The American Yawp

The American Yawp constructs a coherent and accessible narrative from all the best of recent historical scholarship. Without losing sight of politics and power, it incorporates transnational perspectives, integrates diverse voices, recovers narratives of resistance, and explores the complex process of cultural creation. It looks for America in crowded slave cabins, bustling markets, congested tenements, and marbled halls. It navigates between maternity wards, prisons, streets, bars, and boardrooms. Whitman’s America, like ours, cut across the narrow boundaries that strangle many narratives. Balancing academic rigor with popular readability, The American Yawp offers a multi-layered, democratic alternative to the American past.

Material Type: Textbook

BranchED OER Template

This template has been created by Branch Alliance for Educator Diversity to facilitate the development of OER as instructional materials for teacher education classes.Within this resource are instructions, templates, and examples for using this template to create your own unit(s) for your own classes. 

Material Type: Module

Author: Aubree Evans

Fundamentals of Social Research

A social/behavioral science research methods text appropriate for a first course. The focus is on writing and using the APA Style.

Material Type: Textbook

Author: Adam J. McKee

Research Methods for the Social Sciences

Word Count: 70166 (Note: This resource's metadata has been created automatically by reformatting and/or combining the information that the author initially provided as part of a bulk import process.)

Material Type: Textbook

Authors: Bill Pelz, Herkimer County Community College

A quick, free, somewhat easy-to-read introduction to empirical social science research methods

A free, brief textbook to introduce students to the core concepts of empirical social science research methods, available in PDF (main download link below) and EPUB (additional file below). This textbook has been used as the main textbook in an undergraduate social science research methods course (supplemented by many in-class exercises and research reports) and as the basis of a review in preparation for graduate-level study in research methods and program evaluation. Contents: (1) Identifying the research question (and an aside about theory); (2) Conceptualizing and operationalizing (and sometimes hypothesizing); (3) Data collection structured by formal research designs; (3.1) Sampling; (3.2) Data collection methods; (3.3) Formal research designs; (4) Data analysis; (5) Generalizing and theorizing; (6) Evaluating research: Validity and reliability; (7) Research ethics; (8) Appendix A: More research designs; (9) Appendix B: Elaboration modeling; (10) Appendix C: Research Methods Glossary. A note to instructors: If you use this text in any way, whether as the primary text, a supplemental text, or a recommended resource, I ask only two small favors: (1) When you make it available to students, please always include a link back to the text’s download site, https://scholar.utc.edu/oer/1/. While you are free to download and distribute the text intact under the Creative Commons 4.0 license, my preference is that you point students to this website to download it themselves. Seeing the download numbers tick up is a treat, and I plan to add additional appendices over time, so the download file will be updated occasionally. (2) Please send me a quick email at Christopher-Horne@utc.edu letting me know you’re using it. I certainly welcome your feedback as well. Thank you, and best wishes for successful research methods instruction.

Material Type: Textbook

Author: Christopher S. Horne

Statistics for the Social Sciences

Word Count: 145555 (Note: This resource's metadata has been created automatically by reformatting and/or combining the information that the author initially provided as part of a bulk import process.)

Material Type: Textbook

Author: Bill Pelz

Graduate research methods in social work: a project based approach

We designed our book to help graduate social work students through every step of the research process, from conceptualization to dissemination. Our textbook centers cultural humility, information literacy, pragmatism, and an equal emphasis on quantitative and qualitative methods. It includes extensive content on literature reviews, cultural bias and respectfulness, and qualitative methods, in contrast to traditionally used commercial textbooks in social work research.

Material Type: Textbook

Authors: Cory Cummings, Kate Agnelli, Matt DeCarlo

Writing Commons: The encyclopedia for writers, researchers, and knowledge workers

Writing Commons is an encyclopedia for writers, speakers, and knowledge workers. Since 2008, we have published original articles on topics of interest to writers, speakers, and knowledge workers. Over 11 million students and teachers worldwide use Writing Commons for help with their college-level coursework in academic, workplace writing, STEM writing. Writing Commons serves as the required writing textbook for students in composition, professional and technical writing, workplace writing, business writing, fiction writing, and poetry writing courses. Beyond the classroom, Writing Commons is the go to source for professionals in workplace writing settings.

