Professors awarded grant to promote history and geography education in local schools

CEHHS faculty members Karen Thomas-Brown, associate professor of social studies, and LaShorage Shaffer, assistant professor of child education, created the Wayne County Global Geography Project, an 18-month program designed to give local 6th, 7th and 9th grade teachers professional development training.

Associate Professor Karen Thomas-Brown, center, talks with
participant teachers on ways to use technology.

The program focuses on global geography content, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and pedagogy on the Eastern and Western Hemisphere, Contemporary Global Issues and Era 7-Global Crisis and Achievement from 1900-1945. The professors were awarded a $220,000 Improving Teacher Quality grant from the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) to implement it.

A group of 42 Wayne County educators form Detroit, Dearborn, Taylor, Garden City, Livonia, Allen Park, Riverview and more were recruited to participate through Wayne County Regional Educational Service Agency (RESA).

Thomas-Brown, who is an urban geographer, and Shaffer saw a need for the program after looking at state test scores in social studies and geography and hearing from teachers about content areas they wanted to improve upon.

“We’ve designed a dynamic program,” Thomas-Brown said. “And by we, I mean all of us. It’s not me going out and finding experts. It’s learning what the teachers need. It’s a collaboration. It’s organic.”

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