Press Release
November 5, 2018
Contact: Steve Hawkins
Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma Historical Society
Office: 405-522-0754
shawkins@okhistory.org
www.okhistory.org/historycenter
Oklahoma History Center Announces Partnership with Edmond Public Schools
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma History Center (OHC) will partner with the Edmond Public School system to provide professional development training in the use of primary sources in research and inquiry. This partnership is made possible through a grant awarded to the Edmond Public Schools by the Oklahoma Department of Education as part of its Champions of Excellence program. The training will take place at specified locations in the Edmond Public Schools district and will utilize museum educators and archivists to train 153 teachers on social study concepts focusing on Oklahoma and United States history examples. The training will be scheduled over three days in November 2018.
A primary source is an artifact, document, diary, manuscript, autobiography, recording or any other source of information that was created during the time under examination. Using a primary source as the basis of research adds to the validity of the study because the source reflects the attitudes, economic conditions, political points of view and social situations of the time. Secondary sources—biographies, books and commentaries—and tertiary sources—encyclopedias, almanacs, dictionaries, and indexes—may provide a certain amount of information, but should never be used as the basis or foundation of the research. The partnership between the OHC and Edmond Public Schools will assist curriculum educators in determining the difference between those source values and, in turn, aid in class instruction.
In addition to educator instruction, the OHC will provide its History Alive Outreach Program to all 17 elementary schools in the Edmond Public Schools district. Based on primary source research, living history interpreters will come to the classroom and bring history to life for all students, covering topics from American colonial days to World War II. An estimated 12,461 students will be impacted by this program.
The Oklahoma History Center is a division of the Oklahoma Historical Society and is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, National Archives and is an accredited member of the American Alliance of Museums. The mission of the Oklahoma Historical Society is to collect, preserve and share the history and culture of the state of Oklahoma and its people. Founded in 1893 by members of the Territorial Press Association, the OHS maintains museums, historic sites and affiliates across the state. Through its research archives, exhibits, educational programs and publications the OHS chronicles the rich history of Oklahoma. For more information about the OHS, please visit www.okhistory.org.
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