The Student as Teacher: The first of the online seminars hosted by the History Forum looks at research carried out by the US National Learning Lab that suggests that the most effective learning strategy is when students teach other students. The author supports this view and provides evidence from his own teaching. Most contributors to the seminar have so far agreed with this proposition and have provided further examples of how this can be achieved.
Essay Writing Skills at AS Level: This week's seminar is led by Carole Faithorn. She has provided some great ideas and strategies for helping the AS candidate to learn how to write “a good essay”. As Carole Faithorn points out, it helps to have a variety of strategies aimed at different learning styles. Strategies suggested include "card sorting activities which involve putting reasons into an order of importance (or ‘Significance Stairway’) help students to visualise relative importance and is effective in helping students to see how to structure an essay effectively."
Learning Styles: All teachers are aware of the fact that students learn in a variety of different ways, and that even the same information given to a class by the teacher is received by the students in a number of different ways. Therefore all teachers need to ensure that they develop their lessons to tap into the varied learning styles of their students. This seminar sets out a number of approaches for doing this and explains how to ensure that the lessons you prepare are fit for the students in your school. Many different methods of ensuring success in planning are suggested such as the use of work scrutinies to find out what type of learning students are having success with, interviews with pupils to find out what teaching and learning styles work for them, departmental discussions with colleagues as the planning process continues to share ideas. The seminar is aimed at those at the start of their teaching careers looking for a way to tackle this crucial and complex challenge, as well as at more experienced teachers looking for ideas or inspiration on how to plan to meet the needs of the full range of their students by using a diversity of teaching and learning styles.
Encouraging History Teachers To Use ICT: A survey carried out in 1999 discovered that the main reason teachers used computers in their teaching was because they felt they ought to. History, the same as every national curriculum subject, has clear requirements to use ICT. It seems that history teachers thus feel a burden to make use of ICT. In this seminar Andrew Field suggests how history teachers can be encouraged to make use of ICT in their lessons. The fundamental approach is not backed up by the notion"because they have to", but rather the infinitely preferable "because of the benefits".
Selection, Streaming and Setting: Andy Walker's seminar is intended to stimulate discussion of the controversial issues of selection, streaming, setting and banding in schools and to explore the educational and sociological implications of these common practices. It may well also extend out to cover related issues concerned with increasing specialization in schools and the right of specialist schools to select on entry. The subject area is deliberately wide as the author's opinion is that all these practices are based on an outdated and discredited ideological commitment to the grammar/secondary modern approach: a commitment which continues to blight the British educational system. Participants draw on an extremely wide range of experience, some still live and work in areas where the Tripartite system still thrives (people from Kent rather than time travellers!), whilst many work in "comprehensive" schools.
Teaching History in Spain: In this online seminar Juan Carlos Ocaña describes some of the features of teaching history in Spain. Secondary education in Spain is split up in two: Compulsory secondary education (Educación Secundaria Obligatoria - ESO) (12-16 years old) and Upper Secondary Education (Bachillerato) (17-18 years old). After passing a Bachillerato examination, students can go on studying at the university. A secondary education teacher has to teach about 18-17 hours a week.
Teachers or Facilitators: Dafydd Humphreys speculates that "if our esteemed rulers are right - perhaps you don’t need teachers in the classroom - maybe teaching assistants (TAs) could supervise the kids while one teacher per cluster of schools wrote lesson plans and marked work?" He adds: "Those of us left in the education sector could be facilitators - allowing students to follow their own learning pathways along the ready-prepared and prescribed National Curricula (with little tick-boxes for numeracy, literacy, science, ICT, citizenship, personal, social, health and moral education encountered in each lesson). We facilitators would write individual lesson plans for each of the children in the teaching groups, based on computerised tests taken when they were 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11 years old."
Raising Attainment at Key Stage 4: In this seminar Dan Moorhouse discusses how to improve student performance at GCSE. He argues persuasively that "to raise attainment at any level the teacher and department has to be fully aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the student and any potential barriers to learning that they may face. At the beginning of KS4 a vast array of information is available to us as teachers and this has to be used effectively to provide us with a firm basis upon which we can build."
Teaching History in a Laptop Classroom: How will the fact that every student has a laptop computer change the way you teach and how your students learn? In this seminar, Richard Jones-Nerzic shares some of his experiences of teaching history in a laptop classroom over the last four years and encourages speculation from all members of the History Teachers' forum about what they would do if presented with the same opportunity.
Effective Extra-Curricular History Activities: This seminar looks at the manner in which History activities can be effectively delivered in an extra-curricular capacity. If offers some information about different types of activities that could be offered to students and how students view activities that are created for them.
