2020-2021 Graduate Catalog

EDUA 5231 Developing a Historical Perspective

READ BETWEEN THE LINES: DEVELOPING A CRITICAL HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
Reluctant students of history often come to class with the idea that the subject is focused only on memorizing dates and monotonously rehashing the same long-ago events. However, a historical mindset involves much more creative and critical thinking. When taught properly, this mindset can help students engage more deeply and develop their own rich interpretation of historical events.

In this course, you will learn best practices for helping students build critical historical perspectives and apply objective reasoning to historical analysis. You will cultivate techniques for teaching students how to ask good historical questions, analyze primary and secondary sources, and critically examine historical and current events so that they can think like historians and engage authentically with the past. Using the National History Standards as a foundation, you will be able to create an environment of open, unbiased discussion in which your students can rationally evaluate even difficult topics such as race, gender, and class inequality.

With the strategies you gain from this course, you will be equipped to shift your students’ mindset from memorizing dry facts to participating in authentic historical interpretation.

Credits

3