Peer Review

Facing History and Ourselves

Material Detail page

Reviewed:: Sep 14, 2021 by Teacher Education

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Ratings

Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:

People make choices. Choices make history. Facing History and Ourselves provides ideas, methods, and tools that support the practical needs, and the spirits, of educators worldwide who share the goal of creating a better, more informed, and more thoughtful society. It has a special section just for educators that includes resources, professional development opportunities, and coaching. One of the reasons that Facing History teachers are so successful is because educators are paired one-on-one with a Program Associate whose mission is to help teachers further their professional development and job satisfaction by bringing the materials and methods to life in the classroom. The organiation helps teachers apply a professional development experience to develop course syllabi and lesson plans; suggest continuing education through webinars, workshops, and seminars; observe in the classroom and conduct coaching and follow-up support; assist and model for teachers how to integrate technology and social media; and identify outstanding teachers for local and national teacher leadership groups.

Type of Material:

Collection of resources for k-12 teachers and their students. Collection includes free downloadable books, media excerpts, teaching ideas, and detailed lesson plans.

Recommended Uses:

Professional development for teachers.

Units for teaching in-class.

This material would work best as self-paced and individual. However, a team could use this.

Technical Requirements:

internet browser. ability to search and navigate.

Identify Major Learning Goals:

Teachers gain confidence teaching confronting difficult historical and current topics.

Students practice critical thinking skills about racism, religious intolerance, and prejudice.

Schools become peaceful models of respect and kindness.

The organization helps teachers apply a professional development experience to develop course syllabi and lesson plans; suggest continuing education through webinars, workshops, and seminars; observe in the classroom and conduct coaching and follow-up support; assist and model for teachers how to integrate technology and social media, and identify outstanding teachers for local and national teacher leadership groups.

Target Student Population:

Middle School, High School, College General Ed, College Lower Division and the teachers within these.

Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:

No prerequisite knowledge.

Curiosity about history from the perspective of the oppressed (rather than that of the rulers).

Content Quality

Rating:

Strengths:

Wow! This is a massive collection of rich and well supported information/activities. It offers a wide variety of options for every topic and theme. The lessons employ exceptional teaching practices. Teachers are provided guides for how to handle difficult topics and how to prepare students for difficult scenes.

Content is thorough and visually appealing. The website is easy to navigate, too. Excellent layout!

Concerns:

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:

Strengths:

Brilliant.

The site is very clear about its goals. Each lesson has very clear learning objectives. Books and videos supplement or are the center of many of the activities.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:

Strengths:

The site is beautiful to look at. It employs graphic buttons and an easy to use layout. Search options are provided. The content is robust.

The site has a clear layout with consistent colors throughout. The ease of use of the website is a strength, too.

Other Issues and Comments:: One reviewer said it was one of the best resources s/he had ever evaluated. Some services are fee based but the majority of the collection is free and easy to use.
Creative Commons: