Teaching American History Program

Tne Harla.'1 Independent. School District, HariaI1. KQ!Ucky. a loc~ educational agency, in partnership "'vith the Kentucky Historical Society, th~ University of KentUcky, thE:Kenrucky Heritage Council. and the Kenrucky Department of Education, proposes to offer three one-year immersion seminars in tTaditioDaJ American history for teachers In an eight-county region of southeastern Kentucky. Each immersio~ seminar will involve thirty teachers for an eight~er...month commitment (one year of stUdy followed by six months of intensive classroom support). Related activiries sponsored by the project will be open to al1his~ory teachers in the region; thus broadening our reach to teachers who are not able to commit to a yearlong program. b selec:ing teachers to participate in the immersion seminars, priority will b~ given to those teachers trom schools that have scorcC poorly in the history section of the state assessment test, the: Kcnt'J.cky Core Content Test. This project will expand upon and intensify the rrussion of the Clll"rentTARO grant underway by the project partners: American Llga.cies. In this ?roject, we are enga.ged in an intensive, tbr~.yea.r professional dev~lopment program in American history content and pedagogy witll a. select group of thirty.two American Legacies F eUows drawn from the ranks of the: region's teach-m. To magnify the impact of our :urrc:nt grant, our new project will reach an :1dditional ninety teachers in the region and position our C'..lI'!e!JtA.rnericanLegacy Fellows as peer mentors of other teachers in the region. Partnenhip; In addition to the partn~s listed above, the project has received endorsements from the superintendentS of fifteen school districts in the eight counties that :!lake up the Upp~r Cwnberland Superintendents' Associatio:1. Teachers from all fift~ districts will be eligible to participate, Project Goal and Objectives:. The project's chief goal is to improve st\1dents' understanding Of. traditional United Sta.tes h:story by 1. Engaging teachers in ~ustai.'1ed, L"1tensive,and innovative study of the American past through a curriculum that focuses on how the past has shaped the present beth na,:ionally and r;~gionally; 2. Involving teachers in "doing history" u.sing local resources to investigate national historical patterns; 3. Providing teachers wi6 opportunities to lc::a.r:1and practice new teaching strategies to make history learning meaningful for students while drawing conr.ecDcns:o their lives and communitias. The project objectives include: . To create a.community of scholars in the region with diverse backgrounds and t~chmg experiences, . To immerse. teachers in American history content with specific att..'"Iltionto the Kentucky Department of Education's Core Content and grade level ~pectations; . To ex.tend the reach oftne program into low-performing schools in the region, whil~ building alliances 'between those schools and tr.ore successful ones; . To promote enthusiasm for the study of history by sttengthening the participation of teachers 2nd students in th.eregion in regional and state hismry organizations and activities: . To create !l madel by which other communities in Kentucky and elsewhere ma.y replicate the project design for professional d~velopment training for histor/ teachers. Project Th~me: The project's theme, American Legacie.s, will focus our study on tbe question, "Vv'hatare the legacies that contemporary Americans inherit from the past?" The curriculum ""i11center on an ~ual "Legacy" theme that is closely correlated with the Kentucky DOE's Core Content: 1) The Emergence of American Demo~racy, 2) l'da.rkerRevolUtions: the Rise of CtJpilalism and Irs Impact on Democracy. and 3) American Homefronts. Project Activities: Each year of the program will featUre:a combination of activities including: a semina,r.a.. on historical perspective. study group meetings, a smnmer field trip, a fall lectUre/discussion series wi~ University histori~, an~~intensive one-on-one classroom mentoring by project personnel and American Legacy Fellows. ...