"The term pedagogical content knowledge, coined in the mid-1980s by Lee Shulman, captures a notion that dates to John Dewey in the early 20th century: that teachers must find a way to connect the subjects they teach to students’ ideas and experience in ways that yield deep conceptual understanding and build skill and competence. Broadly defined, pedagogical content knowledge is the practical knowledge that enables teachers to transform the content and epistemology of a subject discipline for purposes of teaching." - Judith Warren Little (italics added)
When it comes to pedagogical content knowledge, the central questions for a history teacher are:
Below are several conceptual frameworks for thinking about the pedagogical content knowledge of history. Ultimately, the pedagogy of history is about teaching students to practice/demonstrate some combination of these skills.
National Council for the Social Studies (2012) Historical Thinking Requires:
Stanford History Education Group (2016) Historical Thinking Skills:
National Research Council (2005) How Students Learn History in the Classroom:
At UVEI & UVGSE, we require social studies teachers to demonstrate these in practice by: Helping students use facts, concepts, and interpretations to make and explain judgments about a significant historical event or social science phenomenon.
Sources:
National Council for the Social Studies. (2012). The college, career, and civic life (C3) framework for social studies state standards: Guidance for enhancing rigor of K-12 civics, economics, geography, and history. Silver Spring, MD: Author.
National Research Council. (2005). How students learn: History in the classroom. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
Stanford History Education Group. (2016). Historical thinking skills. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University.