History

Introduction

Congratulations on successfully securing a conditional place on the PGCE Secondary History programme!

During this course the overriding goal is to facilitate your transition from subject expert to excellent History teacher, equipped with a toolkit of skills and knowledge necessary for a teacher at the start of their career. We will do this by:  

1. Preparing you to become History teachers who can help your pupils to understand their place in the world, and in the long story of human development, and challenges them to make sense of the similarities and differences in human experiences across time and place.  This will involve developing your: 

• understanding of the nature of History and its place in the school curriculum; 

• knowledge and understanding of the History National Curriculum and developments in the teaching & learning of History; 

• understanding of the ways in which children learn concepts, skills and knowledge and the History-specific pedagogies that support this learning; 

• skills of lesson planning, adapting materials, assessing pupil progress, and providing formative feedback to support pupil learning in History;

• ability to employ a wide range of teaching & learning strategies appropriate to the age, ability and status of pupils. 

2. Consistently modelling good practice through the delivery of taught content in sessions.

3. Focusing on evidenced-based approaches to Teaching and Learning in History.

4. Providing plentiful opportunities for purposeful discussion and debate about History-specific pedagogies to build your ability to be a reflective practitioner, driving your professional development forward.

To start the transition from subject expert to expert subject teacher, there are three tasks to complete prior to the start of the programme:

Task 3 - Your Vision for teaching History

As part of your development as a teacher, it is vital that you understand the History curriculum and how individual schools use this to set out their vision for the knowledge, skills and values that its pupils will learn, encompassing the national curriculum within a coherent wider vision for successful learning. It is also important that you begin to engage with research to inform your understanding and your own teaching practice.   

Hence, this task is designed to encourage you to understand your own vision for the teaching of History and the knowledge, skills and values that you believe are fundamental to pupil-learning.   Read these articles and then complete the questions below:

• How to teach history in 2021: A teacher’s guide

• Why the History Curriculum in British Schools Needs to be Changed

• Simon Schama: my vision for history in schools

Based on your knowledge of the National Curriculum for History & this reading, answer the questions below. 

1. What is the purpose of History education?  

2. What is the more important in History education – teaching knowledge or teaching skills?  

3. Do you agree with Schama’s six events that every child should learn about? What would you change (in/out)?  

We will use this as stimulus for discussion in the first History session, so please print your responses out and bring them with you on Friday 6th September. 

Recommended Reading

National Curriculum Programmes of Study

Join Your Subject Association!

 A highly recommended optional extra!

Sign up here: https://www.history.org.uk/