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Primary Sources & Historical Understanding In High School American History, Kristina Nelson

Education Masters Papers

Learning history in high school is often disconnected from the process used by professional historians to understand the past. This research studies the implementation of primary source analysis in the high school American History classroom as a means to increase historical understanding. Previous research focuses on increasing achievement while this study also includes impact on engagement and attitude. Primary source analysis was the main instructional strategy used in one unit of study in a required ninth grade American History course at a suburban high school in April 2016. Student historical understanding was assessed using student self-reports on a daily basis, …