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Past Forward: University history and school history
Article
Recent trends in university history University historians have little incentive to discover what goes on in school history classrooms and many disincentives, as pressures of work mount and the ogres of university management point to the overwhelming need to improve, or sustain, current Research Assessment Exercise grades. History is rarely...
Past Forward: University history and school history
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How history teachers can support their own and others' continued professional learning
Teaching History article
‘If I wasn't learning anything new about teaching I would have left it by now!' How history teachers can support their own and others' continued professional learning
Katharine Burn has a longstanding interest in history teachers' professional learning - not just the ways in which experienced teachers can support beginners,...
How history teachers can support their own and others' continued professional learning
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Knowledge and the Draft NC
Teaching History article
Silk purse from a sow's ear? Why knowledge matters and why the draft History NC will not improve it
Katie Hall and Christine Counsell attempt to construct a Key Stage 3 scheme of work out of the draft National Curriculum for history that was released for consultation in England in...
Knowledge and the Draft NC
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Assessment after levels
Free Teaching History article
Ten years ago, two heads of department in contrasting schools presented a powerfully-argued case for resisting the use of level descriptions within their assessment regimes. Influenced both by research into the nature of children's historical thinking and by principles of assessment for learning, Sally Burnham and Geraint Brown argued that...
Assessment after levels
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Nurturing aspirations for Oxbridge
Teaching History article
An exploration of the impact of university preparation classes on sixth-form historians
Frustrated by the low numbers of students from her comprehensive state school who expressed any interest in applying to Oxford or Cambridge to study history, Lucy Hemsley set out to explore ways in which she might both inspire...
Nurturing aspirations for Oxbridge
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ICT Resources for GCSE History Teachers
Article
The HA has compiled 3 invaluable spreadsheets that take you through the main History GCSE specifications, topic by topic, providing online resources for each topic and covering all the areas specified by the main awarding bodies. Each spreadsheet takes you through each specification and is filled with links to all the best available...
ICT Resources for GCSE History Teachers
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Building meaningful models of progression
Teaching History article
Setting us free? Building meaningful models of progression for a ‘post-levels' world
Alex Ford was thrilled by the prospect of freedom offered to history departments in England by the abolition of level descriptions within the National Curriculum.
After analysing the range of competing purposes that the level descriptions were previously...
Building meaningful models of progression
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Past Forward: GCSE History
Article
This summer was the thirtieth in which I have worked as an Examiner in History for 16- year- olds. This is a really sad confession, but I think it at least might allow me to offer an insider’s perspective. What follows is a consideration of the issues confronting GCSE history...
Past Forward: GCSE History
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Past Forward: Interpretations of History
Article
The internet revolution has accentuated the need for critical thinking about different interpretations of the past and has also generated a huge and exciting range of possibilities in terms of web-based sources and interpretations. Most teachers are now familiar with the many excellent websites that are designed to support school...
Past Forward: Interpretations of History
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Past Forward: History and ICT
Article
ICT in History has made tremendous leaps forward in recent years, although it needs to be said that these advances do not necessarily represent the day to day experience of every history department. Perhaps the most notable development is in the ICT skills of teachers. The great majority of teachers...
Past Forward: History and ICT
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What Does the English Baccalaureate mean for me?
Briefing Pack
History constitutes a key player in the new English Baccalaureate, being one of the two choices that students may opt for in the Humanities section. The English Baccalaureate is a measure of pupil progress consisting of 5 core subjects that will be reported in league tables. Students who successfully achieve ...
What Does the English Baccalaureate mean for me?
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The National Curriculum Attainment Target (from 2008)
HITT Resource
Level 4
Pupils show their knowledge and understanding of local, national and international history by describing some of the main events, people and periods they have studied, and by identifying where these fit within a chronological framework. They describe characteristic features of past societies and periods to identify change and...
The National Curriculum Attainment Target (from 2008)
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Professional wrestling in the history department: a case study in planning the teaching of the British Empire at key stage 3
Teaching History article
Three years ago (TH 99, Curriculum Planning Edition), Michael Riley illustrated ways in which history departments could exploit the increased flexibility of the revised National Curriculum. He showed that precisely-worded enquiry questions, positioned thoughtfully across the Key Stage, help to ensure progression, challenge and coherence. His picturesque image for this...
