The purpose of the Teaching American History project is to enhance effective teaching in the classroom in a helpful environment by providing:

• Content knowledge in a supportive learning community of fellow teachers, mentor teachers, and speakers from all educational levels.
  
• Dialogue dealing with content and teaching strategies.

2004 - 2005 Program

May

In May teacher-participants will receive a packet of books containing primary and secondary documents as well as history standards. Teacher participants should become familiar with the material.

July

Each July the Teaching American History Project will hold a Summer Seminar.  

• The dates for the Summer Seminar for 2004 are from Monday July 12th to Friday July 16^th in the Old Chapel of the Castleton State College Campus.

The theme for the Summer Seminar 2004 is the U.S. Constitution—From Colonies to a Nation.

• Teacher-participants should closely read the Articles of Confederation, the Constitution, and Federalist #10 which are in the primary documents book.
  
• Teacher-participants will work on a project such as a series of lesson plans with Document Based Questions (DBQ), power point presentations or project that the teacher-participants will think most beneficial to them and to their class. Teacher-participants are best aware of what will be useful in their own classroom. The project could focus on the background to the Constitution or the Constitution itself. 
  
       For more information Document Based Questions

• If the teacher-participants are not sure of a project, they can discuss it with fellow teacher-participants and other participants during the week. 

Each afternoon of the Summer Seminar teacher-participants will be working on the project of their choice that will be most useful to them in the classroom with guidance from fellow-teachers and speakers for the particular day.    

Two weeks after the summer seminar, the teacher participants should submit to the Evaluation Team a written proposal of their intended project.

For information on TAH Final Project Grading Criteria

Academic School Year

During the academic year, they will implement their lesson plans with their classes and share the results with their fellow-teacher participants during the fall and spring semesters. All teacher-participants can learn from lesson plans that  work and do not work. 

Three meetings will be held during the spring and fall semesters.   

Fall Semester  

• The first meeting covers the content from the Summer Seminar and additional content acquired.
  
• The second meeting is an observation of a Master Teacher at an appropriate level by the teacher-participant.
  
• The third meeting deals with teaching strategies based upon the observation and the lesson plans.

Spring Semester

Early in the spring semester,  teacher-participants:  

• Present a reflection paper on their project to their fellow teacher-participants in the first of the three meetings in the spring semester along with supporting materials
  
•  At second meeting observe master teacher
  
•  Present and submit a final project in May;
  
• Prepare a document for the Castleton TAH web page so that others may also benefit from final project. (If the teacher-participants are not familiar with doing a web page, the project director will set up the material in the appropriate form).

Grading Policy:   

• The final grade is determined by the Grade Evaluation Team which  is comprised  of internal and external evaluators.  Jonathan Spiro (of the Castleton State College History Department), Mike Austin (the Project Director of the Teaching American History Project and of the Castleton State College History Department), internal evaluators, Lincoln Fenn and Mary Fregosi (former teachers in the Rutland Public Schools), external evaluators. For further information about the evaluators, click on their names above.

All participants must meet all of the requirements listed above. At the end of the spring semester, when the teacher-participants have completed their requirements listed above

• Teacher-participants will receive the second and final installment of their financial grant award
  
• And their letter grade, if they were taking it for credit or or a certificate indicating attendance

• Prepare a document for the Castleton TAH web page so that others may also benefit from the final project. (If the teacher-participants are not familiar with doing a web page, the project director will set up the material in the appropriate form).

• The final grade is determined by the Support Team which is comprised of internal and external evaluators: Jonathan Spiro (Castleton State College History Department), Mike Austin (Project Director, Teaching American History Project, Castleton State College History Department), Lincoln Fenn, and Mary Fregosi (former teachers in the Rutland Public Schools) and Alis Headlam (supervisor of student teachers at Castleton). 
  
• More about the evaluation team
  
• Final Grading Criteria