THATClass
The Humanities And Technology (THAT) Class is a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational outreach organization based in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. THATClass started with partnerships among teachers, students, local archives and community experts, and a question:
"What if we replaced the textbook curriculum with archival materials?"
THAT led to authentic historical work, with high school students framing questions about stories forgotten, researching in archives, and using new digital tools to share their findings at a professional historical studies conference. Our efforts include but are not limited to:
"What if we replaced the textbook curriculum with archival materials?"
THAT led to authentic historical work, with high school students framing questions about stories forgotten, researching in archives, and using new digital tools to share their findings at a professional historical studies conference. Our efforts include but are not limited to:
Professional Development
- Incorporating Project-Based Learning (from planning to execution)
- Integrating your local archive into the classroom
- Identifying and developing community partnership and problem-based learning opportunities
- Building projects around digital archives and remote collaboration
- Technology Use in the Humanities
- Development in core practices for source analysis, question formulation, and feedback processes and how they can be paired for effective support of student researchers
Project Design Support
Want to design a project that engages learners or need honest feedback on an existing project or program? We can help. We have started projects from scratch and helped midstream projects recalibrate for greater engagement, depth, and skill development. Send us a line if you would like to have an initial conversation about what you want to achieve and how we might help.
Other Consultation
As outlined in Our Work, we have done a range of project design, presentation, professional development workshops, and consulting. We are open to exploring how those past experiences might inform your efforts. We are also open to fresh ideas that we could play a role in advancing.
Biographies of Directors
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Patrick Cronin has over a decade of experience teaching in high schools and now teaches undergraduate courses about discovering archives in Washington, D.C. His use of primary sources in classrooms began with his participation in two Teaching American History federal grant programs, each lasting three years. He was a humanities teacher at the first high school in New Mexico built specifically for project-based learning (PBL) during its inaugural year. He has worked as a developer of PBL curriculum for the New Tech Network , as an evaluator for the Smithsonian Institution’s Community of Gardens Project, and as an educational technology consultant for PBS. Patrick is a proud father of four children.
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As Co-Founder/Director of THATClass and a classroom teacher, most recently at the American School of Paris, Thomas Neville facilitates student-driven projects pairing archives and technology. He grew interested in local and public history at West Chester University and as a research fellow at Temple University’s Urban Archives. After teaching in the DC area he pursued an Ed.M at Harvard where he cofounded Hack the Dissertation, an attempt to reimagine the form and purpose of academic work. His subsequent teaching experimented with archives-based curriculum as a substitute for a textbook and testing model. His students presented at the 2013 DC Historical Studies Conference. Neville has consulted for MapStory, Ford's Theatre, and the Smithsonian. His work at ASP was featured in Mind/Shift, Edutopia, and the Buck Institute. He has received fellowships in archival research and digital mapping and formally presented on education, technology, and history, including a presentation/performance charting the evolution of banjo and fiddle music in America at the inaugural Old Time and Bluegrass festival in Paris, France.