AHA Session 129
Friday, January 9, 2026: 3:30 PM-5:00 PM
Salon C 7&8 (Hilton Chicago, Lower Level)
Chairs:
Erin Kate Grady, Ravenscroft School
Elizabeth Keohane-Burbridge, University of West Georgia
Elizabeth Keohane-Burbridge, University of West Georgia
Session Abstract
As the AHA and other societies work to bridge the gap between k-12 educators and content experts working in higher education, one area that needs to be addressed is what lesson planning and curriculum development looks like in grades 6-12. What are considered best practices and most likely to be useful for social studies teachers? How can historians help classroom teachers and what are the national, state, and pedagogical realities that historians need to understand in developing this partnership?
In this session, Erin Kate Grady and Elizabeth Keohane-Burbridge will lead historians through the realities facing teachers today. Both have their PhDs - Dr. Grady in art history and Dr. Keohane-Burbridge in medieval history. Dr. Grady is a high school history teacher and Dr. Keohane-Burbridge taught high school history before returning to academia as a teacher educator, preparing future social studies teachers. They will review the NCSS’s C3 framework, varying state standards (including content and skills), and how many schools expect lessons to be shaped.
In this session, Erin Kate Grady and Elizabeth Keohane-Burbridge will lead historians through the realities facing teachers today. Both have their PhDs - Dr. Grady in art history and Dr. Keohane-Burbridge in medieval history. Dr. Grady is a high school history teacher and Dr. Keohane-Burbridge taught high school history before returning to academia as a teacher educator, preparing future social studies teachers. They will review the NCSS’s C3 framework, varying state standards (including content and skills), and how many schools expect lessons to be shaped.
This session will also be helpful for PhDs considering an alternative career path of teaching in secondary education.
Now, more than ever, we need to provide ways to complicate the narratives that teachers are expected to present to their students, but we can only help teachers do that if we provide materials that they can use.
See more of: AHA Sessions