Collaboration in Action: A Social Studies Team Setting the Standard
This newsletter marks the beginning of a new Partnership Spotlight series dedicated to honoring the educators who make thinking the minimum standard for every student. Throughout this series, we will spotlight our current partners and the meaningful work happening throughout districts and classrooms. Each edition, we will showcase the journeys of Thinking Nation partners, who are educators just like you. We hope by our partners sharing their experiences and impact in the classroom you feel inspired to continue or join in our mission to transform social studies in education for the future of democracy. Let’s get started…
Every Thinking Nation partner has a story worth telling, and we are excited to begin this series with Hamilton Heights Middle School in Arcadia, IN. Their journey illustrates how a shared vision for critical thinking, paired with collaboration, can transform social studies classrooms into spaces where curiosity, inquiry, and student voice thrive.
Q: What does it mean to make thinking the minimum standard in your classroom?
A: We want to teach students to focus on the “whys and hows” of history, instead of the “whos, whats, whens, and wheres.” We want them to become independent thinkers capable of evaluating the usefulness of primary and secondary sources.
Q: In what ways has this approach shaped conversations around instruction, data, or collaboration?
A: We’ve successfully integrated the Thinking Nation rubrics with our English department’s writing rubrics, which all align to state testing standards. The combination of real-time feedback and quick access to data in the Thinking Nation platform has strengthened our ability to work with targeted student groups and support their growth more effectively.
Q: What changes have you noticed in student engagement, confidence, or historical thinking skills?
A: We have seen students become better at using relevant evidence to support ideas, and use more text-based evidence in their overall work. They are also beginning to see the value of both reading, and using, feedback to improve their work.
Q: We know journeys do not always fit neatly into questions.What meaningful experiences, impacts, or reflections would you like to share from your journey?
A: Thinking Nation benefits not just our students, but us as teachers as well. It has helped us ask deeper, more meaningful questions of sources and provide scaffolds that make complex thinking accessible to all learners. This approach also frees up time for small-group instruction, rather than spending hours grading papers without the opportunity to act on feedback. Never before did I think 8th graders could tackle a dense text like Federalist 51, but with practice through Thinking Nation, they were able to do just that.
Q: What are you most excited about as you continue this journey?
A: We’re excited to continue supporting students in becoming thoughtful, critical consumers of information. Helping them explore what makes a document historically significant and uncover everything it can teach, offers invaluable opportunities to deepen their thinking and understanding.
Hamilton Heights MS student using THINKS protocol
The journey of this middle school teaching team at Hamilton Heights reminds us that meaningful learning is intentional, purposeful, and never happens by chance. This team exemplifies our pledge to Make Thinking the Minimum. By collaborating across three grades and multiple social studies courses, they show that teaching history as a discipline, not just content, builds strong historical thinking skills, fosters a love of the subject, and creates continuity and alignment across grade levels. Their intentional, thoughtful approach develops critical, civic-minded thinkers and goes beyond the status quo. By supporting students in tackling challenging texts, they’ve transformed classrooms and set a standard for what’s possible in education. Thank you for leading the way and inspiring others.
From left to right: Claudia Scott-7th grade Eastern Hemisphere World History & 8th Grade US History Bryan Jones- 6th grade Western Hemisphere World History & Civics and 8th grade US History, Melanie White- 7th grade Eastern Hemisphere World History
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