Tweeting, Facebook, MySpace, blogs - all of these are familiar networking tools. But, do you know what wikis are? Geoff Tegnell does, and he’s not afraid to use them!

Tegnell is a Pierce teacher and Brookline’s K-8 Social Studies Curriculum Coordinator. With funding from a Brookline Education Foundation (BEF) grant, Tegnell and Brookline High School Curriculum Coordinator Gary Shiffman have created a Social Studies Wiki for Brookline teachers. *

A wiki is a website that permits an easy exchange of information by a group of online users. The Social Studies Wiki will be treasure trove for Brookline educators. It will supply orientation documents for new teachers and effortless access to shared lesson plans, Learning Expectations, curriculum, and assessments for all social studies educators.

It also will provide links to valuable teaching resources, such as books, articles, websites, and professional development opportunities. And, it will include discussion forums in which teachers at every grade level may participate.

What does this mean for your child’s teacher?

As a result of the work done under this BEF grant, Social Studies teachers across Brookline will have ready access to critical teaching materials. They will be able to share teaching units and resources and collaborate on best practices for assessing student work.

Because the Wiki is interactive,“K-12 teachers will be able to use the site …to discuss content and instructional issues,” says Tegnell. “K-12 teachers can develop common curriculum units, codify pedagogical nomenclature [commonly used vocabulary], and disseminate best instructional and research practices. ”

By fostering teacher collaboration, the Wiki will promote greater consistency in the teaching of social studies across Brookline, a goal of departmental Program Review. Best of all, it will provide a continuing opportunity for a large group of Brookline educators, representing all eight elementary schools and Brookline High School, to collaborate on content and processes that will improve their teaching. 

* Lawrence School’s Ryan Keser provided technical assistance.