I came across an interesting chart from a school where AP exam scores seem to be used as a factor in a student's final grade. It's pictured below. The summer logistics of this aside, I was intrigued by the intended and unintended consequences of such a policy.
AP World History Modern
AP World History is one of my favorite classes to teach. The content is exciting, and the historical thinking skills are always front and center.
ChatGPT and AI Tools for the Social Studies Classroom
I have been playing around with some ideas on how to use AI tech tools in class. I don't want to use a tool just for the purpose of trying something new, but want to find a creative way of adding value for my students. Most of what I have explored recently has been a result of purchasing a premium subscription to ChatGPT. The additional GPTs that this offers access to are incredibly useful.
Experiences with the new rubrics for AP World History
By this point in the school year my students have written four DBQs and are working on their second LEQ. After working with the new rubrics and giving them a chance, I have mixed feelings. They are not perfect, but neither were earlier iterations since it is impossible to create a rubric that makes everyone … Continue reading Experiences with the new rubrics for AP World History
The Industrial Revolution and the Urban Game in AP World History
This is not a particularly insightful post. It's just a resource for the OER Project's version of the Urban Game that I am using this year instead of the traditional longer version.
Teaching Material Culture and the Dutch Golden Age in AP World History
The Netherlands in the seventeenth century was the center of a series of economic and social transformations that would redefine the way Europeans viewed the world around. This first age of truly global commerce saw the exchange of objects of commerce, objects of beauty, and objects of science. This moment cannot be understood without considering Dutch historical trends alongside the simultaneous power of the Scientific Revolution, the rise of the Atlantic World, and the nature of global exchange. Through the exploration of changing material culture in this moment, students can be exposed to deeper historical analysis and higher order thinking.
Standards-Based Grading in AP World History
Standards-based grading and assessment can work in an AP class. It requires a shift in mindset about the role of skill and content as well as clear systems to protect the integrity of each. I favor simplicity to prevent the danger of over-engineering the grading infrastructure.
Analytical Threads in AP World: Ibn Khaldun’s Social Solidarity
Khaldun's theory around social solidarity is, at once, accessible and illustrative of complex historical thinking. It provides students with an example of the "big picture" that the AP World History course is designed to teach, it encourages thinking in historical comparison, causation, and continuity and change over time, and it is relevant to content from nearly every unit.
Historical Thinking Skills Classroom Posters
Every few years I do a new iteration of my classroom posters for AP World. This year, I focused my new posters around the major historical thinking skills. These were inspired by the skill-based guideposts in Peter Seixas' book The Big Six.
Analytical Threads in AP World: Military Force vs. Cultural Power
The interplay between military force and cultural power is one of the threads that runs through the entire AP World curriculum. Picking out these threads (or Key Concepts) and making them visible is one of the values teachers can add to the curriculum so that it does not become a death march through content. This takes a bit of planning, but pays tremendous dividends.
Experiencing the Silk Road in Dunhuang
At the end of September I traveled to Dunhuang, in western China, with a group of high school students. There were some great experiential connections to the AP World curriculum. History is more than just a skill or content from a book. History can be experienced; There is value in looking for connection to the past in order to understand the human experience. Trips like this can plant seeds for future historical interest and inquiry in ways that my classroom cannot.