Joyia Davis
Recently, the Johnson Institute staff presented at the A+ College Ready Social Studies Fall Workshop and Conference. A+ College Ready provides content-specific teacher training for Alabama teachers and prepares students for success in college. The fall social studies workshop brings together educators from across Alabama for a two-day long conference on strategies and resources for teaching social studies.
Our session provided an overview of the court system, explored Judge Johnson’s life, and demonstrated how to use his landmark civil rights rulings to engage students in critical thinking and analysis. Using the Johnson Institute’s case summary for Browder v. Gayle as background text, the teachers explored the Montgomery Bus Boycott and other transportation boycotts through an interactive game called BreakoutEDU.
BreakoutEDU is a platform that uses escape room-style games to teach academic content and skills in the classroom. Players have to work together to solve puzzles and break into a locked box within a given time limit. The game is a great way to introduce students to a topic through the use of primary and secondary sources.
Following the BreakoutEDU game, educators were eager to discuss ways to make the game accessible to their students, emphasizing the importance of creating new ways of presenting information to their students.
This event, along with hosting student groups at the Institute, highlight the importance of civic education outreach. Whether we are speaking with 11th graders visiting from New York or educators at professional conferences, we are reminded that the lessons of the civil rights movement are timeless.
Outreach events like A+ College Ready workshops extend the reach of the Johnson Institute beyond its physical location. They allow us to build partnerships with educators who will carry the Institute’s mission into classrooms across the state and beyond.