Professional wrestling in the history department: a case study in planning the teaching of the British Empire at key stage 3
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Past Forward: History, Citizenship and Identity
Article
History teaching is inextricably associated with values and ideology. This paper argues that if history is to remain a vibrant element of the curriculum in the future, then history teachers will have to meet a number of specific challenges. Central in this respect is the issue of history’s unique contribution...
Past Forward: History, Citizenship and Identity
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Schools History Project ICT Resources Spreadsheet
Article
The HA has compiled 3 spreadsheets that take you through the main History GCSE specifications World History, Schools History Project and the Pilot GCSE which has a compulsory examined element on Medieval England. Each spreadsheet takes you through each specification, topic by topic and is filled with links to all...
Schools History Project ICT Resources Spreadsheet
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Modern World History ICT Resources Spreadsheet
Article
The HA has compiled 3 spreadsheets that take you through the main History GCSE specifications World History, Schools History Project and the Pilot GCSE which has a compulsory examined element on Medieval England. Each spreadsheet takes you through each specification, topic by topic and is filled with links to all...
Modern World History ICT Resources Spreadsheet
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Why Gerry likes history now: the power of the word processor
Article
Ben Walsh argues that many teachers of history completely miss the point of the word processor. Criticising those who use it merely for 'typing up' he reminds us that the purpose of the word processor, as with any other resource, is to teach good history. He analyses the types of...
Why Gerry likes history now: the power of the word processor
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Bruce! You're history.' The place of history in the Scottish curriculum
Teaching History article
History teachers in Scotland are feeling vulnerable. A curriculum review is leading to debates about history’s place in schools – will it or should it be a statutory part of Scotland’s curriculum for 11-14 year olds? Many of the concerns in Sam Henry’s article will ring true for teachers throughout...
Bruce! You're history.' The place of history in the Scottish curriculum
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"...someone might become involved in a fascist group or something...": pupils' perceptions of history at the end of Key Stages 2, 3 and 4
Teaching History article
In contrast with earlier studies which presented a bleak picture of the impact of history teaching, Paul Goalen presents a small-scale study that is optimistic. For pupils in three schools at least, the history teaching of the late 1990s seems to be winning through. Goalen argues that the National Curriculum...
"...someone might become involved in a fascist group or something...": pupils' perceptions of history at the end of Key Stages 2, 3 and 4
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The QCA history scheme of work for Key Stage 3
Teaching History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
QCA's scheme of work for history at Key Stage 3, together with similar schemes for other subjects, has been published in response to widespread requests for more guidance on curriculum planning. Heather Richardson, Subject Officer (history)...
The QCA history scheme of work for Key Stage 3
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The hidden crisis in GCSE History
Teaching History article
Joining the debate launched in the last edition, John Dixon argues that in relation to competing subjects, history has become harder. He believes that this could be reviewed without loss of standards. He highlights what he sees as a perverse situation of conflicting trends: on the one hand, practice in...
The hidden crisis in GCSE History
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Building a better past: plans to reform the curriculum
Teaching History article
David Nicholls summarises some of the problems facing history education and offers a commentary on various cases for reform. He argues that we need to look at provision holistically from 5 to 21 and urges collaboration across phases and sectors. By working more closely together, the history community as a...
Building a better past: plans to reform the curriculum
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Super history teaching on the Superhighway: the Internet for beginners
Article
Isobel Jenkins and Mike Turpin answer some of those basic questions which many history teachers are afraid to ask, like ‘What exactly is it anyway?' and ‘Is this really worth my valuable time?' They outline the internet's value as a means of improving information access and as a way of...
Super history teaching on the Superhighway: the Internet for beginners
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Some Reflections on Empathy in History
Article
Undoubtedly, the introduction of empathy into the GCSE National Criteria for History has caused considerable problems for teachers and pupils, as debates in the national educational press have shown. It cannot be presupposed that...
Some Reflections on Empathy in History
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Thematic GCSE Content
GCSE Resources
The helpful guide below sets out links to a range of podcasts, articles and pamphlets that will provide subject knowledge guidance that you may find useful for all of the identified thematic topics of the GCSE specifications. In addition there are also links to helpful articles dealing with bigger picture...
Thematic GCSE Content
