedmont, Ph.D., who teach elementary social studies methods, and Michelle Reidel, Ph.D., Betsy Barrow, Ed.D., and Delandrea Hall, Ph.D., who teach middle grades and secondary social studies methods classes. Together, they were honored for the Social Studies Programs of Excellence, rooted in their practices across Georgia Southern’s campuses and the state.
“We collaborate across departments, and envision ourselves as ‘Team Social Studies,’ frequently in scholarship, teaching and service,” Cornett said.
The mission of the GCSS is to advocate for, support and celebrate the advancement of quality social studies teaching for Georgia students.
“Our social studies team is consistently working to grow and develop our programs through their innovative and research-based teaching practices,” stated COE Dean Sharon Subreenduth, Ph.D., in support of their mission. “Our social studies teacher educator team draws upon the National Council for the Social Studies Curriculum guidelines to inform their coursework. Each social studies methods syllabus articulates a balance of content as well as a variety of teaching strategies such as inquiry-based design thinking, place-based education, project-based learning, and culturally relevant pedagogy. Furthermore, our social studies teacher educators’ methods coursework connects and involves pre-service teacher candidates with Georgia students, families and their communities.”
Subreenduth also made note of the team’s newest collaboration, a biannual social studies journal, “Teaching Social Studies in the Peach State.” It is an open-access, peer-reviewed online journal that provides a forum for K-16 social studies educators to share best practices, build community and deepen their knowledge about teaching social studies.
Co-sponsored by the Georgia Council for Social Studies, the Georgia Council for History Education, the Georgia Council for Economic Education and the Georgia Council for Civic Engagement, the inaugural issue launched at the GCSS conference.
Reidel, who serves as editor in chief, Cornett, Piedmont and Barrow have pieces in the first issue.
“The idea is to share best practices in social studies and to build community amongst ourselves as educational professionals within the state so that we can deepen our knowledge about teaching and learning in social studies to ultimately benefit our students,” said Cornett. “I think it’s important to share not only research-focused pieces, but also practitioner-oriented classroom resources. It is powerful that we were able to partner with social studies-specific organizations in the state for this journal.”
The social studies team also publishes regularly in and reviews for journals such as Social Studies Research and Practice, Social Studies and the Young Learner, Journal of Social Studies Research, The Social Studies, The History Teacher, Social Education and The Elementary School Journal.
In addition, the group has received both internal and external funding, including the Georgia Southern University Faculty Service Grant, Georgia Southern University COE Scholarly and Creative Activity Research Seed Grant, Georgia Southern University Faculty Development Committee Award, Council for Undergraduate Research Grant, and a Georgia Humanities program grant, to support their social studies research.
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