A History Lab Environment in the Classroom Brings the Standards to Life

Abstract

In the second article in this issue of Middle School Journal (pp. 11-16), we address the gap between the spirit of the national history standards and what now occurring in middle grades classrooms constrained by state standards and the No Child Left Behind policy. We suggest that creating a lab-like classroom environment to promote historical inquiry offers one means to close that gap. In this article, we present the characteristics of a history lab, three case examples of such learning environments, and reaction to the questions posed in the following article. In an attempt to revitalize the principles originally outlined in the Bradley Commission reports, the National Council for History Education (NCHE) (2004) is pressing for all teachers to be given the chance to offer the sort of history that only a minority have been lucky enough to offer. Several of the principles outlined by NCHE represent essential ingredients for a history lab, many of which complement characteristics of a successful middle school as identified by the National Middle School Association's This We Believe: Successful Schools for Young Adolescents (2003) position paper. These NCHE principles are: