Approaches to Teaching

The AHA is committed to advancing thought about the teaching of history at all levels. Recent projects that challenged instructors to approach the classroom differently include the Tuning and Bridging Cultures projects. AHA has also been involved in hosting a variety of events at which faculty have held discussions on important topics such as the introductory history survey, dual/concurrent enrollment, and teaching with digital tools. Here you will find information on the initiatives and links to resources that will help you think about new ways of approaching teaching.
Articulating the Skills of the History Student
AHA Tuning Project
The AHA Tuning project seeks to articulate the central habits of mind, skills, and understanding that students achieve when they study history. Beginning in 2012, this project has brought together accomplished history faculty from a range of 2- and 4-year institutions across the country to define the core disciplinary elements of historical study and the goals of the undergraduate history major.
Other Perspectives Articles on Assessment and Outcomes
Globalizing the US History Survey
Supported by a grant from the NEH's Bridging Cultures initiative, the AHA's "American History, Atlantic and Pacific" professional development program for Community College faculty promotes a global perspective on US history at the country's increasingly diverse two-year institutions. The program draws on a generation of innovative scholarship that has reframed the origins of the US within a broad geographical and chronological context. Participants worked to create or revise US history courses with lessons, units, and other work that deepens teaching on the US in the world.
Assessing Dual Enrollment
Assessing Dual Enrollment: Is High School the Future of Higher Education?
A Perspectives on History forum from September 2015
AHA Statement on Dual/Concurrent Enrollment
In January 2016, AHA Council approved a statement regarding best practices in dual enrollment/concurrent enrollment (DE/CE) courses that was drafted by the Teaching Division.
AHA16 Session on History and Dual/Concurrent Enrollment (on YouTube)
This roundtable held at the 2016 AHA annual meeting in Atlanta provides insights about concurrent enrollment and some of its implications.
Engaging Students in Civic Life
Modeled on the National History Center's Congressional Briefings by Historians program, the M History and Policy Education Program (HPEP provides a guide to enable educators and students to craft public briefings on the historical background of policy questions facing local or state leaders. The guide includes an overview, learning outcomes, sample assignments, and practical tips on organizing public briefings.
Supporting K-12 Teaching
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Mar 28, 2017 - Teaching and Learning Video Resources
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Mar 28, 2017 - Video Resources for K-12 History Teachers
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Sep 17, 2013 - New State Guidance to Improve the Rigor of Teaching in Civics, Economics, Geography, and History
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Jun 1, 2003 - Training Teachers to Teach History in K-12 Schools
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Mar 16, 1998 - Power Tools for Teaching and Learning at an Urban-Access University
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Resources on K-16 Teaching
Honing Undergraduate History Education
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Mar 28, 2017 - Teaching and Learning Video Resources
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Mar 28, 2017 - Reacting to the Past
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Sep 23, 2013 - Other Resources on Teaching History to Undergraduates
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Jan 1, 2007 - Liberal Learning and the History Major (2007)
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Sep 1, 2005 - Internationalizing Student Learning Outcomes in History: A Report to the American Council on Education
Follow Teaching with #DigHist, a new AHA Today series geared toward instructors at every level who are thinking about using digital history projects in their classrooms. Each month, John Rosinbum, a high school and college instructor in Arizona, will review a digital history project, explore what sorts of historical questions it could help students answer, and provide learning-outcome driven, ready-to-use assignments.