Material Type: Textbook

Author: Joseph Moxley

Teacher's guide to using literature to promote inclusion of people with disabilities

The Teacher’s Guide to Using Literature to Promote Inclusion of People with Disabilities has been designed to assist teachers who wish to use literature to promote inclusion of people with disabilities in all aspects of life. The Guide consists of two parts. Part 1 is a rubric for evaluating how short stories, books, poems, TV programs, movies, digital media, and other forms of literature portray characters with disabilities. Part 2 of the Teacher’s Guide to Using Literature to Promote Inclusion of People with Disabilities is a curriculum guide with learning objectives, lesson activities, and strategies for outcome evaluation. The curriculum guide is a resource for teachers who wish to design lessons using literature to teach about disabilities.

Material Type: Lesson Plan, Teaching/Learning Strategy

Author: Bruce Menchetti

Figurative language study using the poetry of Emma Bell Miles and Henry David Thoreau lesson plan and workbooks

These lesson plans and materials are designed for high school students, especially 9th and 10th graders. The goals of these lessons are for students to review and learn more about figurative language devices, to compare and contrast poetry from different authors, and understand point of view in order to see that authors have different perspectives in their works. This lesson plan unit covers six different poems from local Emma Bell Miles and famous Henry Thoreau. Each poem has a video, presentation, and handout to accompany it. The lesson plan has been divided into two 50 minute class periods. The first class period is designed to introduce the students to the poems and authors using the various materials. The second class period is designed to cover point of view according to Miles and Thoreau and ask the students to compare and contrast the authors’ perspectives and experiences.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Primary Source

Author: Alexandra Boggs

Point of view study using the poetry of Emma Bell Miles and Henry David Thoreau lesson plan

This lesson plan is meant to be a follow up to lesson plan one pertaining to Emma Bell Miles’ and Thoreau’s poetry. This lesson is meant to focus on the authorial Point of View that comes through in these author’s poetry. This lesson also discusses different literary periods from the times of these authors. This lesson plan is meant to follow the structure of using the author background video, the point of view video, and then the handout. A good follow up would be giving the students a journal prompt to write about and expand on one of the topics from the handout. A longer project could be created where students present on one of the topics from the handout.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan, Primary Source

Author: Alexandra Boggs

Shaping Cultural Understanding through pre-Columbian Artistic Heritage and Modeling Techniques learning module

Students will learn about the process of making pre-Columbian ceramics and the history surrounding the collection that this lesson plan is based on. Students will also create their ceramics which will bridge the gap between basic understanding while incorporating a hands-on activity. The purpose of this lesson is to teach the students about a different culture that they would have otherwise not been exposed to at a young age. By examining pre-Columbian ceramics and creating their own ceramics, students will develop skills on how to appreciate and better understand the traditions of cultures besides their own while learning about fields of study that may be of interest to them in the future.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lecture Notes, Primary Source

Author: Mallory Crook

Effects of federal policies concerning Native Americans

Instructional materials on local history topics developed by students at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga for use in secondary education classrooms. Students will examine federal documents and local artifacts to determine the effects of federal policies on Native Americans, particularly the Cherokee. The purpose of the lesson is to build upon students’ prior knowledge of analyzing primary sources, Native American History, and Chattanooga history.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lecture Notes, Primary Source

Author: Dockery Annie

Using local primary sources to explore the impact of inventions and innovations of the Industrial Revolution : part I

Instructional materials on local history topics developed by students at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga for use in secondary education classrooms. This is part one of a two-day lesson plan which covers the impact of the major inventors and innovators of the Industrial Revolution. The purpose of this lesson is to build upon students’ prior knowledge of analyzing primary sources, the Industrial Revolution, and Chattanooga history. Using primary sources, students will identify major figures of the Industrial Revolution and describe their impact on Chattanooga and United States history.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Author: Dockery Annie

Using local primary sources to explore the impact of inventions and innovations of the Industrial Revolution : part II

Instructional materials on local history topics developed by students at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga for use in secondary education classrooms. This is part two of a two-day lesson plan which covers the impact of the major inventors and innovators of the Industrial Revolution. The purpose of this lesson is to build upon students’ prior knowledge of analyzing primary sources, the Industrial Revolution, and Chattanooga history. Using primary sources, students will identify major figures of the Industrial Revolution and describe their impact on Chattanooga and United States history.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan

Author: Dockery Annie

Using local primary sources to explore the movement of people from rural to urban areas

Instructional materials on local history topics developed by students at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga for use in secondary education classrooms. The purpose of this lesson is to build upon students’ prior knowledge of analyzing primary sources, the Industrial Revolution, and Chattanooga history. Students will learn to identify major industrial centers in America and use primary sources to determine causes of rural to urban migration during the industrial revolution, using Chattanooga as a case study. By the end of the case study, students should be able to describe how industrialization influenced the movement of people from rural to urban areas. This lesson will also serve to encourage critical literacy and engagement with the community.

