Where Do Students Research History? An Analysis of the Chicago Metro History Fair

• In Event: 29.015 - Pro Bono Education Research Service Projects (ERSPs): AERA's ERSP Initiative

Abstract

Each year roughly 5,000 middle and high school students around Chicago participate in the history fair program. Chicago Metro History Education Center staff have long been interested in aggregate looks at where students conduct research and what patterns can be found in students’ decisions. Information was collected from 1,631 projects between 2013 and 2015, which listed 988 unique non-classroom historical resource sites as sources. The connections between projects and historical resource sites were then mapped to create a network of 3,307 associations. These data were then matched to information about teachers’ participation in history fair professional development programs to explore how teachers’ knowledge might influence student research behavior. What emerges is that teachers’ on-site experience at a historical site correlates strongly to students accessing that site. Students commonly access local libraries, museums, and online videos as historical resources, while projects drawing on archival resources tend to perform better in competitions.

Author

• Charles Tocci, Loyola University Chicago