Teaching Holocaust and Human Behavior

Help students wrestle with the profound moral questions raised by the study of the Holocaust and foster their skills in civic engagement, ethical reasoning, critical thinking, and empathy — all of which are necessary for sustaining democracy.

In this online seminar —featuring Holocaust and Human Behavior—teachers will:

1. Learn current scholarship on the history of the Holocaust and new research focused on human behavior, group dynamics, and bias
2. Learn a new way of structuring curriculum to help students connect history to their own lives and the choices they make
3. Engage with classroom-ready multimedia resources and learn how to build a customized unit that meets your curriculum objectives
4. Discover new teaching strategies that help students interrogate text, think critically, and discuss controversial issues respectfully
5. Increase their ability to facilitate respectful classroom discussions on difficult issues such as racism, antisemitism, and other forms of exclusion in a way that invites personal reflection and critical analysis

Taking place over four days, this Facing History & Ourselves seminar offers a real-time, interactive online classroom where participants will connect in facilitated whole- and small-group sessions. Daniel Ottenheimer, a second-generation descendant of Holocaust survivors, will join for a live session focusing on memory and legacy.

Register here.

Who should take this seminar: 7th–12th grade US history, humanities, and English language arts teachers and curriculum specialists

Cost: There is a non-refundable $50 registration fee due once your application has been accepted. The event fee for this seminar has been waived thanks to generous funding from Facing History and Ourselves donors and partner organizations.

Schedule: Monday, August 2 – Thursday, August 5, 2021

• Monday, August 2: 10:30 AM – 3:30 PM ET
• Tuesday, August 3: 10:30 AM – 3:30 PM ET
• Wednesday, August 4: 10:30 AM – 3:30 PM ET
• Thursday, August 5: 10:30 AM – 3:30 PM ET

Time Commitment: Approximately 4.5 hours per day (plus some breaks). There is a pre-work module to complete before the seminar that is approximately 2 hours in length.

Format: Facilitated Zoom meetings with workshop materials in Canvas. You must have a laptop or PC to participate in Canvas sessions.

Certificate of Completion: Awarded upon successful completion of the seminar for 20 professional development hours. Requirements for professional development hours vary by state. It is the educator's responsibility to ensure that they are meeting the requirements of their state. If you are an educator based in New York, after taking this course you are eligible for 20 CTLE hours. If you are an educator based in Illinois, after taking this course you are eligible for up to twenty clock hours. Please contact support@facinghistory.org to learn more about CTLE or clock hours.