Teaching Black and Asian History in Schools: If one of the assumptions of the National Curriculum was that all students should be prepared for “life in a multicultural society” (NCC 1990 p.2), then History has a strong responsibility for this. In this seminar Dan Lyndon argues "there has been a failure by government, QCA, Ofsted and schools to develop a curriculum that reflects the Black and Asian experience in Britain and how it has shaped our current position."
Thinking Skills: In this seminar Lesley Ann Buxton discusses thinking skills and how to approach thinking in the teaching of history. Over the next week the author will post various topics on the teaching of thinking skills, guidance on how to write a thinking skills lesson, the benefits of teaching thinking skills, and offer a range of adaptable and flexible strategies/ activities for use in the classroom.
Online History Simulations: In their book Simulation in the Classroom, John Taylor and Rex Walford argued that an educational simulation has three main components: (1) Students take roles which are representative of the real world and involve them making decisions in response to their assessment of the situation that they have been placed in. (2) Students experience simulated consequences which relate to their decisions and their general performance in the simulation. (3) Students monitor the results of their actions and are encouraged to reflect upon the relationship between their own decisions and the resulting consequences of their actions. In the History Forum's latest seminar, John Simkin looks at why history teachers should use simulations in the classroom.
Surviving the First Term: This seminar provides some advice for those teachers currently experiencing their first term in the classroom and includes passages such as: "Remember the swan: serene and calm above but paddling like hell below! Pupils equate competence with calm. Always, always, always keep your cool! Voice is hugely important in teaching. Instructions given in a calm, quiet, authoritative voice command obedience and respect. Raising your voice or shouting will almost always result in a noisy reaction from your pupils."
Educational Visits: In this seminar Dan Moorhouse argues that running educational visits are a vital part of a History curriculum. This seminar looks at the reasons for taking students out of school and offers advice on ways of ensuring that every visit is effective, enjoyable and safe. If you are interested in running educational visits or have any thoughts on the way that they can be organised, visit the History Teachers' Discussion Forum and post your comments.
Supply Teaching: The purpose of this seminar by Dave Wallbanks is to suggest that the current system of supply teaching is not working and to offer a few suggestions for solutions to the main problems facing schools today. It is entirely subjective, being drawn largely from the author's personal experience and discussions with other teachers and colleagues.
Writing Educational Websites: There are plenty of guides for people who want to know about the technical challenges of writing for the Web. This seminar, aimed at serving teachers, looks at some of the reasons why this form of publishing is an attractive way for them to share resources. Andrew Moore begins with brief reflection on his own experiences in publishing online, and moves to consider why doing something similar is still a good career move for a busy teacher. He argues that the Web is a meritocracy, and breaks the control that commercial publishers have hitherto exerted over teaching resources. The seminar also shows the value of the Web for showcasing students' work, the possibility of earning income or gaining status by registering as a supplier for the UK's Curriculum Online and the uses of digital media files as learning objects. Many talented teachers find that they cannot call the shots in their own careers, but are subject to the decisions of others who do not share or understand their visions of changing the culture of learning. This seminar makes a powerful case for writing and publishing on the Web as a way for teachers to take back control of their own careers.
Interpretations and History Teaching: Richard Drew points out that his old PGCE lecturer told him that in his experience interpretations was the worst taught, and least taught historical skill. In this seminar Richard Drew covers three issues: (i) What interpretations are and are not; (ii) Effective strategies for teaching interpretations and (iii) Effective strategies for assessing pupils understanding of interpretations.
Teaching History in Sweden: In this seminar Anders MacGregor-Thunell of Gothenburg explains what it is like to teach history in Sweden. He also makes a passionate plea for reform. This includes an end to passive class teaching, an increase in the time spent studying history, more use of technology in the classroom and a greater emphasis on a skills approach to the subject. So far their have been contributions on these issues from England, Spain, Greece and France.
Teaching History with a Hypertext Curriculum: At its best a hypertext curriculum can scaffold student learning; supporting the less able, stretching the brightest and recognising the range of multiple intelligences but it can also do more mundane things like improve exam results. In this seminar, Richard Jones-Nerzic examines the practical value of a history curriculum website from the point of view of the teacher who builds and maintains the site, the students who study for an examination course through the site and the ‘significant others’ - parents, other teachers and general web users - who contribute to the success of the students through their use of the site.
Assessment in History: Drawing a number of interesting discussion threads already undertaken on the school history forum, and the author's belief in the wisdom of the Manx soothsayer who once told him "you can't make a pig any fatter by weighing it every day", this seminar seeks to open a debate on the role of assessment in the school history classroom and outlines some aspects of what the author regards as sound practice with examples from his own practice being cited. Issues for debate and discussion include, how best to use the National Curriculum attainment target for history, how to communicate the attainment target to students, when to assess and in what context. There is also scope for the debate to widen to how we use ICT for testing and assessment.
