Call for Applications
Deadline extended: December 15, 2017

Please submit an assignment to participate in a special workshop at this year's AHA Annual Meeting. We welcome assignments for all levels of history education. Anyone with a valued teaching assignment (to include traditional assignments, educational activities, or assessments) or a brand new one that would benefit from in-depth review and discussion with faculty from other institutions should consider applying. Assignments in which students engage with primary sources are particularly welcome.

Date and Time

Friday, January 5, 2018, 9:00 a.m - 12:00 p.m., Maryland Suite C, Marriott Wardman Park, Washington, D.C.

Workshop Description

The 3-hour workshop will begin with a short orientation; the bulk of the time will be reserved for participants to work in small groups with a facilitator and offer in-depth feedback on each other's assignments. Each participant will have a few minutes to introduce his/her submitted assignment(s) and request particular help with problems or aspects of designing or implementing it and/or with assessing students' work. The expectation is that participants will use feedback to revise their assignments for the future. Participants will reconvene at the end of the period to discuss the lessons from all groups.

Eligibility

All part- or full-time faculty members, including college and university instructors, dual-enrollment instructors, teachers of history in grades K-12, and graduate students with responsibility for teaching one or more history courses are eligible.

Submission Process

If you wish to participate, identify the assignment you wish to use and fill out the attached application form (online here). Submissions must include one assignment, activity, or assessment that you have used in the classroom (including online courses). The assignment should be linked to at least one learning outcome or proficiency that is important to your curriculum and/or history (or social studies) department. Assignments covering a range of innovative and creative activities are welcomed. Assignments of research papers or other individual writing assignments are included.

To apply:

1. Complete the online application (a Google Form) here; and

2. Email a copy of the assignment - in the form that you present it to your students - that you propose to work on, along with any rubric or set of criteria used to evaluate it, to tuning@historians.org with the subject heading "Assignment Charrette." Applications must be received by Friday, December 15, 2017. Notifications will be made in mid-December.

Participant Responsibility

Participants will be expected to read thoroughly and review around 4 other assignments, and to offer constructive feedback, including a written feedback form, during the workshop.

Criteria for Selection

A committee will evaluate applications based on the clarity of the assignment and instructions, the fit between the stated proficiencies and the assignment, and its appropriateness in the context of the course and its students. Selected participants will show a genuine interest in student learning.
We seek participants who teach at a variety of institutions that serve different missions and student populations at different educational levels.
Accepted applicants will receive a formal letter of invitation to present at the AHA annual meeting.

Related Information

For details on the AHA's Tuning project, which provides a context for faculty development of core competencies/proficiencies associated with undergraduate history teaching, go to historians.org/tuning.

Please address all questions to Elizabeth Elliott, AHA Program Associate, at eelliott@historians.org.