November 1989

From time to time the Teaching Division of the American Historical Association sponsors regional conferences on the teaching of history. These conferences provide forums where history teachers at all levels can discuss content and methodology. An important aim is to forge links among teachers that will continue after the conference ends. The guidelines below are intended to make the conferences inclusive and effective.

Are school administrators, curriculum planners, and teachers of history from area schools and colleges consulted in the planning of the conference? We expert the planning group to include both men and women from diverse ethnic/cultural groups.

• Will the program meet the needs of the history teachers?
• Have conference planners considered using existing in-service credit programs to attract teachers?
• Will the program present the results of recent historical scholarship?
• What is the rationale for this program? We encourage programs which are coherent in terms of breadth or depth.
• Does this program offer practical ways for teachers to stay in contact with an another after the conference?
• What are your plans to announce the program and reach a broad regional audience? Have planners considered questions of time and travel costs, so as to maximize attendance at the conference? have existing networks of teachers, and other organizations, been utilized in publicizing the conference?

A member of the Teaching Division or division representative from the region may attend the conference as an observer. Some provision should be made for conducting an evaluation of the conference and conference planners should submit a short report to the Teaching Division after the conference is over.

Support will ordinarily be limited to assistance in securing a keynote speaker and in announcing the conference through Perspectives. The AHA may sponsor conferences that are part of a continuing series, but it will not provide any institution with financial assistance for a keynote for more than two conferences.