The author uses a visit to a medieval site by elementary school students as an example of how to approach field trips for development of historical techniques. (DE)

Timothy Draper's approach to teaching history is that the discipline essentially embodies the best of other humanities and social science disciplines. The processes of remembering, retelling, and reconstructing involve the higher domains of learning. Freed from the bonds of mere memorization of dates, the college history student analyzes,…

Perestroika and glasnost are not only influencing the economic and social structure of Soviet society, but also have led to a revision of the authorized history of the USSR as Soviet historians struggle to create a national history based on fact instead of dogma. The Soviet history profession itself is also undergoing a major self-examination, as…

Several theories are given that provide the history teacher with a vehicle to explain elements of Puritan society as revealed by belief in witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts. (Author/JR)

Condensed from "Social Education, Volume 32 (October 1968), 554-56

Undergraduate history students can gain insight into the historical process from a short exercise using copies of documents that give conflicting interpretations of the same event. Explains how to lead class discussions based on two letters about lawlessness in Arizona in the 1880s. (Author/AV)

Presents a history of world history instruction as it has evolved since the 1890s in the United States focusing on New York state. Concludes that the latest revisions have restored chronology; eliminated any attempt at universal history; decreased the presence of the social sciences; and retained the option for a topical treatment within a…

Recommends Paul L. Murphy's 25-year-old article "Time to Reclaim: The Current Challenge of American Constitutional History" as a starting place for teachers interested in teaching about the history of the U.S. Constitution. Includes a three-page annotated bibliography of books on constitutional history. (BSR)

Assessing the historical writing inspired by the U.S. Constitution's Bicentennial, Murphy states that, although a popular audience has been reached, major historiographical breakthroughs and revisionist reconceptualizations have been disappointingly small, with the exception of Edmund Morgan's "Inventing the People." Examines the…

Explores common problems with the traditional model for graduate research seminars and suggests an alternative conception which capitalizes on the use of local history, a carefully sequenced series of research experiences, and specific instruction in research skills. (JDH)

Notes recent trends toward greater treatment of Asia, Africa, and Latin America in world history courses and the related tendency to decrease treatment of women and social history. Describes how history instructors at Tufts University coped with this problem by using a thematic approach. Illustrates this approach using the example of two medieval…

In response to a high school teacher's request for the "basic twenty concepts which college professors see as really basic preparation for college," this article advocates that students bring a shared body of facts about the past in addition to the ability to think about it; sensing the dual nature and interconnectedness of historical events. (JDH)

Discussion of history instruction, courses, and curricula at the Open University which emphasizes (1) methods and principles and (2) relating history to other academic disciplines. (ND)

We need more, not less, teaching of history--especially courses embracing Third World cultures. (Editor)

A historical research course taught at the University of Minnesota which uses local community resources is described. How guidelines are introduced, how students select topics, collect information, and develop research papers, and problems encountered are related in the article. (SM)