Exploring World History: Ideas for Teachers

World history is not the same course it was ten years ago. Teachers are placing less emphasis on Western culture and rote memorization in favor of more global, diverse, and creative content. It is for these teachers that Exploring World History is written - as an example of some of the innovations that are occurring in today's classrooms and as encouragement for future exploration.

Exploring World History presents new subject matter, new perspectives, and new classroom strategies for helping teachers transform their courses into intellectual adventures. In the first part of the book, the authors describe three very different courses, with explanations of their student and course objectives. Readers will discover specific approaches to lessons, ways to acquire rich materials, and samples of performance-based assessments. The second part of the book takes a broad look at how to conceptualize a world history course, with special attention to pedagogical, methodological, and scholarly concerns. It includes a general discussion of content selection, course development challenges, the role of national content standards, and motivational strategies.

Readers will discover much accumulated wisdom and food for thought. Exploring World History is the best resource for creating a course that is better versed in recent scholarship and new historical methods for reflecting the range of human experience.