Second Annual TAH Symposium

Samuel Wineburg, author of Historical Thinking and Other Unnatural Acts and a professor of history and education at Stanford University, will be the keynote speaker at the 2^nd Annual Teaching American History (TAH) Grant Symposium to be held March 28 and 29 and cosponsored by H-Net <http://www.h-net.org> and OAH. Wineburg, a leading researcher in the growing field of historical cognition and the scholarship of teaching and learning history, will offer his insight and critical analysis of the larger impact of the TAH grant program. For more information about Wineburg and his work in the field, please consult <http://ed.stanford.edu/suse/ faculty/displayRecord.php?suid=wineburg>.

Last April, more than 140 participants of the first TAH Symposium laid the groundwork for networking among the various constituent groups involved in the writing, implementation, and evaluation of TAH grants and provided a critical evaluation of the larger impact of the TAH program on the teaching and learning of history across the nation and the historical profession. This year’s registration will begin at noon on Wednesday with the introduction and overview sessions scheduled for 2:00 p.m. OAH Executive Director Lee Formwalt will open the symposium. Peter Kupfer, H-Net executive director and associate professor at Michigan State University, and Kelly Woestman, H-TAH coeditor and professor of history at Pittsburg (KS) State University, will introduce and discuss the symposium’s panels.

“Tenure, Promotion, and Departmental Mission Statements: What Impact are TAH Grants Having on the Profession at the ‘Local Level’?” will be the subject of the second session that begins at 2:30 p.m. Scheduled panelists include Kriste Lindemeyer, Timothy D. Hall, Laura Westhoff, and Ed Crowther. They will examine how the involvement of individual faculty members in TAH grants affects their goals of tenure and promotion.

After a short break, the third panel will focus on “Enhancing Collaboration: Historians, Teachers, and Education Experts Learning From One Another.” H-TAH coeditor Thomas Thurston will chair this session. Tim Hoogland of the Minnesota State Historical Society will begin the discussion and Dennis Lubeck of the Cooperating School Districts (St. Louis, MO) will describe his work with several TAH grants. Robert D. Vicario of the University of California, Irvine, and the Santa Ana School District will describe his view of collaboration in TAH grants. The panel will explore the impact of the grants on historical thinking and other pedagogical skills of all TAH cohorts.

Small group interaction will be the focus of the optional Wednesday night activity at restaurants near the hotel. We will continue the theme of small group interaction Thursday morning over breakfast. Note: H-TAH is open to anyone interested in Teaching American History grants and is not restricted to project directors.

During the fifth session beginning at 9:20 a.m. Thursday, we will continue the evaluation discussion we started last year with “What is Research and Evaluation Telling Us About the Impact of TAH Grants?” Alex Stein will discuss his views and be joined by Elizabeth Ashburn and Carol Lasser. Randal Ernst will round out this session as panel members discuss the larger impact TAH grants are having on the profession and the teaching of history. Rachel Ragland will chair this session.

Knupfer will chair the wrap-up session with the H-TAH coeditors and will summarize and analyze some of the larger issues brought forward during the symposium. They will also discuss possible panel topics for the 3^rd Annual TAH Symposium to be held in New York City in 2008. Weinburg’s keynote address will begin at 11:45 a.m. on Thursday and will conclude the 2007 TAH Symposium.

Registration for the TAH Symposium is separate from the OAH Annual Meeting and combined registered is offered at a reduced rate. We invite anyone interested in the future of TAH grants and their impact on our profession to join us. For more information on registration, please visit: <http://www.oah.org/2007/>.

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