Designing New Global History Course – Fall 2021
In Fall 2021, Catherine Braithwaite led a team of History Teachers in undertaking the massive task of designing a new “Global History from the 15th Century Onwards” class. This class is replacing “Survey of Western Civilization,” and will be obligatory for all Social Science Students. The team took a Backwards Design approach to the class–beginning with building a competency framework, determining learning outcomes, choose content, and looking forward to next steps. The team, which was made up mostly of WID Fellows alumni, put Writing in the Disciplines core concepts such as critical thinking, problem-solving, and building from personal experience at the fore of their work. Catherine’s report takes the form of an easy-to-read newsletter, complete with useful appendices. This document can serve as a handy template for other departments who must design a completely new course in a limited amount of time.
