Category: teaching history

CPD, curriculum and planning, disciplinary knowledge, diversity and inclusion, historical scholarship, KS3, substantive knowledge, teacher knowledge, teaching history

5 years’ on from ‘Britain and Transatlantic Slavery’: lessons learned and next steps

In 2018, Abdul Mohamud and Robin Whitburn (Justice2History) wrote a blogpost for OBHD entitled ‘Rethinking how we teach about transatlantic slavery’ as they were preparing for the HA Teacher Fellowship ‘Britain and Transatlantic Slavery’. In this blogpost Abdul, history teacher and now working on his PHd as part of the Empire, Migration and Belonging project, returns to the topic to reflect on what we have … Continue reading 5 years’ on from ‘Britain and Transatlantic Slavery’: lessons learned and next steps

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beginning teacher, teacher knowledge, teaching and learning ideas, teaching history

Wisdom from Prof Terry Haydn

This very short blogpost is written by Helen Snelson, Chair of Secondary Committee. Having taught history and worked with beginning history teachers for quite a long time, I realise that sometimes it is useful simply to pass on knowledge of something that people might not have come across. Let me do that now with the teaching website of Professor Terry Haydn, Fellow of the HA. … Continue reading Wisdom from Prof Terry Haydn

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curriculum and planning, diversity and inclusion, teaching and learning ideas, teaching history

Bringing the Black Tudors to Life Through an Interdisciplinary Approach

Alex Fairlamb (@LambHeartTea) is a Senior Leader in charge of Teaching and Learning and CPD, based in the North East, and also a member of the Historical Association Secondary Committee and the Schools North East Steering Board. The publication of Miranda Kaufmann’s ‘Black Tudors: The Untold Story’ had a profound effect, not only my teaching, but on many other educators’ teaching too.  ‘The Tudors’ is … Continue reading Bringing the Black Tudors to Life Through an Interdisciplinary Approach

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curriculum and planning, teacher knowledge, teaching and learning ideas, teaching history

Using Artificial Intelligence to support history teaching

Thanks to Will Bailey-Watson, University of Reading history PGCE and member of HA Secondary Committee, for sharing his initial explorations of AI to support history teaching. Hopefully this will help to start a discussion about AI and history teaching. We’d love to hear from you! Artificial Intelligence (AI) is clearly going to change the world. It probably already has done in ways I don’t know. … Continue reading Using Artificial Intelligence to support history teaching

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GCSE and A level, historical literacy, historical scholarship, speaking and listening, teaching history

How do you get A Level History students to read?

Thanks to Sally Burnham, History teacher and Lead Practitioner, Lincolnshire, and member of Secondary Committee for this blogpost drawn from her experience of a Covid change that has been worth keeping. How do you get A Level History students to read? This was an age old problem for me. I know how important it is for students to be reading historians’ work both to deepen … Continue reading How do you get A Level History students to read?

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beginning teacher, CPD, diversity and inclusion, GCSE and A level, KS3, speaking and listening, teacher knowledge, teaching and learning ideas, teaching and learning resources, teaching history, websites and publications

Active history to make history memorable and accessible

This blogpost accompanies the launch of a new webpage on the HA website. The ‘knowledge turn’ of recent years has been very welcome in many ways. There is inspiring work and success in evidence across the country in relation to developing coherent curricula. There are wonderful examples of historical enquiry and the use of historical narratives weaving disciplinary and substantive knowledge effectively. And yet, there … Continue reading Active history to make history memorable and accessible

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curriculum and planning, diversity and inclusion, teaching history

What are the challenges of teaching a diverse and representative history curriculum in a rural school?

Thanks to Katie Hopwood for this blogpost. Katie is an ECT at Bishop Young Academy in Leeds. Last year she did her PGCE with the University of York. When starting my second placement of PGCE year, I knew that my second school would be quite different from my first. I had moved from a large inner city religious school to a rural school. As part … Continue reading What are the challenges of teaching a diverse and representative history curriculum in a rural school?

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beginning teacher, CPD, historic environment, substantive knowledge, teaching history

One year of embedding climate and sustainability education in our History PGCE

Thanks to Will Bailey-Watson, leader of the Secondary PGCE programme at the University of Reading and member of Secondary Committee for this blogpost. This year will see a lot of developments in thinking about the role of history education for a sustainable future. Will kicks this off by sharing what Reading colleages have learnt so far. Have you seen the climate stripes somewhere? If you … Continue reading One year of embedding climate and sustainability education in our History PGCE

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curriculum and planning, KS3, sources and evidence, subject leadership, teaching history

Assessment at KS3 in History

Thanks to Martyn Bajkowski of Pleckgate HS and HA Secondary Committee for this blogpost. Martyn reports on the work he, and his department, have been doing to improve their KS3 assessment. Like many of you I have carefully considered over recent years what I wanted our approach at assessment to be at KS3 in our department. Following my session at the HA Conference this May … Continue reading Assessment at KS3 in History

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substantive knowledge, teacher knowledge, teaching and learning resources, teaching history

Unsilencing Welsh History in Schools

This blogpost shares with OBHD readers a short article published in Public History Weekly on 8 June 2023 by Rhonwen Bruce-Roberts. Our students in our history lessons are living in the UK. Rhonwen suggests that ‘anglocentrism poses a risk of denying separate histories and separate identities that are a part of its story’. She challenges us to ‘tease out forgotten narratives through ‘multiperspectival history’’. Abstract: … Continue reading Unsilencing Welsh History in Schools

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