History Commons^™

Utilizing Project-Based Learning To Increase Engagement And Performance In The High School Classroom, Alan English

Prairie Journal of Educational Research

Abstract

Project-based learning was incorporated into a high school American History course unit where students were expected to write an original history of the Vietnam War based exclusively on primary sources. Throughout the school year, students working as a collective unit worked to raise funds at school events for the purpose of surprising a class guest speaker, a Vietnam veteran, with a sponsored flight to Washington D.C. through Kansas Honor Flights. In addition to creating an experience of civic participation, student engagement (as measured by rate of completion of the project) and performance (as measured by average grade on the …

Engagement In The History Classroom: Problem-Based Learning And Primary Sources, Lauren Seghi

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

Too often today, students have to sit idly in a history classroom listening to a lecture or reading out of a textbook which is why many people in society (adults and children alike) do not like or understand the complexity of history. This article argues that in order for students to be engaged in "doing" history in the classroom, they need to take part in problem-based learning (pbl) activities using primary sources from the past.