Summer Institutes
Central Asia in World History will engage teachers in a deeper understanding of how Central Asia has historically functioned as a crossroads of intercultural exchange, connecting the great civilizations on the Eurasian periphery, giving rise to world empires of its own in antiquity and the medieval era, and serving as the playing ground for the Anglo-Russian “Great Game” in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. This will be done through expert presentations, analysis of primary material, both narrative and documentary, screenings and discussion of relevant films, immersion in traditional food and music of the region, and the development of unit plans for classroom use.
Picturing History: Editorial Cartooning in America, 1754-2011 is a summer institute sponsored by Ohio State's Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum for Middle and High School teachers that will be held August 1-5, 2011, on the OSU main campus. Participants will learn how to conduct close readings and will gain a thorough grounding in the evolution of editorial cartoons, their purpose, and their intent. In addition, participants will have the opportunity to conduct research and work with primary source material at the Cartoon Library and Museum. This program was funded by a generous grant from the Ohio Humanities Council.
The Scientific Revolution. Follow the link to resources and teacher-created lesson plans develovped for this professional development program. The Scientific Revolution was a summer institute for Middle and High School teachers June 13 to 17, 2011, on the OSU main campus. Participants studied how the revolution in science and technology in the 16th and 17th centuries was directly linked to revolutions in religion, politics, and society. This program was funded by a generous grant from the Ohio Humanities Council.
Teaching American History
Teaching American History is a grant project of the federal Department of Education. The grants fund three-year long professional development programs for teachers of American history in elementary, middle, and high schools designed to increase teacher's content knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of traditional American history. Three active TAH projects are run through the History Teaching Institute. Three projects are completed, but many useful resources for teaching American history can be found at their websites.
Program Content is always related to Ohio's Academic Content Standards for social studies. Here are convenient links to the recently revised social studies standards for Pre-K to Grade 8 and High School.
Back to History is a professional development program for K-12 teachers in Ohio's Educational Regional Service System (ERSS) Region 10, including Clark, Darke, Greene, Miami, Montgomery, and Preble counties. This program combines the resources of The Ohio State University, the Ohio Historical Society, and the Clark County Educational Service Center to support and improve the teaching of traditional American history.
Connecting to the Past is a professional development program designed to support and improve the teaching of American history. Participation is open to teachers in grades four to eight in Ashland, Holmes, Wayne, and Medina Counties.
History WORKS II: Building Foundations was a partnership between the History Teaching Institute, the Ohio Historical Society, and the Columbus Public Schools. The program is now complete, but the website contains resources that all elementary school teachers will find useful to teach American history. The lessons are organized around two core themes: Changing Faces and Places: Exploration, Immigration, and Frontiers; and Taking a Stand: The Power of Constitutional History
History in the Heartland brought together American history teachers from over sixty Ohio school districts in twelve Ohio counties surrounding the OSU regional campuses in Lima, Mansfield, Marion, and Newark. The program was a partnership between the Department of History, the Ohio Historical Society, and Mid-Ohio Educational Service Center. The program is now complete, but the website contains resources that could be useful to middle and high school teachers. Material is organized around four core themes: Histories of the West: Native American and Borderlands Histories; The Country and the City: Nature and Neighborhood as Themes in American Life; Of Campaigns and Conventions: American Political History; and The Cold War: America's Long Race for Security and Predominance. Seminars at local historic sites are a highlight of the program.
Explore History was a professional development program featuring seminars and on-line programs for 4th, 5th and 8th grade teachers in Ohio. The program is now completed, but resources are still availble on-line. The program combined the resources of the Ohio State University, the Ohio Historical Society, and the Mid-Ohio Educational Service Center to support and improve the teaching of traditional American history.
