Teaching Of History

Against a background of controversy surrounding the teaching of history, this reader gathers the current thoughts of the leading practitioners. The development of school history up to the national curriculum and beyond is traced, and the main issues concerning history teachers today are examined. These issues include access to history, the definition of 'British' history in a multicultural society, gender and the place of history with the humanities. Progression and attainment are discussed as is the development of pupil's historical understanding, and practical approaches to teaching history to 11-18 level pupils are explored.

Research on history instruction and learning is emerging as an exciting new field of inquiry. The editors prepared this volume because the field is at an important moment in its development -- a stage where there is research of sufficient depth and breadth to warrant a collection of representative pieces. The field of research on history teaching and learning connects with both traditional research on social studies and with recent cognitive analyses of domains such as mathematics and physics. However, the newer research goes beyond these activities as well. Where traditional research approaches to social studies instruction and learning have focused on curriculum, they have avoided the study of purely disciplinary features, the textual components of history and the concomitant demands, as well as the nature of various learners. Where recent cognitive analyses of mathematics and physics have dealt with misconceptions and knowledge construction, they have avoided topics such as perspective-taking, interpretation, and rhetorical layerings. The new work, by contrast, has been concerned with these issues as well as the careful analyses of the nature of historical tasks and the nature of disciplinary and instructional explanations. The lines of research presented in these chapters are both compelling and diverse and include a range of topical questions such as: * What affects the quality of teaching? * How are historical documents interpreted in the writing of history? * How is history explained? * What are the classroom demands on an elementary school social studies teacher? * What does text accomplish or fail to accomplish in educational settings? * How do teachers think about particular topics for history teaching? Although much of the research reflects a grounding in, or the influence of, cognitive psychology, not all of it derives from that tradition. Traditions of rhetoric, curriculum analysis, and developmental psychology are also woven throughout the chapters. The editors envision this volume as a contribution to educational research in a subject matter, and as a tool for practitioners concerned with the improvement of instruction in history. They also anticipate that it will contribute to cognitive science.

Incorporating Information and Communication Technology tools into the teaching and learning of history has become a common practice worldwide. It is no longer a question of if, but of how to introduce it in the classroom in order to make history education more effective and enjoyable. This book gathers the experiences and reflections of researchers from three continents, based on their own activities and on empirical studies. The contributions concentrate on videogames related to the past, history e-textbooks, and applications for mobile devices with historical content. Some texts deal explicitly with global phenomena, such as the “Assassin’s Creed” or “Colonization” games, some present materials developed for the international market, such as a European e-textbook or mobile phone applications, while others concentrate on local experiences, such as a Chinese e-schoolbag, a Swiss tablet application, Polish and Estonian e-textbooks, or English teacher training. The book is a result, and a reinforcement, of the belief that history educators can benefit from the lessons learnt in other places of the globalising world.

This book brings together history educators from Australia and around the world to tell their own personal stories and how they approach teaching history in the context of contemporary tensions in the classroom. It encourages historians to think actively about how history in the classroom can play a role in helping students to make sense of their world and to act honourably within it. The contributors come from diverse backgrounds and include experienced history educators and early career academics. They showcase both a mix of approaches and democratize and decolonize the academy. The book blends theory and practice. It reflects on what is happening in the classroom and supports the discipline to understanding itself better, to improve upon its practices and to engage in academic discussion about the responsibility of teaching in the contemporary world.

Few topics in modern history draw the attention that the Holocaust does. The Shoah has become synonymous with unspeakable atrocity and unbearable suffering. Yet it has also been used to teach tolerance, empathy, resistance, and hope. Understanding and Teaching the Holocaust provides a starting point for teachers in many disciplines to illuminate this crucial event in world history for students. Using a vast array of source materials—from literature and film to survivor testimonies and interviews—the contributors demonstrate how to guide students through these sensitive and painful subjects within their specific historical and social contexts. Each chapter provides pedagogical case studies for teaching content such as antisemitism, resistance and rescue, and the postwar lives of displaced persons. It will transform how students learn about the Holocaust and the circumstances surrounding it.

A rethinking of teaching methodology in history classrooms As issues of history and memory collide in our society and in the classroom, the time is ripe to rethink the place of history in our schools. Knowing, Teaching, and Learning History represents a unique effort by an international group of scholars to understand the future of teaching and learning about the past. It will challenge the ways in which historians, teachers, and students think about teaching history. The book concerns itself first and foremost with the question, "How do students develop sophisticated historical understandings and how can teachers best encourage this process?" Recent developments in psychology, education, and historiography inform the debates that take place within Knowing, Teaching, and Learning History. This four-part volume identifies the current issues and problems in history education, then works towards a deep and considered understanding of this evolving field. The contributors to this volume link theory to practice, making crucial connections with those who teach history. Published in conjunction with the American Historical Association.

A practical guide on how one professor employs the transformative changes of digital media in the research, writing, and teaching of history