The 2024 Presidential Election will undoubtedly be debated and analyzed by political scientists and historians for the foreseeable future. In the days immediately following November 5th when students asked me for my thoughts on the election results I resorted to humor: it hadn’t been long enough for me to comment on the election results. As a historian I will need at least twenty to thirty years to mull it over, examine the sources, and draw conclusions. And while I do believe that it will be decades until historians have a better understanding of how the election played out, the truth is that I did not want to engage in conversation with my students about the election results so close to the end of a volatile campaign.   Remaining neutral and unbiased when discussing difficult topics is a constant challenge in history education. I’ve addressed this topic in previous blogs and have encouraged faculty to keep the focus on civil discourse, which many public observers argue has significantly decreased in 21st-century presidential campaigns. As historians the presentation of information through evidence in the form of primary and secondary sources are critical to our field’s credibility and our ability to connect today’s students to the challenging lessons of our national past. But what if things are happening so fast that we don’t have time to be reflective? In other words, what do we do when we, the educator, feel overwhelmed by current events?    Election-related issues have inevitably leaked into our class discussions, especially as nominations for cabinet positions headline many news outlets. I’ve found that the best way to incorporate discussion of current events is to suggest that students do their own deep dives into issues of interest using the skills they are developing in class. Speculation about mass deportations of foreign-born workers, for example, leads to questions about historical immigration policies, detainment, and the use of the US military in World War II-era internment of Japanese-Americans. Discussions of rights for LGBTQ+ people opens avenues for discussion of the historical origins of civil rights. My advice to students is to engage in the research themselves so that they can develop their own educated opinions: in other words, rather than doom-scrolling, use the same library resources we are utilizing for our in-class research projects to examine the issues of personal concern.   As educators we have to constantly remind ourselves that our students come from a myriad of socio-economic backgrounds. We will never be in a classroom in which every student shares our political beliefs and it’s not our role to convince them that our perspective is the “right” one. The best we can do is to offer them the limitless tools of education: critical thinking, research, and reading skills so that they can continuously question the information that they are bombarded by each day and look for sources that provide them with the kind of evidence we use in history classes. Remind them that they have the ability to be knowledgeable voters rather than passive bystanders.    How are you talking with students about the 2024 Presidential Election? Please share!  ... View more

A short video to introduce/reintroduce myself to the Macmillan Community. I would love to hear from readers about topics of interests. What would you like to discuss with fellow historians and teachers? Respond here by commenting on this blog or email me: suzannekmccormack@gmail.com   Click here! https://youtu.be/VasAgXcpICw?si=SKt7joeVbp5W-5wl     ... View more

How is everyone feeling as we approach the Presidential Election? Are your students talking about the candidates or the information that is flooding their social media feeds?   My students have been noticeably quiet over the last few weeks. I think many of us are in a state of pre-election fatigue: overwhelmed by information, inundated with requests for donations, tiring of campaign advertisements. No doubt for some of my students there is a growing sense of concern for the election's outcome. Teaching at a Hispanic Serving Institution provides me with the opportunity to regularly interact with students whose familial origins stem from all parts of Latin America and the Caribbean. The increasingly anti-immigrant rhetoric that has been a hallmark of this election cycle is undoubtedly contributing to a sense of fear and uncertainty in the minds of some of my students.    This week I'm offering students a safe environment to express their pre-election concerns. I've tried to make our history classroom a space for open conversation, even about uncomfortable topics. As we enter these final days of the 2024 campaign I hope my students will offer their insights about the current state of political affairs so that I -- a Gen X'er -- can have a better understanding of how today's generation of college students are responding to the never-ending political rhetoric. I'm hopeful that our conversations about historical context are helping the students to better understand events as they unfold around them.    And, finally, a call for conversation -- I'm particularly interested in hearing from history teachers about how/if they will address the Trump Madison Square Garden rally in class this week. Thoughts? Share here in the comments or email me at suzannekmccormack@gmail.com ... View more

Following the Harris/Trump presidential debate on September 10th I hoped to chat with my students about what they saw, heard and felt after listening to the candidates. Few, unfortunately, had actually watched the debate. What was more common was for students to share what they had learned about the debate from social media. The conversation was therefore about what other people posted about the debate. And consequently, our “discussion” was a sharing of which snippets of the debate were trending as memes.   By now we recognize that social media has a huge impact on our lives as educators and human beings. As a historian I’m a bit nostalgic for the days when everyone watched the debate to learn about the candidates. I can’t help but wonder if the televised presidential debate format that was so consequential in previous decades is no longer relevant for Gen Z. For the current generation of college students it’s as if the “debate” is happening hourly on their social media feeds. From listening to my students’ views, I have to wonder if that barrage of information and mis-information may, in fact, lend to their feelings of apathy toward the political process. Is this trend reversible? Not likely.   More obvious is that my students are paying attention to celebrity endorsements. Female students specifically pointed to the Taylor Swift endorsement of Kamala Harris as an interesting development in the days following the debate. One student was able to give us exact figures on how many people had registered to vote within 24 hours of Swift’s Instagram post. And while it is sometimes difficult to know how students really feel when discussing political topics with classmates, the fact that several brought up the Swift endorsement leads me to believe that it caught their attention in a way that endorsements from well-known Republican politicians simply did not.   As we approach the October 1st debate between the candidates for vice president, how can we best prepare our students to be critical observers? And, what about voting? Are faculty talking about it with students? Do you feel comfortable encouraging students to vote? Or is the topic off-limits? With just six weeks until the general election, what’s happening in your classroom? Please share! Comment here or email me at suzannekmccormack@gmail.com ... View more

In “Facing My Fears of AI” (June 2024) I blogged about my desire to find ways to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into my classroom assignments in a way that will enable students to learn to use new technological innovations, while also respecting academic integrity. While still a work-in-progress, I plan to share the ups and downs of my experiences as they develop.   In my summer courses I assigned research projects that required the use of library-based databases and materials. Knowing that students are increasingly likely to use AI, even when discouraged or even prohibited, my assignment instructions included the following statement: “Students should submit their own original work and cite all sources using MLA format. While use of AI is discouraged, any use of artificial intelligence should be cited as a source.”     We discussed as a class what it meant to submit original work and the importance of using each assignment in our introductory-level history course as a stepping stone to the challenges that will come later in their college careers. The vast majority of students followed my instructions and submitted work that was consistent with that of typical first-year students at my college. Several students came to me for help or consulted our college librarian outside of class for additional assistance.    Unfortunately, 10% of the students submitted work that was AI-generated and none of those submissions cited any AI-tool as a source per my instructions. I ran all student submissions through an AI and plagiarism detector and in each case it was determined that the work was 90% or more AI-written.    I reached out to each of the students to discuss the use of unattributed material as an academic integrity issue. Approximately half of the students did not respond to my email and accepted a zero for the assignment with no discussion. The other half denied any use of AI. When confronted with a detailed report from the detection tool, however, they changed their stories. They admitted to having used AI tools such as Grammarly and Brainly, they said, but not software that “created content.”    I learned a valuable, if not confusing, lesson from this experience: my students see a marked difference between tools such as Grammarly and Brainly, versus Chat GPT and the like. And so here is my quandary: is there harm in allowing the use of grammar-checking AI versus content-producing? Or, do they both create a product that is not the student’s original work?    My initial feeling was that grammar-checking tools can be helpful in “cleaning up” student work. In speaking with students, however, I realized that in a 3-4 page short essay they were accepting, without much thought, upwards of 30-40 suggested changes by Grammarly or Brainly. In other words: they were changing their entire paper based on suggestions from the AI tool.   As such, I’ve realized that either my instructions are going to need to be more specific or I need to re-evaluate my comfort level with grammar-corrective AI.    Some faculty reading this blog might ask: “I use Grammarly … why can’t my students?” This question is certainly valid. The difference for me, however, is that many of my students struggle with grammar. A tool that corrects their errors without requiring them to understand the fundamentals behind the mistakes is, in my view, unlikely to progress their writing skills.   I’d love to hear from others in the Macmillan Community about AI policies: how are yours evolving with new technology and new challenges? Please share.   ... View more

