NCHE AND COMMON CORE
The National Council for History Education has a long and distinguished record for conducting high-quality, history-specific professional development for teachers. NCHE partnered in more than two dozen Teaching American History grants. NCHE pioneered the History ColloquiumTM, teaming a historian, a specialist in history education, and a master classroom teacher to offer in-depth professional development. NCHE’s Common Core Workshops build on this lengthy experience and provide secondary-level history and social studies teachers an understanding of the Common Core Literacy Standards for History and Social Studies. Our workshops explore research-based reading and writitng strategies that can be implemented immediately in the classroom, and guide teachers in developing activities for standards-based lesson plans.
WHAT THE DATA FROM 2012 TELL US
Evaluations completed by participants in NCHE’s Common Core Workshops in 2012 were overwhelmingly positive. Fully 97.3% of participants agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that the workshop “increased my understanding of the Common Core Literacy Standards for History.” An even larger proportion – 99.1% – indicated that the materials used and distributed during the workshop were “useful” (26.5%) or “very useful” (72.6%). NCHE’s workshops also had a substantial, positive effect on teacher attitudes toward the Common Core Standards, as 92.9% of participants agreed or strongly agreed that the workshop “increased my interest in teaching the Common Core Literacy Standards for History.” Similarly high percentages also agreed or strongly agreed that the workshops were “well organized” (96.5%), “interesting” (91.2%), and “informative” (96.5%). Participants also expressed their appreciation of the interactive quality of the workshops. 96.5% agreed or strongly agreed that the presenters “did a good job of involving the audience,” while 95.6% agreed or strongly agreed that the presenters “did a good job of answering questions.”
WHAT TEACHERS HAVE TO SAY ABOUT NCHE WORKSHOPS
Virtually all teachers who participated in an NCHE Common Core Workshop expressed their appreciation of the teaching tools and strategies presented in the workshop. “Wow – Thank you – This was very helpful. I Love the different strategies,” wrote one. “I will use all of these strategies!!” pledged another. Teachers expressed their gratitude for “the templates,” “good models,” and “example lessons.”
Some teachers particularly valued how the workshops demystified the Common Core Literacy Standards. “Had no idea what [Common Core] was,” admitted one, but the workshop conveyed a “better understanding of what will be expected in the future.” A colleague agreed, adding that the knowledge gained dispelled uncertainty: “I now know what CCSS are, … [and] I am no longer leery of exploring them further.” “This is a learning curve,” another teacher acknowledged, “but I feel much less apprehensive.”
For more information about NCHE's history-centered professional development programs, please call
(240) 696-6597 or email justin@nche.net.
Our programs are designed to provide intensive, content-rich professional development that combines historical topics and pedagogical techniques to make history come alive for teachers and students--thereby raising levels of success for each.
An NCHE Colloquium is custom-tailored to the needs of your education agency. Our colloquia are led by a three-person team that includes an academic historian, a master classroom teacher, and a learning/curriculum specialist. The presenter team creates their sessions with the question, Why do we study history?--NCHE's Vital Themes and Narratives--in mind, and they help teachers also understand, How do we study history?--NCHE's History's Habits of the Mind
History Colloquium (2- & 3-day)
History Academy (5+ days)
State Council Partnerships (Call about state council conferences, workshops, and inservices)
Annual Conference
Consultants (grant or curriculum writing, assessment, and much more)
Keynote Presenters
Additional activities tailored to your needs.
NCHE and Teacher Professional Development in History
The Colloquium Model was pioneered, researched, and successfully executed by NCHE in 12 states and 21 Colloquia with over 1,000 teachers, under a grant from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) beginning in 1993. Because NCHE's Colloquium model, its Vital Themes and Narratives, and History's Habits of the Mind were created based on research illustrating best practices in content-specific professional development, NCHE is a leading partner with Local Education Agencies applying for U.S. Department of Education Teaching American History grants. Since the TAH program began in 2001, we have had over 80 partners in 30 states.
Why Partner with NCHE?
NCHE is a non-profit organization. We rely on our partnerships to accomplish our mission of leading the teaching and learning of history.
The NCHE Colloquium Model is unique to NCHE.
We custom-tailor each colloquium to the needs of each LEA and their teachers.
Because we have partnered with TAH grants since 2001, we have a large network of noted historians, master classroom teachers, learning/curriculum specialists, and experienced office project managers that will give your teachers a unique and exciting professional development experience.
We are an organization that relies on our membership base, which enables us to sustain our partnerships beyond the three years of a TAH grant.
We are governed by a Board of Trustees, which includes a wide range of individuals brought together by their passion for history education.
In addition to our TAH partnerships, we have relied on the support of public and private funding sources to provide additional professional development opportunities to teachers.
NCHE and Teaching American History
What you can expect from an NCHE partnership during the proposal process...
We have experienced consultants, who will review proposal drafts and provide suggestions to strengthen the proposal.
We provide a detailed Memoranda of Understanding, presenters, a letter of commitment, and staff vitae, which can be included in the proposal package.
Project Director Information
Colloquia are designed to take place in your district. Budget considerations that you should include in your proposal are meeting space for the colloquium and release time and/or substitutes for teachers that will participate.