Grant will support creation of U.S. history lessons and professional development
VHS Learning has been selected to receive a $25,000 grant to create a high-quality U.S. History curriculum and professional development supporting discussion-based primary source analysis online and in other learning settings. This project is funded by a grant from the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) Eastern Region program, managed by Waynesburg University.
“The goal with this grant project is to engage online learners in frequent primary source analysis experiences that increase their sense of connection to classmates, self, and the curriculum,” President & CEO of VHS Learning, Carol DeFuria said. “We are honored to receive the TPS grant from the Library of Congress to deepen student discussions through primary source analysis, and we look forward to bringing this to high school students through an online U.S. History curriculum.”
During the grant project, VHS Learning will design 33 primary source analysis lessons within a cohesive, newly-developed U.S. History curriculum. Primary source analysis will be integrated into weekly discussions within all three course formats of the curriculum, including asynchronous, paced, and self-paced models.
As part of the grant project, VHS Learning will partner with organizations whose expertise is vitally connected to a unit’s focus to create individual, targeted lessons that pair a primary source with rich analysis discussion questions. Primary sources will include photographs, audio recordings, videos, and manuscripts primarily from the Library of Congress. VHS Learning will seek sources with high relevance to students’ lives, including sources that amplify under-represented voices and that reflect diverse young people’s perspectives.
The U.S. History curriculum will be complemented by a self-paced micro-credential, designed to equip educators with the instructional skills to support primary source analysis. The primary source analysis lessons and professional development resources developed in these efforts will be offered freely to benefit the larger educational community.
“Primary source analysis is an effective way to foster student collaboration,” DeFuria added, “and VHS Learning’s online asynchronous format opens opportunities for students to engage with classmates throughout the country and share unique viewpoints.”
The grant project will run through June 30, 2024. Content created and featured in partnership with the TPS program does not indicate an endorsement by the Library of Congress.
For more information about VHS Learning please visit https://www.vhslearning.org/ and follow on Twitter at @VHSLearning.
The American Consortium for Equity in Education, publisher of the "Equity & Access" journal, celebrates and connects the educators, associations, community partners and industry leaders who are working to solve problems and create a more equitable environment for historically underserved pre K-12 students throughout the United States.
