In a world of high stakes testing, teachers are always looking for the best way to help their students learn. Time is a precious commodity and teachers want to make sure that they are making the most of the time they have. English Language Arts, math and even science programs are constantly being evaluated and “upgraded.” Social studies curriculum, on the other hand, tends to be stagnant. Students often use text books that are as old as they are. The excuse is often along the lines of “history doesn’t change.” While this is technically true, it does not mean that new information about past events is not discovered.
Even more important than the age of a text book is its content. What is it that students need to learn? Are the names and dates the most important part of history lesson, or is there an underlying concept or skill that is at the root of the information contained in the text? These are the questions that have led to a recent departure from teaching from the text by many social studies and history teachers.
A movement has started that puts students to work as active participants in historical inquiry. According to Barton and Levstik (2004), students must have the opportunity to engage in the evaluation of historical sources, develop conclusions based upon evidence and create historical knowledge. Classrooms that use historical inquiry provide opportunities for students to engage in the learning process, construct their own understanding and practice skills that can be transferred to other areas of learning.
Some have questioned the ability of young students to be able to identify, comprehend and retain information from primary and secondary source. According to Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, children ages 7-11 are generally in the Concrete Operational Stage. This means that they are able to sort items based on given criteria, make logical connections between related information, consider multiple perspectives and view different aspects of the same object/situation (Mooney, 2000). Historical inquiry uses all of these skills and would therefore provide the opportunity for students to practice and develop these skills at a developmentally appropriate time.
The 1999 study by Foster and Yeager test the ability of 12-year-old students to “comprehend, synthesize, analyze, and evaluate conflicting written and pictorial sources.” The study found that students were able to “assess and evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of given historical sources.” It also concluded that students were “at ease with the fact that a source could present the historian with reliability problems and at the same time provide important information.”
According to Barton (2005), “the greater depth and richness of original sources … allows students to construct a more complex and nuanced understanding of past life than most textbooks or lectures are likely to do.” He suggests that the most important part of the use of historical sources is the opportunity for students to construct meaningful questions, pursue those questions and then make informed decisions about the evidence that they find. If this is the case, the process is as important, if not more so than the product.
Student ability to actively engage in and benefit from the process of historical inquiry is not the only question that must be answered in order to determine if it is in fact a “best practice.” Time is still a variable that must be considered before making any conclusions. The process of historical inquiry can be time consuming, especially if students are just developing the skills needed to be successful. The benefit of using a textbook is that the important information is already extrapolated and organized into logical order.
Finding sources to use in the classroom can also be a time consuming process. Teachers, in the past, had limited access to primary resources. They tended to be in museums or other inaccessible places. Aside from taking a fieldtrip, providing students with the opportunity to view primary sources was difficult. With the rise of the internet, however, teacher and students alike have access to an almost infinite amount of sources. Conversely, the time consuming part for current teachers is often selecting appropriate sources for their students.
Although historical inquiry can be a time consuming process, the benefits for students make the time commitment worthwhile. Textbooks may allow teachers to “teach to the test,” but they do not help students construct knowledge, make lasting connections between information or develop cognitive skills that can be applied across the curriculum. While historical inquiry may not be the most appropriate method of instruction for all social studies topics, it should be integrated into the curriculum for all students at a developmentally appropriate level.
Resources
Barton, K.C. & Levstik, L. (2004). Teaching history for the common good.
Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Mooney, C.G. (2000). An Introduction to Dewey, Montessori, Erikson Piaget and Vygotsky
St. Paul, MN: Redleaf Press.
Foster, S.J., Yeager, E.A. (1999). "You've Got to Put Together the Pieces": English 12-Year-Olds Encounter and Learn from Historical Evidence
Journal of Curriculum and Supervision, 14(4), 286-317.
Barton, K.C. (2005). Primary Sources in History: Breaking Through the Myths
Phi Delta Kappan, 86(10), 745-753.
