The man, the myth, the legend

The Bio

After 15 years in middle school, high school and college classrooms, Glenn Wiebe now spends his time as an education and technology consultant excited about the learning process and the power teachers have in shaping that process. He enjoys facilitating conversations on the intersection of social studies historical thinking and technology integration.





Glenn began his teaching career at Derby Middle School, finding ways to help thirteen year olds enjoy American History. He earned a Master’s in American History in 1995 and continued developing innovative practices and sharing them with his students. That was followed by five years working in higher education, designing effective instruction and integrating video games into social science classrooms at Tabor College. He now travels across the country as an ESSDACK education specialist providing keynotes, presentations, and curriculum development.





Glenn's passion for social studies was kindled in elementary school when h fell in love with his first National Geographic map. Even at a young age, Glenn was beginning to understand what Robert Louis Stevenson meant when he described his treasure map as having the “power of infinite, eloquent suggestion.” Mr. Wiebe's passion for history and the social studies continued to grow and is now expressed in sharing that passion with others.





Today, Glenn writes almost daily at History Tech, a 2014 Edublog finalist, and maintains Social Studies Central, a repository of resources targeted at K-12 educators cited in national professional journals. You can find those at:





Starting in 2013, Glenn acted as co-chair for the Kansas State Department of Education social standards writing and assessment committee and is currently serving as president of the Kansas Council for the Social Studies. As director of two US Department of Education Teaching American History grants, Mr. Wiebe introduced the use of mobile learning technology to middle and high school teachers while supporting research-based instructional strategies. Glenn also travels frequently to assist schools as they integrate Apple and Google products.





The Interview





1. What made you decide to become a social studies educator?









2. In what ways have you used academic choice for students in the classroom?

I don’t think kids should have a choice about what skills they leave our classrooms with - they all need to be able to solve problems, to weigh evidence, be open minded and open to compromise, be able to communicate solutions, and work for change. But within reason, we should allow students the flexibility to study the content of their choice as they develop those skills. We can provide choice in how they demonstrate competency in those skills. And I think we should allow students to select the kinds of tools they use while collecting evidence, collaborating with others, and creating / communicating solutions.



3. What is your process for reflecting on a lesson as a teacher?

Early in my teaching, I rarely if ever reflected intentionally on best practice. It was never something discussed during my pre-service training. Only later did Michael Ortmann, one of my early unofficial mentors, gently suggest that effective teachers - like any craftsman - must always be thinking about ways to hone their craft. A now forgotten article encouraged me to ask students to reflect on their projects after they were finished. This was a huge aha moment for me. Good for kids? Probably good for me. But teaching social studies wasn’t my first choice. I started out hoping to be a print journalist and only later in my college career did I add a secondary ed major. There wasn’t any one event that changed my mind. But I had some phenomenal history and social studies teachers - Mrs. Kotter in 5th grade, Mr. Evans in middle school, and Mr. Tomayko in high school - and some that were . . . well, not as good. I begin to realize that I wanted to find ways to help others love history as much as I did.And the more I taught, the more I began realize how incredibly important that educated, competent, reasonable citizens are to a successful democracy. So I hung around.I don’t think kids should have a choice about what skills they leave our classrooms with - they all need to be able to solve problems, to weigh evidence, be open minded and open to compromise, be able to communicate solutions, and work for change. But within reason, we should allow students the flexibility to study the content of their choice as they develop those skills. We can provide choice in how they demonstrate competency in those skills. And I think we should allow students to select the kinds of tools they use while collecting evidence, collaborating with others, and creating / communicating solutions.Early in my teaching, I rarely if ever reflected intentionally on best practice. It was never something discussed during my pre-service training. Only later did Michael Ortmann, one of my early unofficial mentors, gently suggest that effective teachers - like any craftsman - must always be thinking about ways to hone their craft. A now forgotten article encouraged me to ask students to reflect on their projects after they were finished. This was a huge aha moment for me. Good for kids? Probably good for me.

For this month's Social Studies Superstar Spotlight we have a very special guest interview. When I began my journey as a budding educator I began to research extensively so I could become the best possible teacher I could be. One name kept popping up during my research. That person was Glenn Wiebe. He seemed to be on the cutting edge of everything social studies related. He was always posting amazing ways to make history come alive and he also had a wealth of ed tech resources that he shared on his blog. His passion for the social studies has inspired me to begin blogging and sharing any resources that I came across. His practical tips for teaching social studies can be applied to rookies and veterans alike. Chances are, whether you know of Glenn or not, you have used a strategy or two (or ten) of his at some point in your career. Once again, the purpose of the Social Studies Superstar Spotlight (other than highlighting my incredible alliterative skills) is to share the strategies and teaching philosophy of master social studies teachers with others in the field. Enjoy!I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t a history nerd. Growing up I would read old National Geographic magazines and collect the maps. I spent time writing national parks and asking them to send back materials. And have always read historical non-fiction books - with special memories of Shelby Foote.