Last week I participated in the "Back to School with Achieve" webinar to learn about new tools available for students and faculty through Achieve as well as share my experience using the Achieve "Goal Setting & Reflection Surveys." The webinar, linked above, includes suggestions about how to start the semester off strong by gauging students' concerns about their academic performance, particularly the challenges they anticipate as they start a new semester. Learning more about the students through the Achieve surveys can help faculty to better plan for student support throughout the semester.  Please watch the webinar and share questions/thoughts/concerns for the new academic year here in Macmillan Community!  ... View more

No matter who wins the Presidential Election in November, there is no doubt the events of July 2024 will be discussed and debated by historians and political pundits for decades to come. If the 2024 election ended tomorrow it would already be memorable.    I started writing this blog shortly after the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump took place on July 13th. In the two weeks since the horrific events in Butler, Pennsylvania, we have witnessed a sitting president drop out of the presidential race and the emergence of the vice president, a woman of color, as the presumptive nominee for the Democratic Party. Threads of sexism and racism have, predictably,  begun to infect the political discourse.   My reluctance to entertain any discussion of current events has only increased since 2016 and is firmly rooted in both the divisive nature of politics in the US today and social media’s role in worsening that divide. In the classroom political discussions can be civil, or they can devolve into anger and frustration that can carry over week to week as the students continue to meet in the classroom.    As future historians study the 2020 and 2024 presidential elections they will comb through volumes of video and print materials evidencing an unprecedented level of hate speech. When a Republican congressman called VP Kamala Harris a “DEI hire” earlier this week it appeared that the calls for a softening of rhetoric that followed the assassination attempt have been forgotten in favor of racially-charged politically divisive speech.    Barring total avoidance of conversation, how do we counter the chaos of the 2024 election in our classrooms? Here are three (simple) guiding principles to use in the next three months until Election Day.    Keep Discussion Brief – Taking 5 to 10 minutes at the start or end of class to discuss students’ observations of the political rhetoric can lead to greater understanding. Planning a start and end to the discussion is also helpful. I preface all political discussions with a simple: “let’s share observations rather than expressing personal viewpoints.” I ask the students what they’ve noticed: what is the rhetoric, what kinds of sources are they consulting, are they watching/listening to the news or has it become background in their daily lives as part of their social media feeds?    Explore Concepts and Ideas – Ask students if they understand the political conversations that are happening on television news, in print sources, and/or social media. As familiar as college faculty and administrators are with the acronym “DEI,” for example, many students do not know what the acronym stands for. When politicians use it as a slur the terminology only becomes more confusing. It’s up to us as teachers and historians to create an atmosphere in which students feel comfortable asking questions without being made to feel intellectually inferior or out of touch with current events.   Encourage Continuing Dialogue – Follow up with students at subsequent classes to provide an opportunity to offer new reflections that may have been percolating but were not expressed. This strategy is especially helpful for students who require more time to digest class discussion. Offering students the opportunity to submit questions about current events anonymously before class can also be a useful way to engage those who don’t feel comfortable speaking up in class.   As much as I would love to avoid all in-class political conversation for the next three months, it’s an impossible pursuit. My goal, instead, is to create a model for civil dialogue in the classroom that students can take with them into the rest of their daily experiences.   Suggestions? Please share!  ... View more

This week I'm sharing a presentation by Professor Erika Martinez about using artificial intelligence (AI) in the economic classroom, which has practical applications for history classes as well.   Recently I blogged about my need to come to terms with concerns about AI (see “Facing My Fears about AI”). Previously my worries about academic dishonesty have guided nearly all of my decision-making about AI. Professor Martinez’s presentation at Macmillan's TechEd has helped me to open my thinking to some new angles of consideration.   Tell me what you think!  AI for Educators_ Practical AI Applications (macmillanlearning.com) ... View more

