“History, like theology or natural science, is a special form of thought.”
–– R.G. Collingwood
Cantù proclaims in this chapter, "Before we ask students to investigate past human activities, however, we need to frame or limit their investigation. In other words, we need to determine how best to approach a particular issue." The approach is going to be tailored to our assessment of our students': prior knowledge, learning intelligence, skills, and self-efficacy. From this assessment, as a teacher it is our job to create lesson plans that scaffold students understanding and ability to answer the three basic questions of historical inquiry: what happened, how did it happen, and why did it happen?
Included in this weeks material were a series of Biography video vignettes. I learned a lot and really enjoyed them. Being that they are concise, short-3-5 minutes in length, and well produced, I can see myself using these in my class from time to time. Following is an example of one about Michelle Obama.
I singled out the quote in the beginning of my reflection because I feel it best describes the purpose of the rest of the material in this chapter. I will not regurgitate the content of the chapter. Suffice it to say, Collingwood, a philosopher of history, plants his feet on the side of history as a science because he sees it as having a special form of thought. It is not only looking at evidence: it is looking at the evidence and using our historical thinking to interpret it. Hence, as an educator, the form of historical inquiry and content standards are the guides leading us and our students into the science of history. As I see it, this is the science historical thinking, though the outcomes are not aways measurable and repeatable. Therefore, more than merely a science, I also believe history is an art.
Big Question: Given the short period of time we will have with our students and the reality that we will not likely be able to implement every good resource, tool, and standard, what is the most critical historical thinking skill and content standard that we cannot afford to miss?
Source: http://gcsehistory.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/cold-war-cartoon.jpg
This site links to an interactive timeline of education in the U.S. for a little twist on education.
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