English
Supporting educators — and their students — to examine the lessons of the past to inspire them to build a better future.
Echoes & Reflections provides professional learning opportunities and classroom content to equip educators for effective instruction of the Holocaust and resonant themes of today.
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Student and Teacher Learning Outcomes
Learning outcomes inform the design and delivery of Echoes & Reflections resources and activities for teachers and students. Evaluation efforts assess the degree to which the program is successfully meeting these outcomes, and contribute to an informed and continuous learning process.
TEACHERS WILL:
- Develop knowledge on major topics of the Holocaust.
- Develop knowledge on major themes related to antisemitism.
- Develop and apply pedagogical skills for teaching about the Holocaust.
- Gain knowledge of instructional strategies that can be applied across disciplinary fields.
- Develop the skills to use primary sources and testimony in the classroom.
- Access and use a variety of resources to teach about the Holocaust.
- Recognize the importance of teaching the human story in Holocaust education.
- Develop capacity to teach skills and values that are requisite for responsible participation in society, especially combating antisemitism and other forms of prejudice.
STUDENTS WILL:
- Develop knowledge and understanding of the Holocaust.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the concepts of bigotry, antisemitism, and prejudice and their effects on people in history and in the contemporary world.
- Recognize the relevance of the Holocaust to today’s world.
- Develop critical thinking skills, including synthesis, analysis, and evaluation of information.
- Develop and demonstrate a capacity for empathy.
- Demonstrate a willingness to act as responsible participants in society, especially against antisemitism and other forms of prejudice.
- Articulate the meaning testimonies have to their own personal experiences.
Monitoring & Evaluation – Select Findings
Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) of the program is managed by an independent team of researchers at USC Shoah Foundation, which works to assess the degree to which learning outcomes for educators and students are met, to monitor progress markers, and to assure quality of programs and resources.
Teachers and students who use Echoes & Reflections materials report large and small transformations based on their experience with the program. Data collected year over year confirms that through the combination of comprehensive, primary sources and testimony, training topics and teaching strategies taught by knowledgeable and passionate facilitators, Echoes & Reflections’ training provides the building blocks needed for educators to effectively teach their students about the Holocaust, antisemitism, and the impacts on history and the world today.
| 96% | of respondents indicated that the program was highly relevant to their teaching needs. |
In addition, teachers agreed that as a result of the program, they:
|
93% Increased knowledge about the Holocaust
and antisemitism |
91% Learned instructional
strategies to teach about the Holocaust |
90% Felt prepared to use Echoes &
Reflections in their classrooms |
97% Would recommend the program to a colleague
|
93% Increased knowledge about the Holocaust
and antisemitism
and antisemitism
91% Learned instructional
strategies to
teach about the Holocaust
strategies to
teach about the Holocaust
90% Felt prepared to use Echoes &
Reflections in
their classrooms
Reflections in
their classrooms
97% Would recommend the program to a colleague
The Monitoring and Evaluation team also conducts periodic classroom studies to follow the implementation of Echoes & Reflections lessons. These studies include pre- and post-surveys, focus groups, classroom observations, and teacher interviews. Findings from a 2016 internal evaluation study indicate that students participating in Echoes & Reflections lessons showed greater gains in stated learning outcomes than their counterparts not using Echoes & Reflections content.
Specifically, students learning with Echoes & Reflections:
| 1 | Learned more about the Holocaust as well as about prejudice, antisemitism, and bigotry than students who were taught a comparable lesson | 3 | Were significantly more likely to recognize that one person can make a difference against stereotyping and bias | |
| 2 | Showed notable increases on critical thinking and understanding of others from different backgrounds | 4 | Made personal connections to the stories of individuals who experienced the Holocaust, and the relevance to their own lives and larger society. |
| 1 | Learned more about the Holocaust as well as about prejudice, antisemitism, and bigotry than students who were taught a comparable lesson |
| 2 | Showed notable increases on critical thinking and understanding of others from different backgrounds |
| 3 | Were significantly more likely to recognize that one person can make a difference against stereotyping and bias |
| 4 | Made personal connections to the stories of individuals who experienced the Holocaust, and the relevance to their own lives and larger society. |
Contact Karen Kim, PhD, USC Shoah Foundation (kimkaren@usc.edu) for inquiries related to any of the reports and findings listed above.
Antisemitism Education Findings
In addition to resources and professional development offerings focused on the Holocaust, Echoes & Reflections also provides classroom lessons and comprehensive professional development focused on teaching about antisemitism today.
Educator Impact:
Even after some months have passed, teachers report gains in knowledge and skills through participation in professional learning to teach about antisemitism today.
| 92% Enhanced knowledge about the prevalence of antisemitism in the world today. | 92% Enhanced knowledge about the impact of contemporary antisemitism on individuals. | 96% Would recommend Echoes & Reflections’ contemporary antisemitism resources to other educators. |
92% Enhanced knowledge about the prevalence of antisemitism in the world today.
