Home › News › 2012 Summer Institute in Historical Thinking: July 9-14, in Toronto
News story image

(Published on 13 October 2011)

2012 Summer Institute in Historical Thinking: July 9-14, in Toronto

We will be holding the next Summer Institute in Historical Thinking in Toronto, Ontario. The Institute is open to all educators in classrooms, museums, libraries and archives, and/or community and cultural centres. As well, we welcome curriculum consultants and ministry of education officials. The course can be applied for credit to a graduate education degree.

The Summer Institute is an intensive six-day immersion in historical thinking and history education, with mornings spent in lectures and group work, and afternoons spent at various museums and places of historical interest.

Professor Peter Seixas and other distinguished guests will facilitate the exploration of his six historical thinking concepts. Participants will create lessons and projects for use in the classroom, as well as assessment tools. We will also explore how the concepts can be incorporated into museum installations and online archival resources.

As in previous years, a number of bursaries will be provided by our partner, The History Education Network/Histoire et Éducation en Réseau, to facilitate the participation of educators in the institute. We are grateful for this ongoing partnership.

Contact the External Programs department at UBC for more information, http://eplt.educ.ubc.ca/events/2012-historical-thinking-project

Get Adobe Reader

Close

What is a Benchmark?

<p>John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising &amp; Marketing History,<br />Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections</p>

A surveyor cut a "benchmark" into a stone or a wall when measuring the altitude and/or level of a tract of land. A bracket called a "bench" was secured in the cut to mount the surveying equipment, and all subsequent measurements were made in reference to the position and height of that mark.

The term "benchmark" was first used around 1842 to refer to a standard of quality by which achievement may be measured.

The foundation documents available through the Benchmarks site attempt to help teachers establish standards for assessing student learning of the modes of thought that constitute historical thinking.

John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History,
Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections