"Unlocking Historical Thinking: Leveraging Library of Congress Digital Archives to Develop Learning Trajectories"

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 2:15 pm - Gold 4
  In Roundtable Session: History, Social Studies, and (Critical) Inquiry

Abstract

This multi-year action research study explores improving student learning outcomes through the centering of primary sources from the Library of Congress’s collection. Using a learning trajectory framework, we identified and developed a series of learning indicators and proficiency levels for students in grades 6-12, representing the proper developmental progression of ideas and skills necessary to use primary sources to understand history. Building on existing research that encourages a move away from the mechanistic chronology of traditional history curricula, this study centers the value of student agency and historical context within the middle grades and secondary history classrooms. Educational implications are discussed, emphasizing the liberatory potential of a skills-based approach in the history classroom.

Authors

• Meghan McGlinn Manfra, North Carolina State University

• Lindsey Payne, North Carolina State University