This essay considers how everyday citizens use counterstorytelling as a persuasive tactic in sites of ordinary democracy like public hearings. Specifically, we examine the counterstories and stock stories shared during a public hearing held in Isle of Wight County, Virginia to determine the future of a confederate monument that stood in front of…

The authors explore how 3D visualizations of historical sites can be used as pedagogical tools to support historical empathy. They provide three visualizations created by a team at Virginia Tech as examples. They discuss virtual environments and how the digital restoration process is applied. They also define historical empathy, explain why it is…

Responding largely to the impact of industrialization and urbanization on American society, educators across the country embraced the "school gardening" and "nature study" movements advocated by Dewey. Promoted in varying degrees as ways to enhance learning, yield food for their schools, build character, and improve…

This article reports on Year 2 of a three-year project to assess historic site-based teacher professional development programs. The intended focus was assessing pre-post Q-sorts and interviews of 29 teachers regarding how they see their work at historic sites affecting their professional development. However, data analysis revealed exceptionally…

This article shares principles for offering effective professional development for classroom teachers at historic sites and museums, identified through ongoing research at the Thomas Jefferson Foundation (TJF). Supported by an IMLS National Leadership Grant, the initial findings challenged the education staff to more fully embrace their roles as…

Many previous contributors to "Teaching History" have demonstrated the power of site visits to stimulate young people's engagement and enrich their understanding of history. It is usually assumed, however, that the young people themselves will have the opportunity to visit the site in question--an assumption that cannot always be…

Using a broad-based assessment for understanding what teachers learn in historic site-based professional development (HSBPD), this study follows 29 teachers from a HSBPD at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello to see how their work at historic sites affected their practice upon return to their classrooms. Influenced by the Interconnected Model of Teacher…

"Slavery is the ground zero of race relations," declared James and Lois Horton in their groundbreaking book, "Slavery and Public History." Engaging the history and legacy of slavery is a crucial step in understanding current U.S. society especially race relations. Historic sites that have connections to slavery have begun to…

Jamestown is at the heart of any teaching and learning of colonial American history. Stories of John Smith and Pocahontas are learned by elementary and secondary students across the United States. In Virginia, Jamestown is first taught in third grade and revisited five more times from historical, political, economic, and geographic perspectives.…

The National Park Service actively educates the public about registered historic places on college and university campuses and encourages people to visit them through its "Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary Series." By featuring the historic buildings and grounds of colleges and universities in the itineraries, the National…

"Teaching History with Museums" provides an introduction and overview of the rich pedagogical power of museums. In this comprehensive textbook, the authors show how museums offer a sophisticated understanding of the past and develop habits of mind in ways that are not easily duplicated in the classroom. Using engaging cases to illustrate…

The purpose of the Getty Foundation's Campus Heritage Initiative was to assist colleges and universities in the United States in managing and preserving the integrity of their significant historic buildings, sites, and landscapes. The projects supported through this initiative focused on research and survey of historic resources, preparation of…

Given their value to the student experience, institutional identity, alumni loyalty, and economic welfare, historic preservation efforts must unite with institutional sustainability efforts and other high priorities to develop an approach for mutual success. Further, it is important to recognize the limits in the current milieu of economic…

Few regions in the U.S. boast a more plentiful array of historically significant sites than the 175-mile-long route between Monticello, Virginia, and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. From the most venerated of Civil War battlefields to nine historic homes of U.S. presidents and thousands of sites listed in the National Register of Historic Places, the…

In the current state of social studies education, field trips are being cut from many schools' curriculum. While not a true substitution, today's technologies provide some opportunities through virtual field trips (VFTs) to simulate these experiences, engage students in knowledge production and disciplined inquiry, and have interactions with the…