Teaching history in the public school system can present educators with a unique set of challenges that are not found in any other subjects or disciplines. Furthermore, the distinction between U.S. and World History course structure need to be identified in order to effectively incorporate textbooks, unit tests, state standards, and student prior knowledge into the class. U.S. and World History classes differ in many aspects; and the teacher needs to know how to separate the two distinct course structures. As a U.S. History teacher, various forms of accurate student assessment can be incorporated into my classroom which will provide information needed to adjust my teaching styles. I believe U.S History classes provide a more diverse selection of assessment tools because the material is narrower in scope compared to a World History class. I believe I can shy away from the large unit tests in my U.S. History assessments and take a more non-traditional approach such as incorporating group discussions, projects, and student presentations. I feel that U.S. History provides many more opportunities for active instruction as a means of assessment instead of unit tests. On the other hand, one of the many challenges facing World History teachers is the development of classroom assessments that are on the right scale. This is because the structure of World History units typically include topics on several regions; covering a timeframe of many centuries. In contrast to U.S. History assessments, I believe a good way to overcome this obstacle is to use end of unit projects. According to our class reading Managing the Laments of World History Teachers, having students figure out the story and make global connections is key to any successful ... ... middle of paper ... ...that U.S History provides many more opportunities to immerse my students in the personalities and spirits of the men and women of U.S. history. For example, a final project that requires students to dig deeper into a particular case can stimulate students. Also, it can enable me to assess how my students apply the case to larger patterns studied in a specific unit. I have observed this type of assessment in my field experience where the students assumed the role of a representative of a nation applying to the United Nations for assistance. Then the students researched the historical context and current conditions in the country that led to a specific economic, political or social issue. In doing this, students were able to show how they could connect what they have learned across a semester or year of World History to the current conditions in one specific country.
Greer, Cora. "Competing Perspectives on the Past in U.S. History Textbooks." AP Central. CollegeBoard, 3 Nov. 2009. Web. 12 May 2014.
Loewen, James W. Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong. Second. New York, New York: Touchstone, 1997. Print.
A key part in the history of America’s schools involves clashes over culture and religion, as well as racial and ethnic conflicts. The struggle for power between different aspects in our educational history has shaped the way we learn today.
Newman, John. UNITED STATES HISTORYPreparing for the Advanced Placement Examination. Second Edition. New York: AMSCO SCHOOL PUBLICATIONS, INC, 2010. eBook. .
After taking the Personal Assessment Literacy Survey, I learned a lot about myself and what I do know about assessments, and what I don’t. This survey allowed me to reflect on the process that I take to plan, develop, and administer tests in my class and what I need to do with the results. When I went through the criteria of all of the topics in the survey, I honestly did not know what the survey was talking about or what it meant. This was really concerning to me because I like to think that I do a pretty good job when it comes to instruction of my class and how I assess their knowledge of the material. I learned from this survey that there are a lot of things I do well during assessments and that there is still a lot that I need to learn to be an effective classroom leader.
...s of the Americas, what was their life like, and how did it change when Columbus arrived ,’ wrote a student of mine in 1991. ‘However, back then everything was presented as if it were the full picture,’ she continued, ‘so I never thought to doubt that it was.’” Most students after high school, fail to analyze controversial issues in our society. What citizens know about our past is what they have learned in high school history courses.
High school history textbooks are seen, by students, as presenting the last word on American History. Rarely, if ever, do they question what their text tells them about our collective past. According to James W. Loewen's Lies My Teacher Told Me, they should be. Loewen has spent considerable time and effort reviewing history texts that were written for high school students. In Lies, he has reviewed twenty texts and has compared them to the actual history. Sadly, not one text measures up to the author's expectation of teaching students to think. What is worse, though, is that students come away from their classes without "having developed the ability to think coherently about social life"(Lies p.4). Loewen blames this on the way that today's texts are written. This paper will compare one text, The American Pageant, to Lies.
Sewall, Gilbert. 1988. American History Textbooks: Where Do We Go from Here?. The Phi Delta Kappan, Vol. 69, No. 8 (Apr., 1988), pp. 552-558.
As the first chapter in this long analytical book, chapter one serves as the foundation for the rest of the novel, with a basic premise that “history textbooks make fool out of the students.” It shows how portrayal of historical figures and events in the best light for the reputation of United States leads to biased and distorted historical education.
In the world of education, assessments play an integral role in student learning. To get the most out of assessments, they must be aligned with the standards, accurately measure what students know, as well as promote student learning (McTighe and O’Connor, 2005). In order to do this, it is important to include students in the assessment planning process. This should begin at the beginning of a unit with the pre-assessment and should be carried throughout the formative and summative assessments. Dr. Anne Davies believes that “when students are involved in the assessment process, they are more engaged and motivated, and they learn more” (Davies, 2007, p. 31). In my interdisciplinary unit, I attempt to include students in every stage of the assessments
History is very important for everyone, and everyone should learn about history. Learning History can help to learn about people situation and life from the past. It also helps to know about many events and even some fact from the past. When people want to learn history, they should search about any subject or event from the past and tries to learn the both side of the subject. They also need to try to find what is hidden from that subject, so they can learn more about it. They also need to find out who wrote the subject that they learn about, for not all the historian show the bad side of the event, and they just show the good side. When people know they both side the can have a good judgment about the event. For example, before taking the
...ed student engagement and academic achievement in my classroom. I know that I am a better teacher, mentor, and role model because of these experiences.
One of the most essential educational tools is the classroom assessment. When used properly, assessments can help educators better understand what their students are learning. Classroom assessments help educators identify students strengths and weakness, monitor student learning and progress as well as plan and conduct instruction. Many question rather to use the more formal standardized testing or authentic learning strategies including the Multiple Intelligence (MI) theory.
In spite of the importance of assessment in education, few teachers receive proper training on how to design or analyze assessments. Due to this, when teachers are not provided with suitable assessments from their textbooks or instructional resources, teachers construct their own in an unsystematic manner. They create questions and essay prompts comparable to the ones that their teachers used, and they treat them as evaluations to administer when instructional activities are completed predominantly for allocating students' grades. In order to use assessments to improve instruction and student learning, teachers need to change their approach to assessments by making sure that they create sound assessments. To ensure that their assessments are sound they need include five basic indicators that can be used as steps to follow when creating assessments. The first of these indicators and the first step a teacher must take when creating a sound assessme...
Through assessment students and teachers are able to determine the level of mastery a student has achieved with standards taught. Both formative and summative assessment should be purposeful and targeted to gain the most accurate data to drive further instruction (Ainsworth, 2010). While this syllabus does a good job of identifying the need for both formal and informal assessments, the way in which this is communicated does not provide enough detail for understanding. Simply listing assessment types does not give any insight into how these assessments fit in the learning process of this course. While some of the assessments mentioned could be common assessments chosen by the school or district to gain insight into the effectiveness of instruction, the inclusion of authentic assessments is most beneficial to students and demonstrates learning in a context closer to that of a work environment (Rovai, 2004). Unfortunately, this particular course, according to this syllabus, relies heavily on quizzes and traditional tests and essays to form the bulk of assessment opportunities. While other activities, such as formative assessments, journaling and discussions are mentioned as possible avenues for scoring, they are given a very low percentage of the overall grade. This shows that they are not valued for their ability to show progression and mastery. If this is indeed the case, this puts the students as a