92% Enhanced knowledge about the impact of contemporary antisemitism on individuals.
96% Would recommend Echoes & Reflections’ contemporary antisemitism resources to other educators.
Additionally, when queried about students’ response to their learning about contemporary antisemitism with Echoes & Reflections, teachers share highly positive responses (good/excellent) for the following areas:
96%
Level of student engagement
|
99%
Students’ learning about antisemitism
|
97%
Engagement of students’ critical thinking skills
|
96%
Ability for students to learn how to respond to prejudice/hate
|
96%
Level of student engagement
99%
Students’ learning about antisemitism
97%
Engagement of students’ critical thinking skills
96%
Ability for students to learn how to respond to prejudice/hate
Contact Karen Kim, PhD, USC Shoah Foundation (kimkaren@usc.edu) for inquiries related to any of the reports and findings listed above.
Our Approach Meets Education Standards
Standards define what students should know and be able to do at each grade level and are used as a reference point for planning curricula. Echoes & Reflections’ classroom content is designed to address rigorous national, state, and local standards in meaningful ways.
COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS
| Designed to help students meet the challenges of reading, writing, and speaking and listening, Echoes & Reflections content addresses the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts 6-12 through a variety of primary sources, informational texts, literature excerpts, video testimony, and other information presented in different media and formats. | In addition, the lessons address Common Core State Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies 6-12 by providing opportunities for students to develop and support arguments based on discipline-specific content, compare and contrast information presented in a variety of texts, integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information, and engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions. |
Designed to help students meet the challenges of reading, writing, and speaking and listening, Echoes & Reflections content addresses the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts 6-12 through a variety of primary sources, informational texts, literature excerpts, video testimony, and other information presented in different media and formats.
In addition, the lessons address Common Core State Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies 6-12 by providing opportunities for students to develop and support arguments based on discipline-specific content, compare and contrast information presented in a variety of texts, integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information, and engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions.
NATIONAL CURRICULUM STANDARDS FOR SOCIAL STUDIES
NCSS standards provide a structure for what should occur in a social studies program. This framework, organized across ten interrelated themes, represents a way of organizing knowledge about the human experience in the world; a framework needed to educate students for the challenges of citizenship in a democracy. These themes are:
|
|
- Culture
- Time, Continuity, and Change
- People, Places, and Environments
- Individual Development and Identity
- Individuals, Groups, and Institutions
- Power, Authority, and Governance
- Production, Distribution, and Consumption
- Science, Technology, and Society
- Global Connections
- Civic Ideals and Practices
AASL STANDARDS FRAMEWORK
The AASL Standards framework reflects a comprehensive approach to teaching and learning by demonstrating the connection between learner, school librarian, and school library standards. The National School Library Standards for Learners, School Librarians, and School Libraries are anchored by six Shared Foundations—Inquire, Include, Collaborate, Curate, Explore, and Engage—which highlight the standards’ core educational concepts.
Our lessons also address students’ social-emotional learning and support a range of related learner outcomes, including fostering empathy, civic efficacy, and critical thinking.
Specific standards information can be found at the top of each Unit.
A PRINCIPLED PROGRAM
Student and Teacher Learning Outcomes
Learning outcomes inform the design and delivery of Echoes & Reflections resources and activities for teachers and students. Evaluation efforts assess the degree to which the program is successfully meeting these outcomes, and contribute to an informed and continuous learning process.
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Our Impact
Echoes & Reflections is committed to a rigorous evaluation approach, collecting a range of data to ensure validity, completeness, and credibility of programs and resources. Evaluation studies routinely indicate large and small transformations among teachers and students who use Echoes & Reflections.
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Long concerned about increasing levels of antisemitism, Echoes & Reflections has developed a robust set of educational programs and classroom resources to teach about antisemitism through a contemporary lens. In 2023, we sought to understand more fully how teaching with these materials contributes positively to students’ understanding and ability to counter antisemitism. Released in May 2024, the results of this year-long qualitative study, show that these lessons not only increase students’ knowledge of the Holocaust and raise awareness of contemporary antisemitism in its different manifestations, but also cultivate empathy towards victims of antisemitic attacks, and ignite students’ intention to educate others and act against antisemitism when they encounter it.
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Evaluation data from teachers who have participated in contemporary antisemitism professional development programs further supports the value and efficacy of this learning for teachers, the application of the content in their teaching, and its impact on students. This routinely collected data serves to inform ongoing content and program development process.
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In 2020, Echoes & Reflections released a national survey of college students that examined the value of Holocaust education in high school. Results indicate not only gains in historical knowledge, but also in cultivating more empathetic, tolerant, and engaged young people.
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Our approach meets education standards
Standards define what students should know and be able to do at each grade level and are used as a reference point for planning curricula. Echoes & Reflections’ classroom content is designed to address rigorous national, state, and local standards in meaningful ways.
LEARN MORE »
Review our FAQs to learn more about our approach to professional learning and classroom instruction with Echoes & Reflections.
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