Section

Teaching World History

A collaborative project at the University of Pittsburgh www.worldhistory.pitt.edu/TWH

Teaching World History, based at the University of Pittsburgh, is a comprehensive program of research, curriculum development, teacher preparation, and professional development in world history. World history is an expanding subject of research and teaching. It is increasingly recognized as an important aspect of a rigorous, comprehensive education and a key element of modern civics and social planning. Improved curriculum, additional background for teachers, and research on learning are necessary elements of support for the study of world history at all levels.

The Teaching World History program is supported by five collaborating university institutions. The collaborating institutions, along with selected professionals based outside of the university, expect to carry out a long-term, expanding program of activity to support and advance the teaching of world history at all levels, but with particular emphasis on public middle-school and high-school education. The Teaching World History consortium is actively seeking funding and additional collaborators to expand this work.

Participating University of Pittsburgh institutions:

  • World History Center (Patrick Manning, Director; pmanning@pitt.edu)
  • International Institute for Studies in Education (John Patrick Myers, Associate Professor; myersjp@pitt.edu)
  • Global Studies Center (Nancy Condee, Director; condee@pitt.edu)
  • Department of History (George Reid Andrews, Chair; reid1@pitt.edu)
  • Institute For Learning (Lawrence Charap; charapl@pitt.edu)

Resources and Curriculum

Teaching World History makes available to teachers the substantial amount of world history curriculum materials already developed. The World History Resource Library is a collection of textbooks, summaries of standards, and curriculum guides for the teaching of world history at all levels. It is located at the World History Center office in 3900 Posvar Hall. The library is intended to be staffed by experienced teachers who are knowledgeable in the teaching of world history.

Research, Publication, and Advocacy

Researchers include University of Pittsburgh faculty members in Education and History, doctoral students in Education and History, postdoctoral fellows, and visiting experts. The program seeks university and external funds to support postdoctoral researchers and encourage additional faculty participation.
  • Literature review on teaching and learning in world history (with the School of Information Science, Kathleen Monti)
  • Faculty, doctoral and postdoctoral research on teacher and student learning of world history (John Myers)
  • The experience of writing and teaching world history (postdoctoral fellow Elizabeth Campbell)

World History courses at Pitt

Students enrolled in relevant degree programs may enroll in courses in History and Education:
  • Undergraduate History courses:
    • Introductory: World History; Globalization and History.
    • Advanced: Empires in the Modern World, Major Works in World History, Indian Ocean World History, Central Asia in World History, and Teaching World History.
  • Graduate History courses: Empires in World History, Interdisciplinary Methodology, World History of Science, Readings in World History; additional courses to be scheduled
  • Education courses and internships: Issues in History Education, Models of History Teaching, educational research, internship in world history

These courses contribute in varying ways to the following degree programs: BA, MA, and PhD in History; MA in History Education; MAT and MA in Education.

Teaching World History: Current projects

  • Pittsburgh Public Schools.

    Working in association with Michael Dreger, Social Studies Coordinator for the Pittsburgh Public Schools, the five participating institutions plus Prof. Kathleen Steeves of Georgetown University have been planning and seeking funding for an initial two-year program of professional development for Pittsburgh teachers of world history (initial discussion with Pittsburgh-area foundations).

  • Allegheny Intermediate Unit (AIU).

    Contact with school districts and teachers in Allegheny County may lead to informal meetings and the development of workshops for selected districts (initial meeting with AIU in January 2010)

  • National Council for History Education (NCHE).

    Collaborative development of an open-access dataset on the teaching of world history in U.S. public schools.

  • "World history worldwide"

    - collaborative international data collection on world history teaching by nation, in collaboration with the Asian Association of World Historians and the Network of Global and World History Organizations