Your learner journey
About this course
This course reimagines the social studies classroom as a dynamic space where students become active public historians. Rather than relying on solely linear textbooks, this course teaches educators how to leverage museum exhibits—both physical and virtual—as powerful “mentor texts” that invite students to construct meaning through evidence-based claims. By understanding that “the act of curation is an argument,” you will learn to guide your students in selecting and organizing authentic artifacts to tell stories that are both timeless and timely.
You will encounter a robust framework for developing content, media, and primary source literacy by deconstructing the essential components of professional exhibitions. You will master step-by-step strategies to help students navigate the “art of curation,” moving them through the critical stages of inquiry-based research, strategic artifact selection, and the disciplined writing of professional museum labels. Grounded in cognitive science through “Think² moments,” the course ensures that students are performing higher-order thinking tasks, such as synthesizing information from diverse sources to support a central exhibition claim that is both arguable and provable.
Finally, this course bridges the gap between the classroom and the community by focusing on “Exhibits in Action”. You will explore various digital platforms, such as Google Sites, ArcGIS, and Adobe Glideshow, to showcase student work to an authentic audience beyond the school walls. Furthermore, the course provides a practical roadmap for building sustainable museum-school partnerships based on mutual benefit, allowing your students to contribute original research and creative content to local institutions. Ultimately, you will gain the tools to make learning feel real, relevant, and deeply connected to the broader world.
This course is available at no cost to educators through the We the Teachers initiative, made possible by a U.S. Department of Education grant.
Details
Includes
Shareable PD Certificate
Aligned With
Assessment Types
Accessibility
What you’ll learn
Master Core Concepts
- Define public history exhibits and curation.
- Practice using public history exhibits as resources in the classroom.
- Learn the process of curation.
- Explain the pedagogical benefits of integrating exhibit curation & creation into your teaching.
Develop Curation Skills
- Evaluate a range of exhibit types.
- Facilitate students’ curation process.
- Acquire hands-on experience through practical exercises designed for you and your students.
Apply Your Skills in Context
- Design impactful student exhibit projects.
- Learn how to implement and assess them in line with curriculum goals and learning objectives.
Demonstrate Your Learning
- Complete assessments that demonstrate your new capabilities and document your progress.
Skills you’ll gain
Strategies you’ll encounter
Learning Science Moments
Think2 Moment
A pause from the core content to reflect on a research-backed pedagogical strategy that you can use today to deepen student learning.
Think² Shared
Consider your students’ perspectives and empower them to take charge of their own learning.
Modules
In this introductory module, you will familiarize yourself with the course structure and the pedagogical rationale for using museum exhibits as classroom resources. you will also learn how to leverage the course’s accessibility features and define your personal objectives for the learning journey.
In this module you will explore the fundamental characteristics of exhibits and the art of curation, learning why they are uniquely powerful tools for social studies education. This module empowers you to define key concepts like public history and identify how exhibits function as evidence-based arguments rather than just collections of objects.
This module teaches you how to use virtual museum exhibits as “texts” to build student content, media, and primary source literacy. You will explore professional “WAGOLL” (What A Good One Looks Like) examples and learn to use National Archives analysis tools to help students perform the “detective work” of historians.
In this module will teach your students to approach exhibits as constructed media messages, helping them recognize that every display is the result of intentional choices about what to include or leave out. Through strategies like “Analyze the Visual Choice,” you will empower students to evaluate perspective, institutional bias, and credibility in the digital age.
In this module you will transition into project-based learning by guiding students through the initial “detective work” of historical research. This module teaches you how to help students craft compelling inquiry questions and strategically select a variety of personal, official, and cultural artifacts to anchor their own exhibitions.
In this final module, you will guide students through publishing and assembling their work on digital platforms. You will also learn how to build mutually beneficial museum-school partnerships, allowing your students to serve as original research collaborators within their local community.
Course resources
No reviews yet. Be the first to share your experience!
A microcourse is a short, focused learning experience designed to be completed in manageable segments — so you can fit professional development into your actual schedule, not just your PD days.
Course length varies, but most microcourses are designed to be completed in five hours — and you can pause and return whenever it works for you.
All courses are developed by teachers in collaboration with William & Mary faculty researchers, museum professionals, and other experts. Courses are grounded in learning science and backed by William & Mary’s decades of leadership in civic education. Content is designed to be rigorous and immediately applicable in the classroom.
Five courses are available for free during the public beta:Artifact Analysis, Civil Discourse, History Inquiry, Nonfiction Reading Strategies, and Podcasting in the Classroom. More courses will be added soon.
When you complete a lilyPD course, you’ll receive a downloadable certificate worth 5 hours of professional development, accredited by William & Mary’s School of Education.
We ensure all our courses meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). This includes:
- Behind the scenes: semantic HTML, full keyboard (tab) navigation, and screen-reader compatibility.
- In the user experience: transcripts for non-text content, ALT text for images, and clear, comprehensible site navigation.
If you have concerns or suggestions for how we can improve our accessibility features, we’d love to hear from you. Please email us at lilypd@wm.edu with the subject line “Accessibility.”
Discover more courses
Continue your professional development journey with these related courses.
Civil Discourse in the Classroom
Transform your classroom into a microcosm of democracy with this course which positions civil discourse as a foundational teaching tool, proven to enhance content knowledge and literacy skills for all students. You will develop a diverse toolkit of strategies to guide students through complex conversations with academic rigor and emotional safety. In the processes, you will equip them with lifelong skills: the ability to listen deeply, reason together, and disagree constructively and respectfully.
Artifact Analysis
Transform your classroom into a site of active, inquiry-driven discovery with this course on artifact analysis. Use artifacts as dynamic evidence that empowers students to question, interpret, and debate history. Through a focus on culturally responsive teaching and practical sourcing—including museum digital collections and 3D printing—you will gain the tools to make history feel tangible and engaging for every learner.
Historical Inquiry in the Classroom
This course provides social studies educators with the practical tools and structures needed to shift from delivering a set of information to facilitating deep, student-led investigation. You will walk away with a comprehensive plan and ready-to-use resources that make meaningful research a daily reality in your classroom, ensuring every student has the skills to analyze information and thoughtfully develop their own conclusions.
Nonfiction Reading Strategies
Pull back the curtain on the reading process by equipping your students with a permanent toolbox of practical strategies to navigate any text with purpose, confidence, and clarity. By turning invisible mental work into visible, repeatable routines, you will empower your students to move beyond literal retelling and start making real meaning from everything they read.
Podcasting for Educators
You don’t need to be a technical wizard to run excellent podcast projects with your students. This course covers the basics — from using podcasts to deepen learning, to guiding students through creating their own — enhancing engagement, deepening learning, and developing your students’ listening skills along the way.
The Horizon of Independence
As the first course in our three-part series on the American Revolution, the Horizon of Independence helps educators deepen their understanding of early America and the build up to the American Revolution (1607-1776) by exploring inquiry-driven, primary source-based strategies for teaching the complexities and enduring significance of the founding of the United States of America.
