Teaching medieval history should engage students in the real work of professional medievalists. However, many undergraduate courses rely on instructional strategies that only engage students in rote retention of medieval "stuff" and unsupported writing assignments. With trends in the USA and elsewhere showing declining undergraduate enrollment in the humanities and an increasing number of questions from university administrators regarding the utility of the liberal arts, historians need to reassess how they teach. Project-based learning (PBL) is one approach that may help medieval history instructors offer coursework that is more engaging for today's undergraduate students and provide administrators a clearer picture of the utility of studying the past. The pedagogy of PBL actively engages students in projects reflective of the real work being done by medievalists, allowing instructors to move beyond the traditional narrative found in many undergraduate survey courses. This book provides an overview of PBL theory, methods for incorporating PBL into an undergraduate medieval history course, instructional strategies, scalable assessment formats, and other resources useful for any history classroom.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Lane J. Sobehrad, PhD, manages major grants, research, and innovative programs for Lubbock ISD, and is Affiliated Faculty with the Medieval & Renaissance Studies Center at Texas Tech University. Susan Sobehrad is a nationally certified PBL trainer and has served as an instructional coach & facilitator at multiple project-based campuses utilizing thirty years of teaching experience.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1: Changing Perceptions in Teaching Medieval History Chapter 2: Medieval History Course Design Chapter 3: Active Construction of Knowledge and Intentional Planning Chapter 4: Project Management Chapter 5: Technology in the Medieval Classroom Chapter 6: Medieval Studies Project Examples Epilogue List of Tables List of Figures Appendix A: Historical Standards Appendix B: Sample Content and Skill Rubrics Appendix C: Planning and Implementation Tools Appendix D: Survey of Undergraduate Medieval History Courses in U.S. Colleges and Universities