Advanced Placement American History in 3-D

The purpose of this project is to create an online collection of visual works that will enable high school teachers to supplement their instruction of AP American history as well as local history in Spartanburg, SC. We are grateful for this grant from the Arthur Vining Davis Foundation and believe that this project will be a credit to their generosity. It is a commonly acknowledge fact in pedagogy today that visual stimulation enhances learning and makes it more enjoyable. Art can introduce social studies, literature, civics, and even science and math in an immediate, tangible way. In AP American History, students can develop a deeper understanding of history and our shared human through visual works of art. As more and more teachers are now utilizing visual technology in the classroom, there is exponentially greater demand for visual illustrations of historical themes. Yet, the supply of such material has not kept up with the demand. Teachers often complain that they must scavenge the Internet for works of art, political cartoons, or other media in order to prepare for class. The advantage of this project is to collect this kind of material in a single website complete with lesson plans and an historical narrative. We therefore hope that our project will not only prove to be of great benefit to AP American history teachers, but a model for the development of similar sites for other academic fields