Call for Applications
Assignments Charrette for Introductory Courses
Friday, January 8, 12:30-4:30 PM
Atlanta, Georgia
Applications are invited for the AHA’s annual workshop on undergraduate teaching, which will take place on Friday at the 2016 Annual Meeting in Atlanta. This year’s focus is on assignments for introductory history courses in any field (specialization). Anyone with a valued teaching assignment or a brand new one that would benefit from in-depth review and discussion with faculty from other institutions should consider applying.
Workshop Description – The four-hour workshop will begin with a set of short plenary presentations, but the bulk of the time will be reserved for participants to work in small groups with a facilitator and offer in-depth feedback on each other’s assignments. Each participant will have a few minutes to introduce his/her submitted assignment(s) and request particular help with problems or aspects of designing or implementing it and/or with assessing students’ work. Participants will reconvene at the end of the period to hear concise syntheses of the discussions and lessons from all groups.
Reimbursement Detail – Accepted applicants will receive up to $500 of reimbursable meeting and travel expenses, as well as a letter of invitation to present at the AHA annual meeting.
Eligibility – All full or part-time faculty or graduate students with responsibility for teaching one or more undergraduate introductory collegiate-level history courses are eligible.
Application Process – Applicants should include a cover note describing their interest and fill out the attached application form. All applications must include one assignment that has been used at least once in an introductory-level history course. The assignment should be linked to at least one learning outcome or proficiency that is important to your history department and/or general education curriculum. Assignments covering a range of innovative and creative activities are welcomed. Assignments of research papers or other individual writing assignments within the context of introductory courses are included.
Application Deadline – October 23, 2015
Criteria for Selection – A committee will evaluate applications based on the clarity of the assignment and instructions, the fit between the stated learning outcomes (proficiencies) and the assignment, and its appropriateness in the context of the course and its students. Selected participants will show a genuine interest in student learning.
Efforts will be made to balance participation from a variety of institutions that serve different missions and student populations, especially institutions where there are likely to be other faculty members interested in ongoing, collaborative, curricular work. Applicants need not be at institutions that have or are currently involved in national, regional, or local initiatives on curricular or assessment reform.
Participant Responsibility – Participants will be expected to read thoroughly and review at least 4 other assignments, and to offer constructive feedback during the workshop.
Submission – Email 1) a cover note, 2) your completed application form (attached pdf file), and 3) a copy of the assignment—in the form that you present it to students—that you propose to work on, along with any rubric or set of criteria used to evaluate it, to: tuning@historians.org with the subject heading “Assignments Charrette." Applications must be received by Friday, October 23, 2015. Notifications will be made by November 13.
Questions – Please address all questions to Elizabeth Elliott, AHA Program Assistant, at eelliott@historians.org.
Application Form is attached to this post! (pdf)
Related Information - For details on the AHA’s Tuning project, which provides a context for faculty development of core competencies/proficiencies associated with undergraduate history teaching, go to historians.org/tuning.
Participants may choose to submit their revised assignments for possible online publication in the Assignment Library, a peer-endorsed repository overseen and maintained by the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment. In order to be eligible for this library, your assignment should be linked to one or more of the proficiencies in the Degree Qualifications Profile.
------------------------------
Julia Brookins
American Historical Assoc.
Austin TX
jbrookins@historians.org
------------------------------