Maximising the Outcomes from Revision: Limited hours, cancelled lessons, student absence and unexpected events all contribute to the pressure felt at the end of an exam course to get completed. Therefore it is essential that the precious time available at the end of a course for revision is utilised to its maximum potential. This is the focus of this seminar by Stephen Drew. It is hoped that teachers will take away ideas and techniques from this seminar that can facilitate the holy grail of totally effective revision.
Hot-seating: Whilst all teachers would like to think that their classes hang onto their every word with grateful awe and rapture, students will actually get rather bored hearing the same voice wittering on at them day in, day out. Russel Tarr argues that hot-seating and role-plays allow teachers and students to use and hear different voices. Not only that, but bringing historical characters to life to answer questions about their lives, beliefs and achievements is a great way of imparting knowledge, understanding and issues of interpretation.
Active Learning in the History Classroom: Active Learning activities are highly important teaching tools that are often discarded by teachers because of the level of ‘risk’ involved in them. In this seminar Dan Moorhouse argues that the use of active teaching and learning techniques actually minimizes the ‘risk’ by providing a greater variety of learning options to students. "Through a range of carefully constructed questions and tasks students think critically, develop their empathy with the people involved in the ‘real’ events and, in my experience at least, form a much better understanding of how a range of complex factors can combine to cause further events."
Creating Effective Online Lessons: In this excellent seminar Andrew Field argues that the most effective online lessons are those created and tailored by teachers for individual students with built in opportunities for differentiation. "Strict, formulaic lessons set on a rigid pattern for all students in the school, or indeed the country, to complete are clearly not the way to go". Andrew Field adds that by using "standard ICT applications (Wordprocessor, spreadsheet, presentation software, database and DTP) you can create some fabulous activities to encourage more effective history".
History and Art: Is this seminar Stephen Drew argues that: "One of the most interesting, useful, engaging and effective methods of delivering the History curriculum is through the medium of art. All periods in the history of the world have produced paintings, sculptures, buildings and many other forms of artistic presentation. All of the art produced within a time period in some way reflects upon that time period, and can provide students with a way to access the past different to so many others."
Teacher Training: In this seminar Andy Walker argues that since the 1980s there has been a noticeable move away teacher training being seen as an at least in part “academic” discipline towards a model akin to that of a plumber’s apprenticeship. Student teachers today “learn on the job”, are immersed in schools, and are “trained” almost exclusively by practising teachers (some of whom trained in exactly the same way). He goes on to claim that " these trends will inevitably have undesirable consequences on the quality and commitment of newly trained teachers and are part of the deskilling of the teaching profession which gathers apace day by day and actually nears completion."
Differentiation: John D. Clare argues that differentiation is one of the least understood elements of teaching. It mystifies NQTs, and terrifies many older teachers. In his view differentiation is an entitlement, not a teaching strategy. He adds: "Differentiation is the right of each pupil to be taught in a way specifically tailored to their individual learning needs. The process of differentiation, consequently, is the adjustment of the teaching process to meet the differing learning needs of the pupils, and it involves every teacher having sufficient appropriate knowledge of the pupils, plus the ability to plan and deliver suitable lessons effectively, so as to help all pupils individually to maximise their learning, whatever their individual situation." If you have views on this subject, register with the History Forum and join the debate.
Forums and History Teaching: In this excellent seminar Richard Jones-Nerzic explains the various ways that online forums can be used by the history teacher. This includes: History Help (teachers provide learning support on a needs basis); Historical Debates (students discuss and construct and deconstruct interpretations of contentious events in history); Empathetic Simulations (students take on the role of historical characters); Remote Seminars (guest teacher leads a discussion with students on a topic of their particular expertise); Oral History (students interview an individual who was an eyewitness to event of historical importance); Remote Group Work (students prepare for a class activity by sharing ideas in a private online area). If you have views on this subject, register with the History Forum and join the debate.
History and Citizenship: Dan Moorhouse points out that the following are listed in the Citizenship Curriculum: legal and human rights; the criminal justice system; diversity of national, regional, religious and ethnic identities; central and local government; characteristics of parliamentary and other forms of government; the electoral system; the work of community based, national and international voluntary groups; the importance of resolving conflict fairly and the significance of the media in society. In this seminar Dan Moorhouse explores three major issues: (1) How Citizenship can be incorporated into the history curriculum for 11-14 year olds. (2) The role citizenship should play in 14-19 History. (3) The resources available for effective lessons. If you have views on this subject, register with the History Forum and join the debate.
