Overview and Priorities for Teachers of World History Patrick Manning World History Center

Five World Historical Courses: World Geography (Middle School) World History to 1800 (Middle School) World Cultures (High School) World History 1700 to present (High School) World History from start to present (HS)

Elements of the Course, 1 Space Continents and oceans Mountains and river valleys Language groups and political units Time Timeline by region, era, topic Topic Social* Religious Political* Cultural Economic * Environmental * Technological

Continents and Oceans

Pacific-centered political map

River Valleys Worldwide

World language groups, c. 1500

Timelines – 1

Timelines – 2

Topic - Empires

Topic – Religion, technology

Elements of the Course, 2 Styles of Interpretation Narrative – a sequence of events and processes, telling a story and conveying a lesson Analysis – identifying a problem and solving it through use of evidence and logic Global Thinking Connections Big patterns Links among scales from local to global, immediate to long-term

Competing Issues in Knowledge and Skill Basic knowledge - geography Study skills – critical reading Historical knowledge – events and processes Historical interpretation – narrative and analysis Global skills – connections, systems, scale Relevance – linking the course to the lives and interests of students So … What part of world history to teach?

Group Work I: Identify key spaces, times & topics Objective: Identify elements of a world-historical course that are of interest to teachers and to students Tasks 1.Form groups by course 2.Begin with an outline of the course 3.Select an eclectic list of interesting elements to include in the course 4.Prepare a revised course outline highlighting the elements you have selected

Articulating a Coherent Plan – 1 Three big problems: Problem 1: how to keep up with the schedule but also convey the messages of the course. Problem 2: how to link the various sections of the course to each other, and ensure that students remain aware of all parts of the course Problem 3: how to maintain an overall logic to the course

Articulating a Coherent Plan – 2 Types of links within the course – Events and processes – Recurring issues – Cumulative learning – New problems in history – Return class to early exercises, reconsider them

Articulating a Coherent Plan – 3 Main themes and lessons – What balance of political, social, environmental, etc.? – What balance of local, global? – What balance of elite and people’s history? Forms of interpretation – Narrative: sequence of events, telling a story – Analysis: identifying and solving a problem

Group Work II: Objective: Prepare a course plan that shows how to link the sections Tasks: Within course sections: Narrative of main lesson for each section Analysis of major issue in each section Among course sections: Identify types of links Overall course: Summarize the course and links within it

Implementing the Plan – 1 What can go wrong Oversize Introductions, delaying entry to core material Lost time: snow days Preparing for exams (is that lost time?) Study skills vs. relevance Tendency of students to focus on iconic knowledge (e.g. Egypt & Rome) Tendency of students to recite cross-sectional statements on the past, undocumented Spontaneous historical discussions: good or bad?

Implementing the Plan – 2 Do students still see history as a set of facts to learn for an exam? How do students compare present and past situations? Can students envision themselves in the past? Can history serve as a laboratory for students to experiment with complex situations?

Implementing the Plan – 3 How does one assess student learning? How does one face exams?

Group Work III Objective: A set of keys to help students identify connections among course sections Questions: How will students articulate course lessons? What should students remember? What narratives should students be able to tell? What analyses should students be able to conduct? What connections should they be able to describe? Task:

Develop guidelines to help students comprehend and articulate the links among course sections Develop guidelines on what students should try to learn