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1. Continuing to think through my objectives for my "backwards survey course" using tips from Wiggins & McTighe.
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2. (By the way, if I could tweet all of _Understanding by Design_, I would. But since I can't, check it out: amazon.com/Understanding-Design-Expanded-Grant-Wiggins/dp/0131950843/)
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3. Thinking today about what Wiggins & McTighe call the "essential questions" of a course that guide students t/w biggest ideas.
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4. These are the Big Questions that help guide students towards the desired "understandings" that teachers most want to endure.
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5. So I'm trying to articulate those questions for my "U.S. History, 1848 to the Present" course, described here: wcm1.web.rice.edu/backwards-survey.html
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6. Here are a few: "How can stories about the past illuminate present-day problems?"
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7. "Does studying the past help us to avoid repeating past mistakes?"
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8. "Why are there multiple stories about the same past events, even when many facts about them are widely known?"
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9. "How are the stories historians tell about the past different from stories told or popularized outside the discipline of history?"
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10. "Do institutions, laws, & decisions dating from 1848 still affect how Americans live & think? Which have the most enduring impact?"
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11. "Has the history of the United States since 1848 primarily been one of steady progress?"