Professional Development Workshops, Seminars and Colloquia

The American Institute for History Education offers workshops, seminars, colloquia, institutes, and discussions in various models and delivery systems.

Delivery Systems

• Live and In-Person — at your site, or at any site of your choosing
• Web-based — to individuals, a group or multiple groups anywhere Internet access is available
• Video Conference — from our Swedesboro, NJ conference center
• Talking History — monthly live video sessions with historians and specialists

Models

• History Institute (two, three, four or five-day models)

  An AIHE University Historian teams with an AIHE History Education Specialist and a Master Teacher to provide your teachers with a comprehensive, 360-degree approach to Professional Development.

• Historical Thinking Academy (1-5 days)

  An AIHE History Education Specialist and a Master Teacher, or two History Education Specialists give your teachers methods to help them think as historians do. They will also show your teachers methods to help students think and work as historians do.

• Lyceum Model (1-5 days with follow-up after 1-3 months)

  Schedule top university historians to discuss any historical topics with your teachers, in a lecture, Socratic, and/or forum approach.

• Seminar Model (semester long)

  An AIHE historian (and/or an AIHE History Education professor) and a group of your teachers, engage in advanced study and original research; meeting twice in person and then regularly online to exchange information and to hold discussions.

Popular Professional Development Topics

1. Historical “First Person” Interpreters (1 - 5 days of sessions)

   Professional interpreters’ or character actors can make bring historical figures to life for your teachers (and students). An AIHE History Education Specialist can show teachers how to bring historical figures to life and also how to teach “First-person” History in the classroom.

2. How to use I-pods and TeacherTube.com to teach history

   AIHE History Education Specialists can show your teachers how to use I-Pod technology in their classrooms and how to teach their students to use TeacherTube.com.

3. Teaching About Heroes

   AIHE History Specialist, Dr. Dennis Denenberg can give teachers a myriad of methods to teach about heroes in their elementary, middle school, high school, or college classrooms.

4. Steve Missal’s History Through Music (HTM) band and program, along with composer Chuck Anderson’s sessions on Music History.

   This session will include showing teachers how to use music in their classrooms to bring history alive. The History Through Music will give teachers many methods to use in their classroom. They will receive HTM music CDs to use with students.
   Chuck Anderson, a member of Paul McCarty’s Board of Trustees, will give teachers examples of music from various times in history and show how the ethos of the society is reflected in the period’s music.

5. Infusion Models

   An AIHE History Education Specialist and an AIHE historian will show teachers how to infuse various types of history or other Social Studies disciplines into their American or World history curricula. Teachers will be able to meet all of their state standards, giving their students a seamless curriculum that also addresses other state and district requirements.

   1. How to infuse African-American History into the American History Curriculum
   2. How to infuse Women’s History into the American History Curriculum
   3. How to Infuse Immigrant History into the American History Curriculum
   4. Teaching the Free Market in American History
   5. How to Teach World History within American History
   6. How to infuse Civics into American History
   7. How to infuse Geography into American History


6. CICERO: History Beyond the Textbook™

   Training teachers on how to use the Cicero: History Beyond the Textbook. Teachers will discover how to use the professional development portion of Cicero to increase their own historical content knowledge and increase their pedagogical skills and mastery of effective history teaching methods.

7. Oral History Training

   AIHE will use the PBS’ Ken Burns “The War” teaching kit to show teachers how to teach their students how to interview and video or record World War II veterans, Holocaust survivors, Korean War vets, Vietnam vets, peace activists, Persian Gulf War vets, Afghanistan vets and Iraq War vets, etc. AIHE has trained teachers to use this formula for the New Jersey (PBS) Network and has created videos to help teachers and students interview veterans.

8. Literacy Through History Institute

   AIHE specialists show reading and literature teachers how to use substantive historical content in their elementary reading classes and secondary literature classes. History teachers will learn how to use reading historical content in their history classes. Research saliently shows that by reading substantive content, student literacy achievement rises dramatically and then progressively increases over students who just study reading skills and read fictional pieces.

9. Geography Through History Institute

   AIHE history education specialists, using Nystrom tools, demonstrate how to incorporate geography and special understanding into the social studies classes. These methods help students comprehend history at a much higher level, along with assisting students to increase their mathematical skills.

10. Conflict Resolution and United States History

    A comprehensive supplement for U.S. history, developed by the New Jersey Center for Civic & Law-Related Education. Teachers will learn a motivating methodology for teaching American History. Teachers will learn how to teach students to use conflict resolution and problem-solving skills to role-play historical figures and, in the process, gain important life skills, and a rich understanding of history.