Iowa Museum
Association’s Teaching
Iowa History
Wins 2021 AASLH Award of Excellence
NASHVILLE, TN—June
2021—The American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) proudly
announces that the Iowa Museum Association is the recipient of an Award of
Excellence for Teaching Iowa History. The AASLH Leadership in History
Awards, now in its 76th year, is the most prestigious recognition for
achievement in the preservation and interpretation of state and local history.
Teaching Iowa
History (https://teachingiowahistory.org) leverages the resources of Iowa
museums to support K-12 educators in teaching Iowa history by harnessing the
stewardship and educational power of museums. It combines the fascinating
objects in museum collections with grade-specific standards-based lessons,
while bringing national history into perspective through the lens of local Iowa
stories.
Teaching Iowa
History has created a significant body of work that incorporates three key
components – a primary source database, instructional resources, and Iowa
history narratives. Over 100 museums
have participated in building a database of over 1,000 primary sources to date –
the project is ongoing and still accepting images of primary sources. This database increases access to Iowa museum
collections and brings the stories their objects tell to students, educators,
researchers, and the public.
The University of
Northern Iowa (UNI), Iowa’s leading teacher education university, is an
important partner in Teaching Iowa History, with UNI history education
students writing grade 7-12 lesson plans that incorporate primary sources from
the database and meet Iowa Social Studies standards. Simpson College is another important partner,
with Simpson College students writing grade K-6 lesson plans. Over 70 lesson plans for a variety of grades
and social studies standards have been produced to date, and as the project
continues, additional lessons will be developed. As pre-service teachers were learning to
write lesson plans, they were also learning Iowa history, and how to teach
history with primary sources. All lesson
plans are vetted by skilled faculty and approved for release prior to being
posted. Narrative essays (Iowa stories) are also submitted by knowledgeable
academic and public historians, in order to fulfill teacher needs for context.
A fully searchable digital encyclopedia style website brings all these
components together in a single, user-friendly environment.
The University of
Iowa Museum Studies program, Iowa PBS, and Graceland University are additional
key partners in the development of Teaching Iowa History, each partner
contributing expertise and resources to the success of the project. The menu item “Online Resources from around
Iowa” includes links to many exciting Iowa history projects, including PBS Time
Travel Iowa and Find Iowa.
To aid educators
in using the resources created by the project, the Teaching Iowa History
website includes five professional development modules that include videos,
activities and resources presenting a variety of ways to use and engage with Teaching
Iowa History.
The most recent addition to the
program is a virtual exhibit component that brings together primary sources and
contextual information in a ten-item exhibit. As this component develops, it
will provide an opportunity for museum studies classes to hone exhibit development
skills and will add a layer of content for K-12 classroom use.
Teaching Iowa History is the topic of a chapter in the
soon to be published text Creating Meaningful Museum Experiences for K–12
Audiences: How to Connect with Teachers and Engage Students, edited by Tara
Young (October, 2021).
Teaching Iowa
History is an ongoing program. For
more information contact the Iowa Museum Association at 319.239.2236 or visit https://teachingiowahistory.org
This year, AASLH
is proud to confer thirty-eight national awards honoring people, projects, exhibits,
and publications. The winners represent the best in the field and provide
leadership for the future of state and local history.
The
AASLH awards program was initiated in 1945 to establish and encourage standards
of excellence in the collection, preservation, and interpretation of state and
local history throughout the United States. The AASLH Leadership in History
Awards not only honor significant achievement in the field of state and local
history, but also bring public recognition of the opportunities for small and
large organizations, institutions, and programs to make contributions in this
arena. For more information about the Leadership in History Awards, contact
AASLH at 615-320-3203, or go to www.aaslh.org.
Founded in 1976,
the Iowa Museum Association (IMA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. From its office in Cedar Falls, Iowa, the IMA
provides a voice for museums and a communication network for those who work and
volunteer in them. The Iowa Museum Association provides professional
development, mentoring, workshops, convenings, an annual conference, and
technical support to build capacity in all aspects of museum work. Iowa museums make Iowa communities special
and unique places to live and work, enhancing Iowa's tourism economy, preserving
Iowa history, arts and culture, and strengthening communities as key community
anchor organizations. It is the vision
of the Iowa Museum Association that museums of all types are acknowledged as
essential components of their communities. For more information contact the Iowa
Museum Association at 319.239.2236 or visit https://www.iowamuseums.org
The American
Association for State and Local History is a not-for-profit professional
organization of individuals and institutions working to preserve and promote
history. From its headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee, AASLH provides
leadership, service, and support for its members who preserve and interpret
state and local history in order to make the past more meaningful to all
people. AASLH publishes books, technical publications, a quarterly magazine,
and maintains numerous affinity communities and committees serving a broad
range of constituents across the historical community. The association also
sponsors an annual meeting, regional and national training in-person workshops,
and online training.