Teaching is hard. I teach students with high skills and low skills, those with a keen interest in history and those with none at all. When I was a history major at Northwestern, I could listen to the professor lecture on and on and never get bored. But just because that’s the way I like to learn doesn’t mean it’s how my students do. Consequently, I spend much time and effort into differentiating my instruction – providing a range of ways for my students to learn history. I like to think of it as making history more vivid – not just read, but seen, heard, discussed, debated, even created.
Below is a showcase of some of the ways that I’ve tried to do that. I won’t claim that it represents my best work, because my lessons and activities evolve every time I teach them. But I hope this collection elucidates the breadth and depth of my teaching, as well as provides other teachers with ideas for what they can do in their classrooms.
Authentic Assessment
- Famous Figures Facebook
- Mandate of Heaven Hotseat
- Byzantines vs. Abbasids Diplomacy Exercise
- Propaganda Video
- Leaders on Trial
Technology Use Cases
- Collaborative Timelines
- Google Docs for Group Project Coordination
- Prezi for Simultaneous, Collaborative Work
iClickers - Google Docs for Data-Driven Reflection
- History Circles