Students from the Secondary division of Tsinghua International School (THIS) delved on December 19, 2025, into History Day, an annual occasion that celebrates students' research achievements where students have self-selected historical, economic, and social inquiry topics to look at during the entire semester.
Transforming classrooms into a dynamic History Day gallery walk, the school created a unique space that celebrated student research and showcased its core values of academic exploration and innovation.
Students shape their research into a variety of outputs based on the grade level and project focus.
Grade 6 Geography students learned about UNESCO world heritage sites and propose new locations worthy of preservation.
Grade 7 students wrote engaging historical fiction short stories linked to their inquiry topics.
Grade 8 students reflected on social justice in medieval societies and used this as a lens to understand our world today.
Grade 9 students use their technology skills to craft a variety of multimedia presentations.
Grade 10-11 students documented and explored the steps of the research process in their portfolios and reflection journals.
AP students examined primary sources to create their own document-based questions (DBQ).
Seniors in Economics and Foundations of Modern China presented their findings in simulations and interactive presentations.
Although project themes vary by grade, the development of critical and historical thinking is rooted in a consistent research methodology. This framework guides students from posing probing questions and sourcing reliable evidence in databases to synthesizing that information into substantiated historical claims.
The Social Studies Department at THIS inaugurated History Day some 12 years ago in each autumn semester to celebrate students' achievements in social studies courses.
Kyle Schaefer, Head of Social Studies and leading organizer of History Day at THIS said that he believed the reason behind setting up such an event at THIS was to:
Encourage students to conduct rigorous research across grade levels and courses,
Recognize students' hard work and
Share their findings beyond their classroom to a wider community.
Schaefer explained that a student's performance on History Day was distinct from their academic grade. While the event itself was celebratory, students' semester-long research and preparation that formed the basis of their presentations would be part of their course evaluation.
Kyle Schaefer: "The students already exceeded our expectations. Today is just a day of celebration and cheering."
Although History Day always aims to showcase students' achievements, its focus has changed over time.
Kyle Schaefer: "Initially, the focus of History Day was to flag the projects that students did. But over time, we realized that we need to give attention to the process of research, because that is the framework of doing work, like developing social skills."
The event aimed to cultivate students' critical and historical thinking. Students engaged in research by posing thought-provoking questions, using databases to find and evaluate primary and secondary sources, and learning to cite, summarize, and weigh evidence to build compelling historical claims.
Among the enthusiastic students were Winston Dai (8L) and Eason Cui (8W), both eighth graders.
Winston considered his group did well and managed to pull through despite the mounting challenges in the initial stage. He also attributed the success to teamwork.
"Our presentation was solid. Nobody screwed up due to the new crowd, and I feel pretty confident that we left a mark in the audience," said Winston.
Regarding History Day a "challenging but rewarding experience," Eason recalled the deep research and careful thinking involved in the research experience of the First Crusade.
"Through my research, I learned how religious beliefs, political ambition, and economic motives all played a role in driving people to join the Crusade, and how events like the capture of Jerusalem had lasting consequences for history. Working on this project helped me better understand how complex historical events really are," said Eason.
Deborah Kapraun, another Social Studies teacher at THIS echoed the idea, and she deems History Day a great idea. Having been teaching at THIS since 2012, she has taken many classes of 7th and 8th graders through the research process.
She said that while the research process for History Day can be an intense time for students, it is a time of great discovery for them.
Deborah Kapraun: "Not only do they learn about the topic they choose to research and various research skills, but they learn about reflection; reflection of their work and the knowledge they are acquiring and that is a skill that is priceless for lifelong learning."
