History Assignment: K-10 Syllabus and Teaching Strategies Explored

This assignment delves into the core aspects of history education, examining the purpose of learning and teaching history, and the benefits of the inquiry method. It analyzes the NSW K-10 syllabus, focusing on how specific skills listed for a stage can be developed through teaching relevant history content. Furthermore, it critically evaluates the syllabus's emphasis on teaching history from various perspectives, offering insights into whether more or less emphasis is appropriate. The assignment provides a comprehensive overview of effective teaching strategies, syllabus analysis, and historical perspectives, aiming to enhance understanding of history education. The student discusses how the syllabus facilitates the connection of past and present events and highlights the significance of contrasting historical facts and figures for effective teaching. The student also expresses the importance of in-depth understanding, and the display of knowledge of historical events, artifacts, and timelines instead of assessment and grades.

Running head: INTRODUCTION TO HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
INTRODUCTION TO HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

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Part A
1. What, in your view, is the purpose of learning and teaching history?
The study and teaching of History is comparatively much different from those of other
Social Science subjects. It is much closer to the eduction of Humanities subjects such as English.
The study of History provides students of the subject with important historical knowledge and
understandings (Barton & Levstik, 2004). This also benefits students through the development of
thinking, analysing, presenting and performance skills, which in turn helps students understand
events of their own past and connections of these past events with the ones in the present times.
The study and teaching of History requires checking the people and places involves, causes and
effects of a certain event and its different interpretations pertaining to the changes which occur
over time (Gaughan, 2014). Remembering dates, even though is necessary in the study of the
concerned subject, it is only mandatory for the basic understanding of time periods in which
certain crucial events have occurred. Study of history does not necessarily mean rote
memorization of facts and dates. The main purpose of teaching and studying this subject is to
better plan for the future, due to the respect the students would have for the past and the
knowledge they would possess would benefit in protecting and promoting their own culture
(Cooper, 2014). This would eventually lead them to become better citizens of the world.
Alternately, studying the history for patterns of significant historical developments can also help
in analysing current world patterns and predict future outcomes and if possible help prevent
catastrophic events as well. History of oppression of certain communities, for instance, are
helping build better and engaging policies for their protection.

INTRODUCTION TO HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
2. Explain the benefits of using the inquiry method for teaching history.
The inquiry method of education is a student-centred method of education. The method
was proposed by Neil Postman and Charles Weingarter in their book “Teaching as a Subversive
Activity” (2015). It is more focused on asking open-ended questions and solving problems from
evidence-based reasoning (Pedaste et al., 2015). In this particular process students are
encouraged to ask questions which they think are meaningful to them and the ones which are not
as easy to answer. The teachers, on the other hand, are encouraged to avoid giving direct answers
to the students in order for them to ask more questions. This method is somewhat similar to the
Socratic Method in some respects (Oyler & Romanelli, 2014). The theory aroused from the
understanding of the authors that good learners and reasoners centre their attention regarding
related activities on the process of inquiry, which is a dynamic process. This perspective can be
useful when studying History. As History is subject that contains events which could be
interpreted in various different ways, an inquiry-based approach would help students understand
a certain occurrence in their own way, relating to their own culture and community (Maaß &
Katja, 2013). It would help students get a deeper understanding of the subject, with respect to all
the intricacies that exist in it. There are five cognitive processes which could be followed in
inquiry-based teaching of history, namely, sourcing, appraising, specifying, constructing, and
arguing (Voet & De Wever, 2016). The inquiry process can have benefits from the perspective of
a teacher as well. Framing interesting and indirect questions for the students to answer can lead
the students towards a stream of critical thinking that they cannot access themselves. Through
carefully crafting the questions, the students can be propelled towards thinking about answering
the question only after examining proper evidence as well as researching non-mainstream
historical facts, for instance, the history of a certain aspect of indigenous Australians that cannot

INTRODUCTION TO HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
be found in textbooks but only available in the local library of from an eminent historian of
native Australians.
Part B
1. Select one Stage from the syllabus and explain how the skills listed for that Stage
might be developed as part of your teaching of the relevant history content.
Stage 4 of the NSW K-10 Syllabus (2012) is focussed on the development of the earliest
human communities ranging from the period 60,000 BC to 650 AD. This stage presents a steady
transition into the modern world from the ancient world where the students slowly shift to
studying in depth the period post 650 AD through 1750 AD ("History K-10 Syllabus", 2012).
The early phase of this stage accommodates the establishment of organised societies and cultural
development within communities. Then the focus steadily shifts to a more globalised aspect
where world civilisations started coming in contact with each other and establishing and
evolving the intercultural communication. At the same time, attention is also given on the study
of various social, economic, political and religious beliefs and systems were challenged and
modified to shape the beginning of a modern world ("History K-10 Syllabus", 2012).
Throughout this stage, the following listed skills will be given due importance. In this section, I
will explain how these skills can be developed as a part of my history teaching content.
a. Comprehension: chronology, terms and concepts – In my teaching, this particular skill
can be developed through the use of intensive and explanatory historical content. Reading
of history will not be given supreme authority, instead the main focus will be on the
understanding of history. Therefore, if the fall of Roman Empire can be more
comprehensively explained by an animated video instead of a written literature, that

