Building Teachers' Historical Knowledge | History Matters Podcast

Nov 4, 2025

Courtney Dumas, CEO of Edu20/20 and former elementary teacher, shares her insights on enhancing social studies education. She emphasizes the necessity of robust curricula and professional learning that dives deep into content knowledge. Dumas explains how immersing teachers in model lessons allows them to experience the curriculum like their students, transforming their understanding. She also advocates for a shared curriculum to create coherence across grade levels, while encouraging educators to prioritize historical knowledge to elevate instruction.

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INSIGHT

Practice-Based Curriculum Training

Edu2020 centers professional learning on deep engagement with the actual curriculum instead of abstract overviews.
Experiencing model lessons as students reveals practical classroom transfer and sparks teacher 'ahas.'

ADVICE

Protect Planning Time

Give teachers dedicated time and space to read and plan with the curriculum before teaching it to students.
Provide simple planning systems so content time doesn't get squeezed out of teachers' schedules.

ADVICE

Use Model Lessons And Annotations

Use model lessons where teachers play students to reveal how lessons will feel and what adjustments matter.
Share lesson annotations so teachers understand the planning thought process behind instruction.

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What do teachers need to successfully teach high-quality history lessons in elementary school?

A strong curriculum is a great start, but teachers also need aligned professional learning and time to dig in and build the content knowledge that supports confident instruction, says guest Courtney Dumas. In this episode, she explains how her organization, Edu20/20, is supporting Louisiana educators as they implement the state’s content-rich Bayou Bridges elementary social studies curriculum.

Effective professional learning for social studies instruction is rooted in curriculum, but it doesn’t just cover how the curriculum works, she says. Dumas and Edu20/20 discuss specific content in detail and then lead model lessons where teachers pretend to be fifth graders, which allows them to experience the curriculum as their students will.

“Professional learning in social studies is different because the No. 1 thing is the content,” she says. “In Ouachita, we talked about their grade level, their specific content, their specific units, their specific assessments. And then we had them experience a lesson as a student. And that was kind of where the magic happens.”

Dumas also stresses the importance of giving teachers time to study history content together. Many elementary teachers are generalists, so building historical content knowledge is an important aspect of effective professional learning in social studies, she notes.

“We set lots of high expectations for curriculum, but sometimes we don’t give teachers the time and space to meet those expectations,” she says. “You’d be surprised how many people don’t know basic history. . . It is so important that we give teachers the time and space to interact with that content.”

Dumas sees a bright future for elementary history instruction, because “people are understanding the importance of it and how it complements literacy,” she says.

“We think that by giving more time to ELA, that’s going to be the answer. But really, social studies is ELA,” she says. “It’s going to make them better writers, better readers, better citizens. That’s what we want.”

This podcast is produced by the Knowledge Matters Campaign and StandardsWork, on behalf of the History Matters Campaign. Follow the History Matters Campaign on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter/X. Search #historymatters to join the conversation.

Production by Tressa Versteeg. Original music and sound engineering by Aidan Shea.