Category: disciplinary knowledge

beginning teacher, disciplinary knowledge, historical interpretations, historical scholarship, teacher knowledge, teaching and learning ideas, teaching history

Smartphones and Mirrors: using presentisms constructively in the classroom.

Here, Jessie Phillips, History Teacher at Sawston Village College, takes her thinking about presentism in the history classroom further. She points out that this tendency to interpret the past through present values and concepts is used by historians as a conceptual scaffold. She challenges us to think about how presentism can help pupils make their own meanings out of history. She builds on David Armitage’s … Continue reading Smartphones and Mirrors: using presentisms constructively in the classroom.

onebighistorydepartment1 Comment
disciplinary knowledge, KS3, sources and evidence, substantive knowledge

Saints and lice- unravelling the medieval past

Jessie Phillips, History Teacher at Sawston Village College, shares work that relates to cultural history/perspective but with a particular focus on the medieval. Her overarching ideas are based on Wineburg’s conception of finding the ‘familiar within the strange’ and the ‘strange within the familiar’ and using this approach she unravels the attitudes, ideas and values of people in the past. She also explores (very carefully) … Continue reading Saints and lice- unravelling the medieval past

onebighistorydepartment1 Comment
disciplinary knowledge, historical scholarship, reading listening watching, reviews

Stacking the Scholarship Shelf

Thanks to Simon Beale (@SPBeale), Associate Assistant Headteacher and Subject Lead of History & Politics at Vyners School, for this blogpost. Simon is a co-founder of @historybookgrp. I have just returned from Bristol and the 2022 Historical Association national conference. It was my first time attending the event and I was blown away at the wealth of expertise being shared by and with the history … Continue reading Stacking the Scholarship Shelf

onebighistorydepartment1 Comment
CPD, curriculum and planning, disciplinary knowledge, diversity and inclusion, historical enquiry, historical scholarship, KS3, sources and evidence, subject leadership, substantive knowledge, substantive knowledge

Decolonising Source Analysis and Introducing Sikh Female History to Year 9

Many thanks to Dr Danielle Donaldson, Head of Department, Concord College, Shrewsbury for this blogpost sharing her department’s work to extend the range of sources used in class and to teach the history of Sikh women. The curriculum intent & context We have been working on decolonising and integrating more representative history in our schemes of work at Concord College. Our enquiries are aimed to … Continue reading Decolonising Source Analysis and Introducing Sikh Female History to Year 9

onebighistorydepartment1 Comment
curriculum and planning, disciplinary knowledge, diversity and inclusion, GCSE and A level, historical scholarship, reviews, substantive knowledge, teacher knowledge, teaching history

Teaching history well – a reflection

As we come to the end of a very long term and the end of a very long year, Anne Hudson and Gabrielle Reddington share an important conversation. It will hopefully summarise messages received in 2020 and provide food for more thought as we unwind in the break and start to look ahead to 2021. Anne and Gabrielle have taught pupils and trained teachers through … Continue reading Teaching history well – a reflection

onebighistorydepartment1 Comment
CPD, curriculum and planning, disciplinary knowledge, diversity and inclusion, substantive knowledge, teacher knowledge, teaching and learning ideas

Reflections on the HA Conference 2020

Thanks to Gemma Hargraves (@History_Girls) for writing here about here takeaways from the HA Conference. The conference sessions will be online until 4th January 2021, so there is still time to catch-up on other sessions once the rush of term is ended. Now is actually a great time to learn We’re all tired, busy adapting to blended learning, and facing various COVID related challenges… but … Continue reading Reflections on the HA Conference 2020

onebighistorydepartment1 Comment
beginning teacher, CPD, disciplinary knowledge, teacher knowledge

Teaching History for beginners… Disciplinary Concepts

Helen Snelson, Chair of HA Secondary Committee and PGCE History Tutor at the University of York, writes about the HA’s upcoming webinar for beginning teachers and support to teach the disiciplinary concepts. David Ingledew, Head of Secondary ITE at the University of Hertfordshire, and myself have recorded a short intro to disciplinary concepts in the history classroom for beginning teachers. You can find it here. … Continue reading Teaching History for beginners… Disciplinary Concepts

onebighistorydepartment1 Comment
curriculum and planning, disciplinary knowledge, teacher knowledge

Inspiration about the most controversial of concepts: Empathy

Thanks to Dan Nuttall, who teaches history at Holy Cross College in Bury, for this blogpost. Dan continues our series where colleagues share how past Teaching History articles have made them think and encourage us to revisit them for ourselves.  Recently, I noticed that a decades-old debate between history educators had resurfaced on Twitter. The debate concerned whether it was appropriate or not to ask … Continue reading Inspiration about the most controversial of concepts: Empathy

onebighistorydepartment1 Comment
CPD, disciplinary knowledge, diversity and inclusion, historical scholarship, subject leadership, substantive knowledge, teacher knowledge

Pearls of Wisdom from Teaching History 120

Continuing our series of looking back to a past edition of Teaching History, Secondary Committee member Emma Bevan has returned to edition 120 from September 2005. Here she gives some thoughts about what she has found there that resonates today.  A rallying cry to be braver in the history classroom When asked “why teach history?”, one of the most recurrent responses is that it allows … Continue reading Pearls of Wisdom from Teaching History 120

onebighistorydepartment1 Comment
curriculum and planning, disciplinary knowledge, GCSE and A level, historical interpretations, historical scholarship, KS3, local networks, subject leadership, teacher knowledge, teaching and learning ideas

Teaching interpretations – maximising potential and avoiding pitfalls!

Thanks to Warren Valentine (@warrenvalentine), head of history and politics at Mayfield Grammar School for Girls, for this blogpost about a day spent thinking about the teaching of historical interpretations. This is an area that has been extensively discussed and theorised about for many years. You can find more help with this tricky concept on the HA website.   In June a collection of history teachers … Continue reading Teaching interpretations – maximising potential and avoiding pitfalls!

onebighistorydepartmentLeave a comment