Pathways through American History is a five year professional development program for 108 teachers of grades K-12 in north central West Virginia's Regional Education Service Agency 7 (RESA 7) which includes 12 counties. This comprehensive program targets American History and Special Education History teachers who will be immersed within a content rich three year professional development series including face-to-face colloquia, online sessions, summer institutes, and field experiences. The teachers, divided into three cohorts based on historical era of focus, will participate in total of 23 days of professional development and 216 hours of online professional development delivered via the WVDE WebTop K-12 portal, video conferencing, and the Learners Online web portal. In turn, participants will model the strategies and share resources within their schools. Therefore best practices will be implemented and improve teaching American History within RESA 7 classrooms.

​

Project Goals

​

1.    Improve educator content understanding, pedagogy, and classroom teaching of American History.

​

Teachers will demonstrate improved understanding of key concepts of American History, implement hands-on instructional techniques and authentic assessment strategies, integrate 21st Century Social Studies tools, techniques, and learning skills, and demonstrate increased enthusiasm for teaching American History.

​

2.    Establish an online professional learning community to support all regional teachers of American History.

​

Teachers will participate in professional learning communities to provide ongoing support and expertise for the implementation of new knowledge and strategies. A classroom library of materials and resources will be created by participants to support project activities and will be utilized in school based networks. Support will be leveraged through RESA 7, county level personnel and school administrators.

​

3.    Increase use of 21st Century technology tools and skills in American History classrooms.

​

Teachers will utilize weblessons, internet resources, and 21st Century Technology Skills regularly as part of their research and teaching.

​

Pathways through American History's three cohorts address a different set of NAEP Historical periods based on teacher identified needs. Cohort I will study the nation's beginnings through 1815, Cohort II will cover the nation's expansion and reform through the Civil War and Reconstruction, while cohort III will focus on the development of modern and contemporary America.