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Findings: Impact On Teaching
The following are samples of the impact
that "Doing History" with local primary sources
has had on their teaching. They shared these
insights or examples when they met as a group
with the evaluator. Their comments fall into
three themes.
General approach
- (Doing History approach) is very
doable�can be part of teaching most any day.
- You can't predetermine where you will
land�the kids and the documents will take
you.
- (As a teacher) I value the connections I
have made with community members.
- Teachers noted that when working with
primary sources: third graders note
physical similarities; fifth graders notice
changes, high school students can identify
trends in data or gather info thru oral
histories.
- I became more comfortable finding and
using primary sources which made my classes
more interesting
Specific ideas and tactics
- (Before a site visit everyone had
background work to do) so they could ask
intelligent questions.
- Everyone had a job, that's important.
- Love seeing the kids be historians. When
they ask, I say "I don't know". Not knowing
makes some students step up.
- Adding photography to the lesson helped
students see the community in a new way.
- If a historical document is difficult to
read or understand, just a few excerpts will
often work.
- Using poetry or literature is one way to
do this; it takes it out of the dry history
text.
Applicability to other contexts
- I use primary sources in all history
units�newspaper articles, journals, letters,
political cartoons. Students interpret and
share thoughts and discuss.
- I use this approach now with lots of
other topics�maps, artwork�what are people's
biases? Get kids to think critically.
- AP courses at HS have used primary
sources for some time�this project opened me
(teacher) up to use the approach with other
levels.
Overall, how has participation in Project
LOCAL affected your teaching style?
| Rating
Scale |
1 = little or no impact
2
3
4
5 = very significant positive impact |
RATINGS BELOW ARE AVERAGES ACROSS ALL 4
DISTRICTS
Participation in Project LOCAL has had an
impact on:
| Rating |
|
Rating |
|
| 3.9 |
How I think about historical events |
4.5 |
How actively engaged students are |
| 4.0 |
How I construct lessons
|
4.0 |
What I expect students to learn |
| 4.2 |
What materials I use |
3.6 |
How I assess student understanding |
|
