Partnering with 4QM to Support History and Social Studies

The Product

4QM Teaching is an organization dedicated to improving history and social studies instruction through training and curriculum. They have methodically built a replicable and transferable protocol for teaching social studies that can be applied to any content and curriculum. When I met them in 2020, their work primarily centered secondary instruction.

The Partnership

I believed deeply in the ability (and need) for elementary school students to participate in this type of rigorous instruction. Together, we realized there was a gap in the market for high-quality instructional materials and training for elementary teachers, who often teach multiple subjects and don’t necessarily come equipped with subject-matter expertise. Our partnership piloted training and curriculum at the elementary school level, leveraging leader and teacher feedback and an iterative process that combined 4QM’s instructional and content expertise with our expertise in developmental appropriateness and grade-level needs. Over the course of multiple years, we built out a year’s worth of high quality curriculum that is now on the market for public purchase.

The Impact

Teachers and leaders reported high satisfaction with the curriculum and training, and students reported deeper engagement and retention of the material. Assessment data showed growth while simultaneously increasing rigor.

4QM reported high levels of gratitude with the partnership and the products that resulted. The curriculum has been refined, marketed for sale, and is leading the way for the organization’s dive into elementary instruction.