History as a subject area is facing increasing demands from the society to be more profitable and, sometimes, more conformist. The Tuning methodology, developed in cooperation with a large number of Universities worldwide, could offer a viable and sustainable way to take societal needs into account without compromising academic soundness.

This article presents an educational programme designed to explore the multicultural history of Poland. Targeting Jewish and non-Jewish students of Polish heritage, the "Polonia Programme" (PP) was conceptualised with the aim of applying the tools of experiential education to initiate a new approach to examining one of the world's most…

Tuning is a faculty-driven initiative designed to improve the quality of higher education by establishing transparent and fully assessable learning outcomes and proficiencies for degrees, discipline by discipline. Unlike many other initiatives in the United States which function within an individual institution, the Utah Tuning Project involved…

Inquiry-into-practice represents a valuable disposition for teachers; reflecting on one's teaching to derive insights for subsequent practice can enhance professional efficacy and promote student achievement. To support this disposition among teacher candidates (TCs), Lynch School of Education faculty at Boston College created a capstone course,…

This paper presents a rationale for utilizing HPS to teach physics and the NoS developed in the course of a project funded by the European Union. A core feature of this approach is formed by the development of historical case studies for the use in lessons. Furthermore, the learners' perspectives are explicitly taken into account. Teaching methods…

"Education Matters" is the monthly newsletter of the Association of American Educators (AAE), an organization dedicated to advancing the American teaching profession through personal growth, professional development, teacher advocacy and protection. This issue of the newsletter includes: (1) The War on Progress: Why the National…

Historical organizations cannot continue to compete in the modern marketplace using traditional models for education program development. Social networking sites and new applications are shaping the way our audiences approach their work, even more so as Generation Y/Millennials begin to flood into the workforce, changing the demographic makeup,…

History departments are not generally known as hotbeds of assessment activity. Doctoral programs in history rarely touch the issue of how to assess student learning, while program review as an idea appears to many historians as an invasion of their turf by outsiders. At Eastern Michigan University, members of the faculty in the Department of…

The author began using student assistants when she arrived at the University of Wisconsin (UW)-Eau Claire in the fall of 1996. As a new faculty member, she found herself with a heavy teaching load and no graduate assistant. She observed that some of her colleagues employed undergraduate history majors as tutors for their introductory classes, and…

Describes the development of a history assessment test by Northeast Missouri State University (Kirksville) faculty. Discusses content, problems with design and cooperation, and theories of assessment testing. Includes sample questions demonstrating the cube plan, a technique that involves using a single question to measure three learning…

Highlights the benefits of active and student-centered learning. Describes the University of Wisconsin Student History Network that uses an updated model of the literary society and includes a Web site and electronic discussion groups for students in history survey courses. Discusses the problems, changes, and success of the University of…

Criticizes the National History Standards for attempting to cover too much material and burdening teachers with unrealistic objectives and expectations. Recommends a closer coordination of educational objectives with historical material in an attempt to clarify the standards and make them more effective. (MJP)

Contends that college and university faculty must strengthen the ties between teachers in precollegiate and postsecondary institutions. Describes the Marathon County (Wisconsin) History Teaching Alliance, a collaborative professional development program that aims to enhance student learning through improved history instruction. Addresses the roles…

The need to increase the content knowledge of American History teachers is emphasized by the Teaching American History Grant. This focus recognizes the crucial role played by classroom teachers in helping students increase their knowledge and understanding of American History. Oakland Unified School District's Teaching American History project,…

This article is about a small-scale research project which investigated changing the authors' classroom practice at General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) level and how that change impacts on both teachers and students. This project emerged out of earlier classroom research funded and supported by the National Union of Teachers and…