Announcing the Latest Robert H. Smith Seminar: Assessing the US Constitution - March 21, 2013
The Institute for Constitutional History is pleased to announce another Robert H. Smith seminar for advanced graduate students and junior faculty:
From the September Perspectives: Patty Limerick “Brought Back to Life” - September 26, 2012
By Allen Mikaelian
AHA members may have already read the article by Patty Limerick, vice president in the teaching division, either in the print edition of Perspectives on History or online.
How Did the Emancipation Proclamation Change America? A Discussion Hosted by the NEH - September 26, 2012
By Vanessa Varin
In the summer of 1862, Abraham Lincoln often occupied an open desk in the War Department Telegraph Office, quietly drafting a secret document. At moments of peace during the day, Lincoln would slip away to his desk to write a few words or sentences.
History Blueprint: New Website for History Education - March 21, 2012
By Anne Hyde and Elisabeth Grant
History Blueprint is a new history teaching website spearheaded by the California History-Social Science Project at the University of California, Davis. Just recently launched, the site currently offers one curriculum unit (on the Civil War) and three prototypes of teaching tools. The AHA is a partner in this History Blueprint project, and was pleased to be represented by AHA Council and Teaching Division member Anne Hyde.
Article By: Anne Hyde and Elisabeth Grant
Teaching Tools: How Do You Use AHA Resources? - March 14, 2011
By Kelly Elmore and Elisabeth Grant
Which of the AHA’s pamphlets, Perspectives on Historyarticles, web pages, and blog posts do you use in the classroom? Which AHA resources are your favorite or engage your students to most? We want to hear your success stories and other experiences you’ve had with AHA resources.
Article By: Kelly Elmore and Elisabeth Grant
Teaching the Civil War - March 07, 2011
Looking for classroom resources and ideas for teaching the American Civil War? In anticipation of the Civil War’s 150th anniversary, Teachinghistory.org’s History Education News (a bi-annual publication that provides K-12 educators with classroom resources, tools, and teaching methods) is exploring the causes, events and impact of this defining moment in American history.
What Do We Know about History in the Schools? - August 02, 2010
By Robert B. Townsend
A colleague recently asked what, if any, information is available about history at the K–12 level. The sad answer is—not much. But there a few resources that provide helpful clues.
Article By: Robert B. Townsend
History Syllabus Wiki: A Query - December 07, 2009
By Maddalena Marinari
We need your feedback! The American Historical Association is considering the possibility of creating a “History Syllabus Wiki.” This new wiki would be a place where history teachers could come in and submit and tweak syllabi for different history courses.
Article By: Maddalena Marinari
Inuit Contact: An Arctic Culture Teaching Resource - November 16, 2009
By Jessica Pritchard
Much of history stems from exploration—of land, of resources, of people. The Inuit Heritage Trust, which is committed to protecting the heritage of arctic peoples, has created Inuit – Contact and Colonization, a resourceful teaching web site dedicated to takurngaqtaq, an Inuit term that translates to “encountering something for the first time.”
Article By: Jessica Pritchard
A Portrait of High School History Teachers - September 17, 2008
By Robert B. Townsend
A new report from the Department of Education offers a few clues about how many history teachers there are and their qualifications for the classroom.
Article by: Robert B. Townsend
Teaching American History with a Global View - April 21, 2008
By Jesse Pierce
The U.S Department of Education’s Teaching American History (TAH) grants specify that they are for “traditional American history,” however, all history undeniably takes place within a world context. To assess how the TAH grants incorporate the world, AHA staff surveyed the winning grant applications and found the rest of the world appeared in one in five award recipients from 2001 to 2007…
National History Center Collects Surveys to Study the History Major and Liberal Education - August 13, 2007
Earlier this year, the National History Center (NHC) created the Teagle Foundation Project, through a grant from the Teagle Foundation, to examine the role of historical study in liberal learning.
"No Child" Leaves the Social Studies Behind - July 30, 2007
By Robert B. Townsend
Moving past the usual alarmist anecdotes, a new study by the Center on Education Policy (CEP) offers hard evidence that the social studies are being squeezed in America’s schools by test-driven pressures imposed by the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act.
The Journey of a Thousand Miles: New Findings on Attrition from History Ph.D. Programs - July 23, 2007
By Robert B. Townsend
Less than half of all history doctoral students will complete their studies within ten years, according to a new study from the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS), giving history a slightly lower 10-year completion rate than almost all other disciplines.
Nobel Peace Prize Curriculum Available on the Web - July 12, 2007
By David Darlington
Can your students name the 22 American Nobel Peace Prize Laureates? The Nobel Peace Laureate Project has developed a high school curriculum to teach students the history of the Nobel Peace Prize and has made it available for free via the internet at http://www.nobelpeacelaureates.org/teach_peace.html.
Where Do We Go from Here? Reinvigorating Historical Education - June 14, 2007
By Andrew Britt
Archivist of the United States Allen Weinstein presented opening remarks at yesterday’s National History Center conference “Reforming History Education: New Research on Teaching and Learning.” Weinstein spoke on the necessity of effective historical education, purporting it as a means for “higher advocacy of coherent citizenship.” Weinstein emphasized the link between history education and the vitality of society—a link that experts echoed throughout the day as they debated the problems with history education policy and the future of the field.
Lessons from the Poop Deck - April 26, 2007
By Andrew Bell
Those of us at the AHA who have often daydreamed about a historical high-seas adventure (minus the scurvy) were thrilled to learn that two schools, the University of Pittsburgh and Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, are offering classes this summer onboard the U.S. Brig Niagara, a fully-operational replica of an early 19th-century naval warship.
On the Closing of PhD Programs - February 22, 2007
By David Darlington
This past weekend, Cliopatria’s Ralph Luker utilized our History Doctoral Programs in the United States and Canada web site to propose the closing of “marginal” PhD programs in history as a way of reducing the glut of newly minted PhDs on the job market (read his full post). Perhaps illustrating that history repeats itself first as tragedy, then as blog, the Cliopatria discussion brings to mind a memorable discussion from the pages of the AHA Newsletter (the precursor to Perspectives) from the early 1970s…
Workshop for Teaching American History Grant Applicants - January 18, 2007
By Elisabeth Grant
Those interested in applying for a Department of Education Teaching American History Grant can attend a “technical assistance workshop” designed to help applicants through the grant application process. For more information, including directions to the workshop location, see the TAH website.
Teaching American History Grants - January 11, 2007
By Elisabeth Grant
This past Monday, January 8th, the U.S. Department of Education began accepting applications for the Teaching American History Grant Program. The Department expects to confer 120 awards pulling from a total of $50,000,000 in funds.
Attention History Educators - December 01, 2006
By Elisabeth Grant
The most recent edition of the NCH Washington Update, the National Coalition for History’s weekly newsletter, lists content of particular interest to history educators.
Holding Teaching to a Standard - October 19, 2006
By Robert Townsend
As arguments rage about curricular reforms in the school system and the proper balance between “teaching to the test” and classroom innovation, a new web site from the Department of Education on State Education Reforms provides some basic information on the status of such efforts at the state level.
Picture of a Digital Generation - October 15, 2006
By Robert Townsend
We tend to think of computer use and the Internet as all pervasive, but a new report from The National Center for Education Statistics provides some solid data that places those perceptions in context.