Material Type: Lesson Plan, Primary Source

Author: Dockery Annie

Using local primary sources to study school desegregation in Chattanooga lesson plan and workbook

Instructional materials on local history topics developed by students at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga for use in secondary education classrooms. This lesson plan examines school desegregation in Chattanooga after the Brown v. Board of Education decision. The purpose of this lesson is for students to gain an understanding of Chattanooga’s complex and prolonged process of school desegregation through reading critically and analyzing primary sources. Students will develop the skills necessary to analyze primary sources and synthesize different perspectives as well as link them to other course materials.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan, Primary Source

Author: Tiarra Hill

Using local primary source to explore major milestones of desegregation and the integration of the University of Chattanooga lesson plan and workbook

Instructional materials on local history topics developed by students at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga for use in secondary education classrooms. This is a one-day 60-minute lesson plan that covers the impact of integration at a local level by focusing on the decision and responses to desegregate the University of Chattanooga. The purpose of this lesson is to expand students’ knowledge of Chattanooga’s history through analysis of primary sources. Students will identify major milestones of post-secondary institutional desegregation and describe the impact it had on Chattanooga and its university community in the 100 years following the ratification of the Emancipation Proclamation. Ninth grade students will work together to examine the primary source excerpts in order to understand desegregation of the University of Chattanooga as a process. This understanding will allow students to more fully grasp the necessity of action to attain implementation. Students will develop an understanding of how cooperation on varied levels and involvement from individuals and groups with diverse interests result in the attainment of a desired goal. Additionally, having access to primary sources will help students learn to deconstruct different arguments in favor of and opposed to integration. This primary source analysis will also illustrate how multi-faceted a source can be. Students will learn how to mine information, while also appreciating that primary sources can be ambiguous.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan, Primary Source

Authors: Adams Jhedienne, Caitlin King, Jhedienne Adams, Kiandra Franklin

The campus library: supporting research and scholarship since 1886

Material created for an exhibition curated by the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Special Collections. Since 1886, there has been a library serving the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga campus and metropolitan area. As the campus has grown and changed over the years, so too has the library, responding to the needs of the university. Although many of the library resources available to current students, faculty, staff, and community members look different than those of years past, this exhibition celebrates the library’s commitment to supporting information discovery and providing infrastructure for learning that have been a part of its mission from day one.

Material Type: Diagram/Illustration

Ancient Latin American objects in the archive: selections from the George and Louise Patten collection of Salem Hyde cultural artifacts at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Early in the Spring 2020 semester, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga students in my Ancient to Modern Latin American Visual Culture Art History course embarked upon an intensive first-hand visual analysis and research project that involved working directly with original artifacts from Ancient Latin America housed within the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Library’s Special Collections. This unique opportunity and the publication of their findings were made possible thanks to the generous support and assistance of Special Collections Director Carolyn Runyon and her dedicated staff. By examining the wide array of Pre-Columbian objects in the George and Louise Patten Salem Hyde Papers and Cultural Artifacts Collection, these upper division students formed small research groups dedicated to specific artifact types, such as human figurines, animal figurines, tools and lithics, vessels, anthropomorphic ceramics, replicas, and sherds. They carefully recorded their original observations of their selected objects of study in written field notes, photographs, and drawings. Later, they compared their initial observations with preliminary collection data developed independently by Archaeology students of Dr. Andrew Workinger, leading to further questions and insights surrounding these extraordinary pieces predominantly from pre-contact indigenous cultures of the Central and Intermediate regions of Latin America that today comprise Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama and Colombia. Building upon their analysis, the Art History student research groups then re-examined their selected artifacts through analytical frameworks focused on Gender and the Body, Color, Pattern and Materiality, Spirituality and the Object, Form and Function, and Identity and Representation. In presenting their findings to their peers, students received feedback that allowed them to refine their analysis and develop the original individual and group catalog essays that comprise this exhibition publication. Their research sheds further light on the extraordinary value and diversity of the ancient artifacts of Latin America that uniquely form part of UTC’s Special Collections, as well as the innovative power of interdisciplinary research and collaboration.

Material Type: Diagram/Illustration, Primary Source

Author: Olivia Wolf