Teaching American History Graduate Course Syllabus  

Course title-- Teaching American History

Instructor--Dr. Barbara Mathews

Course description--  

This course is offered by the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association in collaboration with the Franklin County Professional Development Collaborative. It supports Westfield ’s institutional commitment to meeting the needs of educational practitioners pursuing further study at the graduate level. The course is designed to deepen and augment teachers' knowledge of American history through advanced study and collegial interaction, and to enable them to strengthen their students' knowledge in this field. A long range goal is that students will become better informed and more involved citizens. The course will use local history as a window into larger themes of American History. It emphasizes the use of primary documents, artifacts and first person perspectives in the classroom. The course will include eight full-day seminars with nationally recognized scholars of American history, after-school workshops, living history presentations and field trips, and meetings with individual teachers. The course integrates technology into curriculum development and addresses the Massachusetts standards in history and social studies.

Course Rationale  

1.      Teachers need to increase their content knowledge of American History. This content must align with current Massachusetts history and social studies curriculum Frameworks, to prepare students for MCAS testing.

2.      Teachers need content-rich technology training.

3.      Students at all levels (K-12) need excellent and engaging history instruction.

4.      Effective and systemic change in teaching history depends on professional collaboration and a sustained study of history.  

Learning Outcomes  

Knowledge:  

1.      Participants will become more knowledgeable about American History.

2.      Participants will be able to connect local history to national history.

3.      Participants will become aware of and learn how to access regionally available American History resources.

4.      Participants will be able to subject historical problems to systematic analysis by  synthesizing and integrating relevant secondary sources that inform and support that analysis.  

Assessment  

1. Teachers will submit three short (5-7 page) papers. (45 %).

Each paper should be based upon content and themes covered in one of the eight seminar days; teachers may choose which of the eight seminars upon which their papers will focus. Each paper should concern itself roughly one half with your historical understanding of the era, topic, or theme chosen, and roughly one half with your reflections on an appropriate pedagogical approach to the topic for children at the grade level you teach, including the idea for a unit (but not the unit itself): what students should know (“Students will understand that…”) and be able to do (skills).

In addition to the assigned readings, please use the following 4 reference works:

1.      Lessons From History:  Essential Understandings and Historical Perspectives Students Should Acquire (Gary Nash et al., NCHS). You can find copies in the Teachers’ Center.

2.      History of US by Joy Hakim. The Teachers’ Center has all 11 volumes of this series.

3.      Current Mass. Frameworks:  History and Social Science and ELA.

4.      American Centuries website: www.americancenturies.mass.edu. 

 2. Teachers will design and implement classroom lessons using primary sources (documents and objects) that meet the needs of academically diverse learners. (20 %)

 3. Teachers will design and implement classroom lessons that integrate the American Centuries web site (www.americancenturies.mass.edu). This lesson must be posted on the American Centuries website in the Classroom Activities section. (20 %)

 4. Teachers will design or implement a field trip or History To Go with pre- and post-components, in consultation with museum educators. (15 %)

 5. Teachers will submit documentation of assessments 2, 3 and 4.

 Skills: Participating teachers will learn and practice effective, engaging, instructional strategies for American History.

 1.      Teachers will learn to use high quality, on-line resources, including the American Centuries web site (www.americancenturies.mass.edu).

2.      Teachers will learn to teach using primary sources.

3.      Teachers will learn instructional strategies to meet the needs of academically diverse learners.

 Course requirements

 1)      Attend eight full-day seminars* –four in summer 2005, two in fall, and two in winter/spring.  The seminars have morning presentations by visiting scholars followed by small group sessions in the afternoon. These afternoon sessions will include working with museum staff on artifacts and documents that can be used to teach the content covered in the morning, small group discussion with professors, and strategies for classroom integration.

          * See attached list of the eight seminars. Participants will be responsible for readings assigned by the visiting scholars. Readings will relate to the topics and themes covered by a particular professor. The expectation is that full participants will attend all of the seminars; however, if there are special circumstances, seminars can be made up with additional hours of professional development with Teachers’ Center/Museum staff (described in #2 below).

 2)  Submit three short papers (5-7 pages each) addressing a historical topic or theme  based upon content and themes covered in one of the eight seminar days.

 3) Develop a plan of 8 - 10 hours of professional development from the following

    choices:  

¨      Work with Historians-in-Residence in your classroom – this could include demonstrating strategies for teaching with artifacts or primary documents, co-teaching, or work in reviewing classroom material to find areas where local resources can be integrated.  It may be a ‘one-time’ event or a many day project or unit.

¨      Work with Teachers’ Center (PVMA) library researcher – to find historic documents from PVMA and other local historical societies to support your teaching (either new or existing units).

¨      Receive content-related technology training on use of websites, especially the American Centuries website (www.americancenturies.mass.edu).

¨      Arrange training or provide support to other educators.

¨      Attend workshops or participate in individual or small group training (by Museum/Teachers’ Center staff) in a content area of your choice related to American History, or teaching with primary resources, or working sessions on specific curriculum development.

¨      Study at the Teachers’ Center (located at 10 Memorial St. , PVMA).

4) Have one field trip program to Memorial Hall Museum and/or Indian House, or one history-to-go activity in your classroom.

 5) Written documentation of learning (this may be a classroom activity, lesson plan or a curriculum unit) which you will share, by 1) placing an element of the project on the Classroom Activities portion of the PVMA American Centuries website, as well as 2) other sharing opportunities as appropriate.  

6) Be available as a resource to your colleagues to access Teaching American History Resources; inform and promote use of Teaching American History resources in your school. 

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