It’s time to confront my fear of student use of artificial intelligence (AI). I realized this reality the first week of June while attending Macmillan’s 2024 TechEd where I heard from fellow Peer Advocates about their experiences bringing AI into the college classroom.   I have been admittedly reluctant to allow any student use of AI for the obvious reason: cheating. At the same time, I’ve avoided a zero-tolerance policy by reasoning that if students are going to use AI I want them to know how to properly cite it. My approach to AI has been to create assignments that require so many variants that AI use is exceedingly complicated and therefore, I reason, less attractive to students. As a result I’ve had only one case (that I’m sure of) in the last year where a student used AI instead of submitting their own original work.    Listening to my Peer Advocate colleagues at TechEd, however, made me question whether my approach has been short-sighted. If, for example, I am trying to help my students to be work-force ready, am I doing them a disservice by not allowing them some use of AI so that in an academic environment we can grapple with questions about appropriate and ethical uses? The history classroom, after all, is one of the best academic spaces in which to talk about sources. Do I need to start looking at AI as simply one more media source for consideration?    Part of my struggle with the use of AI in student writing has been my concern that a large percentage of my students do not have a strong grasp on basic grammar and writing skills. This reality is painfully obvious to me at the start of each semester when I ask students to introduce themselves in our class discussion board. Asking the students to write about themselves not only provides me information such as preferred pronouns, majors, and career goals, but also a sample of their skill level in regards to writing. I’ve had several students come across as articulate in class only to present significant academic deficits in their writing assignments. These no-stakes introductions alert me to students who require extra support for their writing assignments during the semester.    So what comes next? I have two plans for the summer to help move me from a place of fear and loathing of AI to one in which I better understand the role that the new technology may have in higher education.   First, along with more than 100 faculty at my college I will be participating in a summer read of Teaching with AI: A Practical Guide to a New Era of Human Learning (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2024). My college’s Center for Teaching Excellence supplied copies of the book at no charge to faculty interested in engaging in discussion of AI-related education during the 2024-25 academic year and I’m excited to hear my colleagues’ perspectives on the ideas presented by the authors when we return to campus in the fall.   Second, I plan to develop one low stakes AI-based assignment for my upper-level history students who undertake research projects during the semester. What that project will look like remains to be seen. Suggestions welcome! Drop a comment below or email me at: suzannekmccormack@gmail.com ... View more

My father passed away on May 1st. This blog will, therefore, be a bit indulgent as I want to share some stories about the most influential historian in my life.    My dad, Thomas Kelley, grew up just outside of Boston, Massachusetts, in a large Irish-Catholic family. His parents raised eight sons, all of whom served as altar boys at some point in their young lives. He studied history at Boston College in the early 1960s. I keep his History of Civilization textbooks in my office at home. Even before he passed away, I enjoyed thumbing through the texts and reading his hand-written notes in the margins – tiny windows into his life as a college student.   My dad enlisted in the Air Force upon graduation in 1966 – a choice that would keep him out of the draft and off the frontlines of combat but not immune to the long-term devastation of the war in Vietnam. As an air weapons controller he was unknowingly exposed to Agent Orange. Many, many years after his military deployments ended, the physical consequences of that service appeared, as it has for many Vietnam War-era veterans, in the form of Parkinson’s Disease, which he fought for the final twenty years of his life.    When I was a child my Dad taught history at a high school and continued to serve part-time in the military, which brought us as a family to Washington, DC, in the summers. We spent countless hours at the museums of the Smithsonian Institute and my favorite quickly became the National Museum of American History. I can’t remember any of the exhibits, just a general sense of enjoyment in learning the stories the museum shared with us, and listening to my Dad explain the historical events that were foreign to me as an elementary school student.   It wasn’t until I was in graduate school that I began to understand the role my Dad had played in the war in Vietnam and the impact the experience had on his life. Going through old boxes in the basement one weekend my Dad showed me a remnant of his time overseas – a small booklet he used for keeping track of his pay while stationed in Thailand. The year was 1970 and at the back of the book, in tiny letters, my Dad – then 26 years old – had written “Richard Nixon is a liar.” He shared with me that his unit conducted secret air operations over Laos, a neighboring nation of Vietnam that President Nixon swore was not being brought into the conflict. The short sentence, he said, was a reminder of the disconnect between his military orders and the president’s words – and a way to maintain some semblance of reality for himself through the difficult experience.   Two weeks after my Dad passed away we started summer session at my college. It was the first time in my career that I did not talk to my Dad before classes started about what I am teaching. That realization hit me hard as I entered the building on a gorgeous New England spring morning in May.    My Dad and I did not always agree on politics or our interpretations of historical events, but we always had lively conversations that pushed me to sharpen my arguments. When I started to teach I relied on his decades of secondary classroom experiences to help me find effective ways to deal with the challenges I faced. And, most importantly, I learned from my father that in a truly successful classroom the personal connection between the students and their teacher – including feelings of affirmation and belonging that can be cemented as academic content is transferred from teacher to student – are more significant and long-lasting than even the knowledge being taught. For this lesson, and many many others, I’m grateful.    ... View more

