About H.S.I.

The Historical Scene Investigation Project (HSI) was

designed for social studies teachers who need a strong
pedagogical mechanism for bringing primary sources into
their classroom. With the advent and accessibility of the
internet, many libraries, universities and government
agencies are housing their historical documents online.
Simultaneously, there has been a push in K-12 history
education to give students experiences that more closely
resemble the work of a real historian. The National
Center for History in the Schools (NCHS) provides
standards challenging teachers to design experiences in
which students:

to raise questions and to Creators:

marshal solid evidence in
support of their answers Kathleen Owings Swan, PhD
to go beyond the facts Assistant Professor, Social
presented in their Studies Education
textbooks and examine the Department of Curriculum and
historical record for Instruction
themselves College of Education, University
to consult documents, of Kentucky
journals, diaries, kswan@uky.edu
artifacts, historic sites,
works of art, quantitative Mark Hofer, PhD
data, and other evidence Assistant Professor,Educational
from the past, and to do so Technology
imaginatively--taking into School of Education
account the historical College of William & Mary
context in which these mark.hofer@wm.edu
records were created and
comparing the multiple Contributors:
points of view of those on
the scene at the time David Locascio, PhD
(National Center for Assistant Professor
History in the Schools, Longwood University
1996, p. 14. Department of Education, Special
Education, & Social Work
Most social studies teachers locasciod@longwood.edu
accept these challenges but find
it difficult to find projects Kathi Kern, PhD
and experiences that are Associate Professor
accessible for their students.
Researching the "cybraries" of
the internet takes time, a
precious and scarce resource for
the typical social studies
teacher. While the Internet
provides access to Civil War
diaries, newspapers from the
1920's, images from the Jim Crow
south, and many other primary
sources, the sheer number of
possibilities is daunting. Even
the most sophisticated search
engines provide such a vast
number of "hits" that a
classroom teacher would find it
difficult to gather the
necessary resources to launch a
primary source
investigation/interpretation
activity. The HSI project was
developed for these teachers.
For more on the H.S.I. model, click here.
To view sample investigations, click here.
University of Kentucky
Department of History
kern@pop.uky.edu
David Hicks, PhD
Associate Professor
Virginia Tech University
Teacher Education
hicks@vt.edu
Julie Bray, MAT
Middle School Teacher
Toano Middle School
Toano, Virginia
BrayJ@wjcc.k12.va.us
Abrianna Nelson
High School Teacher