Session Abstract

Roundtable discussions will focus on the challenges of establishing, nurturing, and sustaining collaborations between university level historians/history educators and public school history teachers during and after a TAH Grant project. Each individual panel member will concentrate on an essential component: Dr. Linda Reese will discuss several successful ways to establish and nurture the professional relationship between the university history department and the public school history teacher. Dr. Tom Ewing will address the importance of collaboration between the university and public school social studies supervisors, focusing on the tensions involved in balancing history content and curricular standards. Mr. Jerad Winningham will explain the challenge faced by many teachers in TAH Grant projects, to balance desire to focus on historical thinking and understanding methods they are learning with the pressure to “teach to the test” coming from administrators. Mr. Kevin Lynch will describe the key elements necessary for creating a robust and comprehensive professional development program for history teachers. Mr. Richard E. Cooper will discuss the key elements critical for sustaining a robust and comprehensive professional development program for history teachers. Public school history teachers (5-12), university history professors, social studies coordinators and supervisors, and administrators, along with any one interest or involved in developing or conducting professional development programs should find the information shared and discussed in this roundtable useful. Discussion concerning collaboration between university and public schools should also be interesting to a broad audience.