HIST 231: A New Take on Historical Education

By Charlotte Slomkowski (MA in History student)

Beginning in Fall 2023, a new History class was added to the curriculum at Eastern Michigan University: HIST 231: Michigan in the Development of the United States. Professors Amanda Maher and Richard Nation created HIST 231 to teach early American and Michigan history. They designed the course to help elementary education students learn how to teach these subjects in the classroom. 

Civic engagement is at the core of HIST 231. While the course has elements of a normal History class like research papers and primary sources, it seeks to help students to be well-prepared and developed citizens. HIST 231 students are required to participate in clinical experience by teaching a lesson they created at either Brick or Estabrook Elementary School in Ypsilanti. 

   Amanda Maher and Richard Nation

Each student in the class is assigned a group and area around Michigan. Within these groups they do some research to find primary sources and create a timeline of the history of the assigned area. An example of an assignment in HIST 231 is a local history padlet, that is, an online poster board.

Although HIST 231 is a fairly new course, it has already had a positive impact on the students at EMU and in local elementary schools. Nevertheless, the instructors are already thinking about ways to improve the class. Professor Maher has already begun planning how to make the class even more innovative.

“My plans for the future—my vision is to teach a summer session of the course at EMU's Fish Lake property,” Maher notes. “If this happens, students can do a more intimate look at the environmental history of the state including the impact of the lumber industry. This is in early stages, but I am excited about doing this in the coming years."