Teaching and Research Specialties
Elementary Social Studies, Museum Studies, Community Engagement, Public History Media
Ronald Morris is the author of Bringing History to Life: First Person Presentations in Elementary and Middle School Social Studies; The Field Trip Book: Study Travel Experience in Social Studies; and History and Imagination: Reenactments for Elementary Social Studies. He is the co-author of 50 Social Studies Strategies for K-8 Classrooms. He is also the author of over sixty articles on elementary social studies education.
He conducts curriculum and instruction teacher in service that is grant funded or professional development requested by Midwestern educators. His programs are designed to engage and challenge people to work together to find solutions for their elementary social studies students. Professional development from k-6 is flexible to meet school schedules.
In 2004 and 2013 he led a Virginia B. Ball Center for Creative Inquiry seminar. The 2013 product was Crossroads Connect – Indiana’s first digital social studies textbook for fourth grade. A digital third grade social studies book expanded the scope of this project.
Morris has created curriculum materials for classroom use and cultural institutions including artifact kits, curriculum, document packets, and eight videos. Customized solutions for educational or cultural institutions are his specialty. The most recent video series was The World of George Rogers Clark.
He created media projects for cultural institutions and historical societies including museum exhibits including the topic of Yount’s Mill for the Carnegie Museum. He created adaptive reuse reports such as the one for the Delaware County Historical Society Museum, and four video games. He has also created two phone apps such as The Battle of Perryville, and three mobile experiences including both walking and driving tours of Carmel, a tour of western Wayne County.