Historical Thinking in Lecturing: Possibilities and Problems

Author: Pei-Fen Sung(Center for Teacher Education, Tamkang University)

Vol.&No.：Vol. 53, No. 1
Date：April 2008
Pages：175-197
DOI：10.3966/2073753X2008045301008

Abstract：

Education reformers seek to prepare students with intellectual abilities through the Grade1-9 Integrated Curriculum Reform. However, the examination-driven system continues to be obstacles to real change. This study utilizes quantitative and qualitative methods to explore how historical thinking may be developed in Taiwan’s examination-driven system through understanding eight exemplary history teachers’ practices. These teachers all use lecturing as their primary instructional method. Student surveys and classroom observations reveal three characteristics of good lectures, and they are (1) lecturing for clear causality, (2) using dramatic story-telling and analogies to make history alive, and (3) contextualizing history through visuals, artifacts and narrative of details. Negative factors that affect historical thinking in lectures are (1) sacrificing concepts for petty story telling, (2) over-simplifying people and events, (3) content overload that produces cognitive gaps. I discuss issues of lecturing and make suggestions to improving historical thinking in lectures at the end.

Keywords：social studies, educational reform, historical thinking, lecturing

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