INTRODUCTION TO HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
would also be considered a vital resource for the classroom (Burke, Snyder & Rager,
2009). Historical timelines and sequences will be given significance because of how
relevant they are in terms of each historical event happening in a particular socio-cultural
context. The historical terms would also receive attention and certain word etymology
will also be discussed in a separate session.
b. Analysis and use of sources - Sourcing of historical information is crucial in ensuring the
validity and authenticity of the information. Therefore, a number of documents will be
used as resource in order for the students to learn about appropriate sourcing. Any
random video scraped off the internet will not be considered a strong source material
unless a credible authority like an eminent historian is featured in the video. Similarly
archives and historical documents in libraries and museums will again be considered
strong sources but it would be preferred if they also came from a published and
accessible secondary source, like a journal article.
c. Perspectives and interpretation – This would be focussed upon gathering deep insights
into the factors behind a particular historical event. The main objective of this skill would
be to develop an understanding of the correlation between action and its causal factors.
d. Empathetic understanding – this skill would be developed by motivating the students to
look at a historical event from the context of the time period it was happening. This
would help them understand the significance of the event from the exact socio-cultural
and political stances that were prominent in that period.
e. Research – this skill would be developed through extensive questioning and reflective
and critical discussions. A lot of concepts of history will be dealt with critically and the

INTRODUCTION TO HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
students will be encouraged to ask questions whose answers would have to be discovered
by them through extensive research and study.
f. Explanation and communication – This skill will be developed through the use of an
extensive set of resources as evidence to build texts, arguments and explanations of
historical concepts. Besides, those developed skills would be displayed and
communicated through the use of various media, from written and oral to multimedia
based (Hernández-Ramos & De La Paz, 2009).
2. In your view, is the extent to which the syllabus requires the teaching of history
from various perspectives appropriate, or should it receive either more or less
emphasis?
The NSW K-10 syllabus for history is an extremely well designed syllabus that
establishes as well as meets the requirements and objectives of students as well as a history class.
In my opinion, the extent of teaching required by the syllabus is appropriate. The syllabus
prioritises the objective of learning the past while connecting the past with the present. Such a
connection is both innovative and informative as the students will be better able to connect the
historical aspects if a comparison is made with the present (Bage, 2012; Lewis & Williams,
1994). Studying is more effective when contrasted with the opposites (Dunlosky et al., 2013).
Thus identification of contrasting historical facts and figures would be an effective way of
teaching history to the students. The syllabus is divided into distinct stages which deal with
distinct elements, events and timeline of history. Identification and analysis of those events and
timelines in correspondence with the socio-cultural, political and anthropological context

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provides for a thorough understanding of not only the subject matter but also enables the students
to identify the cause and effect factor better.
The study is history is not just a study of the past but also an exploration of the sequence
of events that led to a certain action in the past. In a socio-cultural context, every event has a
build up that causes it. Identifying those factors can not only help the student determine a
particular event but also generate a pattern that leads to a particular action. We find that social
patterning is a universal phenomenon and a pattern from the past may replicate itself in the
present in a different disguise. This is where awareness of the history becomes important.
There are certain aspects of the syllabus that I would emphasize more on. In my class, I
would want the students to explore and research content and topics on their own and make
presentations in the class. They would also be encouraged to write more professional essays and
texts, for which they would need to have a clearer concept of what is being taught, the context,
the story, the implications and the contrast from a contemporary perspective. In my teaching,
emphasis will be provided on in depth understanding and display of knowledge of historical
events, artefacts and timelines instead of assessment and grades.

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References
Bage, G. (2012). Narrative matters: Teaching history through story. Routledge.
Barton, K. C., & Levstik, L. S. (2004). Teaching history for the common good. Routledge.
Burke, S. C., Snyder, S., & Rager, R. C. (2009). An assessment of faculty usage of YouTube as a
teaching resource. Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice, 7(1), 8.
Cooper, H. (2014). The teaching of history in primary schools: Implementing the revised
national curriculum. Routledge.
Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K. A., Marsh, E. J., Nathan, M. J., & Willingham, D. T. (2013).
Improving students’ learning with effective learning techniques: Promising directions
from cognitive and educational psychology. Psychological Science in the Public
Interest, 14(1), 4-58.
Gaughan, J. E. (2014). The flipped classroom in world history. The History Teacher, 47(2), 221-
244.
Hernández-Ramos, P., & De La Paz, S. (2009). Learning history in middle school by designing
multimedia in a project-based learning experience. Journal of Research on Technology in
Education, 42(2), 151-173.
History K-10 Syllabus. (2012). Retrieved 17 August 2019, from
https://syllabus.bostes.nsw.edu.au/assets/historyk10/downloads/historyk10_full.pdf
Lewis, L. H., & Williams, C. J. (1994). Experiential learning: Past and present. New directions
for adult and continuing education, 1994(62), 5-16.

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Maaß, K., & Artigue, M. (2013). Implementation of inquiry-based learning in day-to-day
teaching: a synthesis. ZDM, 45(6), 779-795.
Oyler, D. R., & Romanelli, F. (2014). The fact of ignorance revisiting the socratic method as a
tool for teaching critical thinking. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 78(7),
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Pedaste, M., Mäeots, M., Siiman, L. A., De Jong, T., Van Riesen, S. A., Kamp, E. T., &
Tsourlidaki, E. (2015). Phases of inquiry-based learning: Definitions and the inquiry
cycle. Educational research review, 14, 47-61.
Postman, P. N., & Weingartner, C. (1969). Teaching as a subversive activity. Delta.
Voet, M., & De Wever, B. (2016). History teachers' conceptions of inquiry-based learning,
beliefs about the nature of history, and their relation to the classroom context. Teaching
and Teacher Education, 55, 57-67.