INFORMATION FOR
DCAL@wpunj.edu
(973) 720-2354
Johanna Prado
Director
pradoj2@wpunj.edu
Juleisy Gomez
Adult Success Coordinator
gomezj54@wpunj.edu
Samuel Miller
Student Success and Credit for Prior Leardning Coordinator
millers1@wpunj.edu
The Center for Degree Completion and Adult Learning recognizes that not all learning has resulted from the traditional classroom. We strive to work with students who come to us with a vast array of work experience and training to help them get course credits through the Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) portfolio. This form of CPL provides students an opportunity to earn credit for learning outside of the confines of a traditional classroom by illustrating what they know through the assembly of a professional, guided portfolio. This path may save students both time and money as they work toward their degree.
The CPL portfolio process might be right for you if you have developed college-level knowledge, skills, and abilities, and are able to demonstrate that these skills meet the learning objectives of an academic course. This prior learning may be a result of your:
To be awarded credit for prior learning, you must be able to prove that you have met the learning objectives required in a bachelor’s level course. This is done by creating a portfolio.
Your portfolio is a collection of materials or artifacts compiled to exhibit previous college-level learning relevant to your academic degree plan. Each component in the portfolio plays a role in demonstrating mastery of course objectives. Learn more about the components of a portfolio below!
Why Teach History Day?
National History Day's combination of project-based learning, personal relevance, and an emphasis on real research and scholarship comes together to create a leading model of teaching 21st-century skills. For more than fifty years, National History Day has supported classroom teaching by fueling student interest in developing research skills, and rewarding students of all abilities for their scholarship, individual initiative, and cooperative learning. A rigorous national evaluation of the NHD program found that participants:
Volunteer Judges are the heart of the History Day experience. Judges provide students with a high-quality educational experience—whether or not they win a prize. Your background, knowledge, and perspective are a valuable contribution of insight and confidence for students to take their next steps in life.
Judging is a rewarding experience. Judges often tell us that they leave contest events feeling inspired by students' creativity and accomplishments, and always learn something new from the students' in-depth investigations. Contest events are a get-together of like-minded people who love learning, history, and the adventure of research, and are great for networking and professional development. It's a wonderful way to contribute to the celebration of history in New Jersey.
Any adult with a love of history, learning, and supporting student growth! No particular qualifications are required, besides enthusiasm and interest in encouraging middle and high school students in their development as researchers. We especially appreciate help from educators, professors, librarians, archivists, museum professionals, youth development professionals, community historians, and museum volunteers, but we welcome people from all walks of life who are interested in giving their time and thoughtful feedback to students. Whether you have a background in history or simply enjoy learning something new, your perspective matters. For teachers: NJHD is an accredited provider of PD hours a 5-hour certificate is available for judging a contest.
In the National History Day program, students in grades 6–12 conduct extensive research on topics related to an annual theme and present their findings in historical papers, exhibits, documentaries, performances, or websites. At the contest events, students present their research to volunteer judges, who provide feedback and select projects to advance to the next level of the competition. Students rely on judges' responses to understand their rankings and improve their work for future presentations. Conversations and feedback from judges help build student confidence, encourage them to continue being curious researchers, and hone their academic and presentation skills.
Judges work in teams of two to three people, with each team viewing 6-8 student entries. NHD uses consensus judging, which means that instead of giving entries numerical scores, judges rank the entries after discussing them with their teams. Together, they provide appreciative, constructive feedback and guidance on each project to help students develop their research skills.
There are two ways to judge for History Day: virtual and in-person.
Virtual Judges review student entries in the paper and website categories. Virtual judges receive student entries two weeks before the contest day and may review them at their own pace. Reviews are scored and submitted online in a written comment form.
In-person Judges join us for the contest day – about 8 AM to 2:30 PM. Breakfast and lunch are included. After a short orientation, judges break into teams and are assigned a category of student entry to judge: documentaries, exhibits, or performances. Working with team members, judges have brief conversations with students about their work, then collaborate on feedback and select the entries that will go on to the next round.
To register as a judge, click the link below for the zFairs website for the contest or contests you want to judge. At the site, you'll create an account and answer a few questions that help us match you with your team and project category.
February 27 - Regional Contest at Rutgers University-Camden
March 13 - Regional Contest at Monmouth University
March 21 - Regional Contest at St. Elizabeth University
May 1 - State Contest at William Paterson University
Information coming soon!
