Meet Kim, one of the creators of Khan Academy's AP US History lessons
About this video
Kim, one of the creators of Khan Academy's AP US History lessons, explains how a team of experienced history teachers writes and edits the content so it meets AP requirements. She also explains the team's goal of making history approachable, enthusiastic and fun rather than like reading a textbook.
You'll be able to
- describe who creates Khan Academy's AP US History content and how it is checked.
- explain why teachers can trust the content to cover AP learning objectives.
- explain why the Gilded Age is described as having a 'sarcastic name'.
Key words
- AP requirements
- The learning objectives students need to master for the Advanced Placement exam.
- misconception
- A common belief that is actually wrong, such as thinking people in this period believed the world was flat.
- Gilded Age
- An era of American history whose name suggests a thin layer of gold covering something less shiny underneath.
Transcript
- I have been working on the US history content here for more than two years now. And we have a team of experts who've been in the classroom for many years, who have advanced degrees in US history, who really rigorously write, tape, and edit each other's work.
And I think it would be kind of, I would judge it as like a day's worth of class. Everything that we've done on the Khan Academy website meets the AP requirements. So teachers can feel confident that when they send their students to watch a video or read an article or practice with an exercise on Khan Academy, that students are taking away the key learning objectives that they should get for the AP exam.
- [Instructor] It's a frequent misconception that people in this time period thought that the world was flat.
- We really wanted to make this material approachable and fun. And so throughout, I think, students will see a real enthusiasm for the material and a sense of humor, so that it's not just reading a history textbook.
- [Instructor] So I've brought you here to talk about the Gilded Age, which is one of my favorite eras of American history.
- [Man] Because everything was great and covered in gold?
- It's really interacting with some of the big questions of history, and having an opportunity to explore those with enthusiasm.
- [Instructor] No, because it is the only era of American history I can think of that has a sarcastic name. (man laughs)
- Because it is fun. We hope to give students that sense that history is not a boring subject. It's really fun.
Video © Khan Academy, used under CC BY-NC-SA. Watch on Khan Academy. Puzzicle is not affiliated with Khan Academy.