In March I had the good fortune to participate in this year’s American Association of Colleges & Universities Conference (AACU) on Diversity, Equity, and Student Success in Philadelphia, PA. Preparing for my roundtable discussion on “Diversifying the US History Survey” prodded me to think about what I’m currently doing in my courses, and encouraged some dialogue with students about what is/not working from their perspectives.   Often we as teachers are not the best judges of what our students require to be successful because we subconsciously lean on our own educational experiences when we develop expectations of our students’ needs. Thinking about diversity and inclusion in the college history classroom, therefore, requires us to reflect on our biases and open ourselves up to learning about topics that we might not have studied in graduate school to encourage our own growth, and our students'. In the United States history survey courses, inclusion demands that we expand the narrative beyond electoral wins and losses and look more deeply into how decision-making by leaders (local, state, and national) has impacted the diverse communities that together create our nation. Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in history education necessitates consideration not just of race and gender, but also economics and social class, particularly the way in which those in political power often utilize their advantages to the detriment of others.    After hearing from colleagues in states with anti-DEI legislation either passed or pending it struck me that at the heart of the movement is fear of the unknown – of people and ideologies that are different from those who for so long have had political and economic control. Historically there is nothing new about this kind of resistance. While I feel fortunate to teach in a so-called “blue state,” the angry sentiments of DEI resistance exist in every community, though their voices and the power they wield are stronger in some than others. As I listened to presentations at the AACU conference it was reaffirmed for me that what my students need most is a broad knowledge of our national past so they can better understand the current debates about DEI and place those debates within historical context. In other words, a student who knows nothing about the movement for civil rights in the United States will fail to understand the detrimental impact of anti-DEI legislation.    Yesterday students in my US History since 1877 class watched a segment of the classic documentary “Eyes on the Prize” as part of a larger discussion of school desegregation efforts in the 1950s/1960s. The community college where I teach has approximately 11% students who identify as black and/or African American, and is a federally- designated Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). Many of my students did not realize that segregated schools were a part of our national history. Having these conversations about the history of civil rights reminds us all that the playing field has never been equal and that there is considerable danger in political movements that seek to silence the very efforts that have moved us towards a more integrated society (with much work still left to do).   I would love to hear from Macmillan Community members about the challenges they are facing in their communities related to DEI. What kinds of resources are you as educators relying on to help students understand the centrality of diversity to our national history? And, what kinds of resources would be helpful as we navigate these challenging educational waters?    Please share by commenting here or emailing me at suzannekmccormack@gmail.com ... View more

Tagging on to my Macmillan Community colleague’s post “Recommendations for Black History Month” I’d like to share two web sites that I find particularly pertinent for educators in all disciplines as we continue to watch state legislatures and local school boards mercilessly target history education. No matter our politics, as educators we have a responsibility to our students to encourage critical thinking about both current events and historical topics. Here are two additional links for those who are seeking ideas, discussion, and resources. Both of these sites go beyond the scope of Black History Month to maintain up to date information year round:   Teaching History with Integrity – part of the American Historical Association’s multi-faceted efforts to counter-balance efforts against teaching all aspects of our national history. The site includes videos featuring historians describing the challenges educators are currently facing and why we as a society need to be honest with students even when the narrative is uncomfortable.   The Zinn Education Project provides lesson plans on topics not commonly found in textbooks, including this month’s focus on environmental racism. If you’re looking for resources to supplement discussions on race, gender, climate justice, imperialism and many other areas, this website is regularly updated and full of ideas for expanding conversation in your classrooms.   Other suggestions, please share!  ... View more

