Teaching Holocaust and Human Behavior Fall 2025 Mini-Course

Sustaining democratic societies that are pluralistic, open, and resilient to violence requires ongoing commitment and awareness. Studying the Holocaust allows students to wrestle with profound moral questions raised by this history while fostering their skills in critical analysis, empathy, ethical reflection, and civic engagement—all of which are necessary habits of mind for sustaining healthy democracies.

In this facilitated online mini-course featuring Facing History’s seminal case study, Holocaust and Human Behavior, you will:

1. Engage with leading scholarship on the history of the Holocaust and important research focused on human behavior, group dynamics, and bias
2. Increase your ability to facilitate respectful classroom discussions on difficult issues, such as racism, antisemitism, and other forms of exclusion in a way that invites personal reflection and critical analysis
3. Learn a new way of structuring curriculum to help students connect history to their own lives and the choices they make
4. Receive introduction to classroom-ready multimedia resources that enable you to bring scholarship on the history of antisemitism, the Holocaust, and human behavior to students
5. Discover new teaching strategies that help students interrogate texts, write and think critically
6. Engage with survivor testimony and use sensitive and thought-provoking teaching strategies to bring this history into the classroom

Independent evaluation has shown that implementing Facing History’s pedagogical approach improves students’ higher-order thinking skills, increases students’ civic efficacy and engagement with civic matters, and increases students’ tolerance for others who hold views contrary to their own.

Who should take this mini-course? 

This course is intended for middle and high school teachers who are interested in learning a transformative approach to teaching the history of the Holocaust and other challenging moments.

Time commitment: Approximately 3.5 hours per week for four weeks

This mini-course contains 4 modules, each of which includes online self-guided content (approximately 2 hours per week), optional resources to deepen your learning, and weekly live learning sessions in Zoom (90 minutes per week). The 90-minute live learning sessions are required and will not be recorded.

Mini-Course Schedule

Module 1

• Self-Guided Work (approx. 2 hours): October 9–16
• Live Learning Session in Zoom (90 minutes): October 16, 7–8:30 pm ET (convert to your time zone)

Module 2

• Self-Guided Work (approx. 2 hours): October 17–23
• Live Learning Session in Zoom (90 minutes): October 23, 7–8:30 pm ET (convert to your time zone)

Module 3

• Self-Guided Work (approx. 2 hours): October 24–30
• Live Learning Session in Zoom (90 minutes): October 30, 7–8:30 pm ET (convert to your time zone)

Module 4

• Self-Guided Work (approx. 2 hours): October 31–November 6
• Live Learning Session in Zoom (90 minutes): November 6, 7–8:30 pm ET (convert to your time zone)

Duration: Four modules over four weeks. There is a new module each week. Each module includes online self-guided work and a weekly synchronous session in Zoom.

Time commitment: Approximately between 3.5 hours each week for 4 weeks

Pacing: Each week’s module will follow a similar structure: 

• Approximately 2 hours of online self-guided work to complete in preparation for each week’s live session
• A 90-minute facilitated live session to include whole- and small-group activities
• Optional extension activities to be completed anytime during the week

Questions? Reach out to support [at] facinghistory.org (support[at]facinghistory[dot]org)