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COURSE GOAL & OUTCOMES
What do students need to know in this course? What
will they be able to do with that knowledge? The
primary goal of this course is to further
development active historical thinking. This course
aims to demonstrate that much of what we can
learn about history is interpretation, and much like
history professionals, students themselves should
develop an interpretation based on available
perspectives and evidence, and this requires
ACTIVE HISTORICAL THINKING. The primary outcome, if
accomplished, will be to ultimately validate history's utility
for you and thus make you more-so a history fan!
ACTIVE HISTORICAL THINKING
means being able to:
>master a body of historical knowledge--the events and dates,
the "facts”
>analyze the relationships among those facts; to draw
conclusions about the significance of the facts. |
What student perceptions or misperceptions does this
course challenge?
Despite having taken many classes, not all students
come away with the ability to think in terms of that
discipline. Students study literature, for example,
but do not necessarily think in a literary way; one
can study poetry, but not think poetically. Likewise
some students taking a history course may come away
with a too narrow understanding of what history is
about. So for clarity, history in this class is not
the mere memorization of another person’s
conclusions, nor is it just a timeline, since a
timeline takes events out of context.
How might your thinking be changed by this course?
History is also our interpretation of the
past. It is not just who did what and where. It is
also why and how. Why did people think and act the
way they did? How did they reach their decisions?
What were the consequences? We learn by asking “how
did we become what we are? Why do we think the way
we do? What makes us act so?
To appreciate history, we exercise our
imaginations. Try to understand what people were
like back in history. Assume them to have been no
better—and no worse—than we are. Assume their world
to have been both as complex and as clear to them as
ours is to us.
Sam Wineburg states that “historical thought is not
a natural process: it goes against the grain of how
we ordinarily think, [which is] one of the reasons
why it is much easier to learn names, dates, and
stories than it is to [understand] the past.” Here
he makes a clear distinction between two general
approaches to history: the transmission and
transactional. That history requires more than
hitting the books and taking lecture notes comes as
a shock to some students who remained locked in the
transmission mode; they have a truncated
understanding of what history should be.
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Transmission Approach |
Transactional Approach |
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Information is transferred
from instructor to students |
Knowledge is constructed by
instructor and students |
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Competitive |
Cooperative |
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Focus on memorization |
Focus on developing
conceptual relationships |
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Focus on the products of
thinking |
Focus on the processes of
thinking |
|
Students answer questions
with predetermined answers |
Students generate (and seek
answers to) self-generated queries |
What improved skills will students have?
The transactional approach deepens active historical
thinking as students are encouraged to
process—rather than just memorize—new information.
Through repeating patterns of inquiry, students will
have the chance to practice and improve their study
strategies and writing ability. These skills are
applicable to classes throughout your university
career. Examples of this historical thinking
process as developed over the course of the semester
in the transactional approach include:
__Understand the significance of the past to one’s
own life and to one’s society.
__Distinguish between the important and the
inconsequential.
__Describe past events and issues as people
experienced them at the time, in order to develop
historical empathy.
__Acquire a comprehension of diverse cultures, as
well as shared characteristics.
__Understand how things change & consequences are
shaped.
__Comprehend sequential and chronological ordering
of events, understanding cause-effect relationships
indicated by continuums.
__Explain that history & current situations are
often uncertain & even unfinished; realize not every
problem has a solution.
__Understand the complexity of historical
cause-effect relationships in order to avoid
simplified generalizations.
__Appreciate the often uncertain nature of judgments
about the past, and thereby avoid the temptation to
seize upon particular “lessons” of history as a cure
for contemporary problems.
__Recognize the importance of individuals who have
made a difference in history, and the significance
of personal character on human progress.
__Understand the force of the non-rational actions
and decisions, including the accidental, in history
and human affairs.
__Understand the relationship between geography and
history as a context for events.
__Read widely and critically in order to recognize
the difference between fact and opinion, between
evidence and assertion; and thereby frame useful
questions.
What do I want students to be able to do by the end
of the course?
To understand and be able to utilize the following
to be able to both teach and learn history more
effectively:
H.O.T. keys to
teaching history:
Human
connection: “this matters to me and others…”
Objective:
“The student will be able to…”
Technique(s):
Developing various modes of inquiry
P.E.A. keys to learning history:
Problem:
identify the key issue
Evidence: identify and rank essential facts
Argument: identify a clear thesis/position
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Four historical thinkers: |
Historians
Historical actors
History students
History teachers |
"Oftentimes the young History student asks the
teacher: Why do we need to know this stuff?
And why do we care about these people anymore? It's
the question every history teacher loves to hear.
Because the answer is pretty simple: "to know
yourself". The reality is, no one can learn all of
history's information, all the important people and
important dates. Besides, the factual information
most people need on anything is simple to look up.
The real importance is not in the specifics but the
lessons. No one knows the future, but the past can
help guide us into the future. The lessons of the
past are like a map into the future. By examining
the struggles, successes and failures of our
ancestors, we learn how to examine ourselves and
move forward”. ~Mike Pape
So are you willing to throw in?
It is assumed that the student is cognizant of how
to comport themselves in a college classroom and to
abide by academic standards. The general rule is:
what would happen if everyone else did what I did?
Specific course expectations also include:
__I understand that I must refrain from using my
cellphone and/or computer (except for taking class
notes) during class because I understand that it is
distracting not just to myself, but to others around
me.
__I understand that if I miss a scheduled quiz or
exam I have one week from the date to contact the
instructor and provide my extraordinary reason(s)
for consideration for a make-up; there are no last
minute make-ups when people get around to it on
their own schedule.
__I understand that there is no substitute for being
in class for group discussions and that write-ups
are due in class.
SDSU History Fans with author
James Loewen at a conference he gave (Spring 2008) |
