Grading & Assignments
Assignments
“Where are We—Standards” Essay (3-5) 8 %
“Reflecting on Instruction” Essay (3-5) 8 %
“Historical Thinking” Essay (3-5) 8 %
“History Wars” Essay (3-5) 8 %
Participation 16 %
Book Presentations 16 %
“prep” Assignments 16 %
Final Project 20 %
Final Grade: Total Points (above) * Attendance
Multiplier*
* The attendance multiplier (total points earned * percent
of class sessions present/on-time) is the percent of class sessions in
which a student is present/on-time is expected to be determined by the
number of class sessions attended divided by 26. There are 28 sessions
scheduled this term.)
Standards Essay
In 3-5 pages, answer the following three questions (with 1-2 pages devoted
to each): If you were teaching about immigration to the United States,
what standards in the Ohio Model Social Studies Standards would you be
addressing? What are the strengths and/or weaknesses of the Ohio standards
as they are currently outlined? Defend your answer? How do the Ohio standards
relate to your undergraduate training at Cleveland State University—i.e.
the blue “checklist”—and what are the strengths and/or
gaps in your training?
Reflection on Instruction
In 3-5 pages, consider the essays in Stearns, Seixas, & Wineburg.
Drawing upon at least four of the essays, explain the major problems facing
“knowing, teaching, and learning” history. How do the various
authors propose overcoming these challenges? Do you agree or disagree
with their views? Why or Why not (in other words, explain)? The best essays
will include research and study from outside of class.
Historical Thinking
In 3-5 pages answer the question: What is it, precisely, that history
teachers are teaching in their courses? How do historian’s choices
about what constitutes the object of history instruction shape their pedagogical
choices? Explain your answer, with reference to course readings.
Essay on Culture War
In 3-5 pages answer the question: What are the culture wars? What are
the points of disagreement? Extend yourself and do some research by finding
two essays/articles with views contrary to Nash as a way to develop this
argument. What do you feel about the culture wars and history? Support
your view with a well-developed sense of what is involved in teaching
history, the goals of education, and the arguments presented by Nash.
Prep Assignments
In the first four weeks of the semester, we will spend one day looking
at different types of source materials that historians use in the classroom.
You will complete a “prep” assignment for each of these class
periods, handing it in prior to the course session. Each of these “preps”
will count for 4 % toward you final grade. The preps will be for the following:
images, census materials, movies & media, and printed primary source
documents. With the exception of the first week, these will be handed
out on Monday and they will be due before class has started on Thursday.
Under no circumstances will these be accepted after the class period has
started.
Book Presentations
Students will be required to present the arguments of two books to their
peers during the semester, contained in books by Bodnar, Grossman, &
Sanchez. They will prepare a comprehensive page of notes and arguments,
meet with fellow students prior to class, and present those ideas during
class (in effect leading class discussion.) Each of two written outlines
and presentations will count as 8 % of the students’ grades.
Final Project: Immigration and Migration
You will complete a final project in which you teach a comparative unit
on the history of immigration and/or migration to the United States, in
the period from 1880-1920.
Completing this unit will demand the following:
a) Read two of the three scholarly books listed on the course syllabus
(Bodnar, Grossman, Sanchez).
b) Create a bibliography of 5-7 secondary sources and 5-7 separate primary
source materials beyond those mentioned in the course. These will be judged
in the following manner: scholarly excellence and rigor, quality of materials,
and appropriateness to your project.
c) Write an 8-page essay in which you outline the key historical arguments
and ideas underlying immigration and migration; answer the question how
were the two population movements that you were comparing similar or different?
This should be written authoritatively and for an informed audience of
teachers.
d) Create a unit plan of activities that is built around the concepts
introduced in your essay, primary and secondary materials referenced in
your bibliography, that I appropriate to the Ohio Social Studies Standards,
and makes use of course concepts and themes. It should also include a
statement of assessment: how would you determine whether the students
learned anything?
Participation (and reading journal)
For many of the course reading assignment I may provide, in advance, on
the course website a question or questions for your consideration as you
read. You should print these questions out and record your answers (legibly)
directly onto the handouts. Over the course of the semester, you should
compile these handouts in a three-ring binder. I strongly encourage you
to write down anything else that strikes you as important as you read.
Writing as you read and after you read encourages good analytical skills
and careful reading, as well as promotes a higher level of engagement
in class. The “reading” journal is also where you should compile
your completed papers, your project notes, and research materials.
Attendance of course meetings is mandatory. The instructor
will collect attendance data for each close and will record student attendance
in a data book. This information will be used in calculating the final
grade; points may be added (for perfect attendance) or subtracted, sometimes
significantly (for poor attendance relative to the class average), from
the final grade.
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