As Black History Month comes to a close, I think it's important that we remember that learning about Black history shouldn't be confined to the month of February; it is imperative that we continue to learn and understand the contributions Black Americans have made in the United States. Here is a list of great books and videos to learn more: Read Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, by Harriet A. Jacobs The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in an Age of Colorblindness, by Michelle Alexander Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison Beloved, by Toni Morrison  Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison The 1619 Project, by The New York Times Chocolate Me!, by Taye Diggs  Becoming, by Michelle Obama Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston Chasing Space: An Astronaut's Story of Grit, Grace, and Second Chances by Leland Melvin I am Perfectly Designed, by Karamo Brown 28 Days: Moments in Black History that Changed the World, by Charles R. Smith Jr.   The Dangers of Whitewashing Black History | David Ikard | TEDxNashville Talks to celebrate Black History Month BlacKkKlansman Freedom Riders Quincy ... View more

What was it really like to travel as a Black American during the era of Jim Crow laws and segregation? Award-winning journalist Alvin Hall and social justice trainer Janée Woods Weber hit the road to find out on Driving the Green Book, a living history podcast from Macmillan Podcasts. Over the course of 12 days and 2,021 miles, the two drove from Detroit to New Orleans collecting personal stories from Black Americans who used the historic Negro Motorist Green Book travel guide to navigate trips safely and with dignity, patronize Black-owned businesses, and come together in the face of institutionalized racism. Driving the Green Book sheds light on what has (and hasn't) changed for Black travelers since segregation and honors the stories of those who lived through the era, supported and uplifted each other, and fought for equality.  Listeners can also gain a deeper appreciation of the historic, but often forgotten, locations that helped Black Americans to travel safely across the United States with Driving the Green Book's custom Apple Maps Guide. They can also enjoy a playlist on Apple Music highlighting the songs that came out of the era, many of which were written in response to the injustices faced by Black Americans all over the country.  Educators can use the podcast and additional resources as supplemental tools in a variety of history courses to explain how the Negro Motorist Green Book was a seminal publication in the ongoing fight for racial and social justice. ... View more

Last summer I instituted open-notebook exams in my introductory-level history courses. Previously I had relied on traditional practices: a mix of essays and objective questions for which students had to be well-versed in a half-semester’s worth of material. I was, however, increasingly concerned about the low grades that students, especially those in their first-year, were earning on exams that required memorization. The fact that many of our current first-year students had at least some period of remote learning during COVID, during which it's possible they were not required to prepare for closed book/notes exams further encouraged me to try some alternative practices aimed at improving student outcomes.   My goal was to focus my students’ attention on note taking with the idea that this skill is one that can and is used in virtually every professional career. As I was writing this blog, for example, I unscientifically polled friends – a banker, a sales professional, and two personal trainers – all of whom confirmed that they take notes every day while they work. Sometimes on paper, but more often using cell phones or even napkins. As professionals they have learned that there are key stats/terms/ideas that they need to be able to reference at a later time and they acknowledge that their memory is often flawed. Notes trigger memory and, in the case of my students, I hope that their notes connect them to the discussions we had in class days/weeks after, which would enable more success on exams. [FYI: For more on the topic of linking professional skills to open-note exams, see Carol E. Holstead’s piece “In Praise of Open-Note Exams” in The Chronicle of Higher Education (5 September 2023)]   I’m now in my second full semester of open notebook exams with my US History I and II students. Each week I distribute a handout to guide student note-taking: key terms, images/maps from lecture, and sometimes definitions or references to place in the textbook that I think are particularly helpful. I also invite a professional from our college Tutoring Center to meet with the class during the first two weeks to offer support for note-taking skills/guidance.    Admittedly I have not yet done any statistical analysis of students’ test results, though I have witnessed first hand the reduction in stress level as we get closer to exams. I have also discovered that the open-notebook exams policy created an avenue for me to regularly address the importance of taking notes in class. This past week, for example, during a particularly complicated discussion about politics in the Progressive Era I noticed several students not taking notes. I took a few moments at the end of class to discuss with the class what specific information they felt was important from my lecture and what they had written down. I pointed out some details that I hoped they had recorded, and suggested that they share their notes with a classmate after our meeting to ensure that they were not missing any key information. Several students stayed after class to ask me questions and to clarify their notes.    This change from memory-based to notes-based exams has been small but so far meaningful. The greatest challenge for me, however, has been determining what kinds of questions work best for open-note exams. Doing some basic internet searches on open-notes exams has shown me that, like everything else in the field of education, there is no consensus on what works best with students. I would love to hear from colleagues in the Macmillan Community about what kinds of questions have worked best in open-notes exams.    Please share! ... View more