Digital Video in the History Classroom: How well do use - really use as opposed to watch - archive moving image as a source? This workshop led by Ben Walsh looks at how ICT can provide access to thousands of digital video clips, how it can help students analyse and interpret digital video, and how editing tools can be used to allow students to easily and cheaply create their own documentaries. f you have views on this subject, register with the Education Forum and join the debate.
Non-Specialist History Teachers: Non-specialists are becoming more and more common in history departments, often because of the popularity of the subject at GCSE and A level, specialists are put with these groups leaving key stage three to a range of non-specialists. Many Heads of Department will know the sinking feeling when you first get to see the timetable for the following year and the history teaching staff run onto two pages – there are two choices – allow history teaching to run into the ground or make it work. In this seminar Sally Burnham provides some ideas to help you manage a diverse team of non-specialists. If you have views on this subject, register with the Education Forum and join the debate.
Time Maps: This new series is designed to illustrate historical change in a visual and dynamic way, through interactive maps and animated diagrams. The aim is to convey historical knowledge and understanding to students who have a more visual, less textual or verbal approach to learning, as well as reinforcing learning in all students whatever their learning style or academic ability, by placing historical knowledge in a broad chronological and spatial context. This seminar by Peter Britton helps to explaining the thinking behind this series.
Creative and Rigour: This workshop by Dan Varney introduces a variety of practical lesson activities that engage students in collaborative learning and develop their thinking skills. These range from unstructured activity in exploring open-ended questions to the structured rigour of investigating the credibility of sources. Dan Varney argues: "LogoVisual Thinking (LVT®) is a simple yet profound methodology for making sense. It gives everyone involved the means of developing meaning. It is a method of ‘Hands-on’ approach to thinking that were developed as a way of enabling people to represent their thoughts as objects and then manipulate them until they make sense. It gets people out of their heads, engaging physical, emotional and kinaesthetic intelligences to develop understanding."
Clipbank: This is 4Learning's recent resource for 11-16 year-old history students. These 5 TV-ROMs each contain 20-25 filmed news reports from ITN Archive of great 20th century historical events - as they happened. 4Learning's TV-ROMs have all the advantages of CD-ROM delivery with the additional facility of being able to store and play back up to 60 minutes of restructured television footage in near broadcast quality, on a full computer screen. Integrated and linked with the footage are printable and exportable resources that can be edited and customised, maps, photographs, biographies, a wordbank of definitions, and links to related and approved Websites. The TV-ROMs are fully
related to the National Curriculum and ideal for use on a whiteboard for whole class learning, used for individual study or networked for a whole class.
History Association Curriculum Project: Over the last few months the Historical Association has conducted consultations with history education specialists, with academic historians and with representatives from the heritage industry and from other history associations. The HA is also talking with teachers and with pupils. The intention is to recommend the principles and criteria that should underpin school history in the 14-19 phase. Seán Lang has posted a very stimulating outline of the issues being considered by the HA on the International Education Forum. If you have views on this subject, register with the Education Forum and join the debate.
Productive, Purposeful, Pertinent Plenaries: Inspection evidence suggests that the plenary is often the least successful part of the lesson. This seminar led by Steve Illingworth aims to help teachers appreciate the benefits of taking time to plan an effective plenary. It will consider strategies to make the conclusion of the lesson more successful and provide lots of practical examples which could be adapted to several topics at Key Stages 3 & 4. The focus will be on activities which involve as many pupils as possible and which help them to reflect not just on what they have learned, but also on how they have learned it. If you have views on this subject, register with the Education Forum and join the debate.
Educational Websites
Standards Site, BBC History, PBS Online, Open Directory Project, Virtual Library,
Education Forum, History GCSE, Design & Technology, Learn History, Music Teacher Resource,
Freepedia, Teach It, Science Active, Geography IST, Brighton Photographers, Sussex Photo History,
Compton History, Universal Teacher, English Teaching, English Online, History Learning Site,
History on the Net, Black History, Greenfield History, School History, HistoryWorld, I Love History,
E-HELP, Ed Podesta Blog, Macgregorish History, Historiasiglo20, Sintermeerten, ICT4LT |
News and Search
Guardian Unlimited, Times Online, Daily Telegraph, The Independent, New York Times,
Washington Post, BBC, CNN, Yahoo News, New Scientist, Google News, Channel 4, ZDNet,
Google, Excite, Yahoo, MSN, Lycos, AOL Search, Hotbot, Metacrawler, Netscape, Ask, Search,
Go, Looksmart, Dogpile, Raging Search, All the Web, Kartoo, Search Engine Watch, About
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