The U.S. History Collection Impact Study: Final Report

Resumen

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of GBH’s PBS LearningMedia U.S. History Collection on students historical knowledge and thinking skills after being taught with resources from the Collection. The study was designed as a randomized controlled trial, and collected data from more than 1,200 students in 86 classrooms across 17 states. Teachers’ classes were randomly assigned to either be taught with the resources (“treatment”) or be taught as they would have otherwise (“business-as-usual”). All students completed the same pre- and post-assessment and teachers also answered pre- and post-surveys and completed weekly implementation logs. Key Findings: Teachers reported that the U.S. History Collection helped students better understand multiple historical perspectives. Ninety-six percent of teachers agreed that it improved students’ ability to ask critical questions about historical events. Students in U.S. History Collection classes gained more historical knowledge compared to “business-as-usual” classes. On average, students in classes with the resources increased their scores on a content knowledge assessment by 34% compared to 4% for those in classes taught without the resources. Students in U.S. History Collection classes developed stronger historical thinking skills compared to “business-as-usual” classes. Students in classes with the resources had a 27% improvement in historical thinking skills compared to 8% in classes without the resources.

Áreas y palabras clave

Cómo citar (APA 7)

Littenberg-Tobias, J., Borowiec, K., & Jordan, K. (2023). The U.S. History Collection Impact Study: Final Report. https://doi.org/10.35542/osf.io/6kuxm