The successful study of history requires many things, but few would contest that an understanding of time is one of them. Quite what we mean by ‘an understanding of time' needs clarification, however. Chronological understanding is one feature. But it is not simply an ability to place events in order that drives our teaching (although that is a good place to start!). It is also a sense of scale (exactly how long ago was the prehistoric period in relation to the Tudors?), a sense of period (exactly what is conjured up by the expression ‘Restoration England'?) and a sense of what Ian Dawson calls ‘the frameworks of the past'.
What should pupils know and understand as a result of their historical studies? This question is much in the news currently and too often quickly posed and glibly answered. In this article, Jonathan Howson poses this problem in the light of an ongoing research tradition that has sought complex answers to these and other pressing questions and suggests an answer based on that work and on data emerging from the Usable Historical Pasts research project at the University of London's Institute of Education.
In this article Dawson considers the question, very much on the agenda currently given the revisions to Key Stage 3 for September 2008, of how we can best help pupils develop a coherent understanding of the past over the course of their studies. The article reflects on this question by modelling and discussing ways of delivering the Key Stage 3 unit on the development of political power from the Middle Ages to the twentieth century and by developing an approach to teaching large scale units like this through ‘thematic stories'. The article also contains discussion points to help history departments develop their collective thinking on this issue.
How can we help pupils make sense of the history that they learn so that the whole adds up to more than the sum of its parts? How can we help pupils develop and sophisticate their understanding of historical time and of the changing relationships between the past, present and future?
A ‘sense of period' is the contextual backdrop to the study of any aspect of history. As experienced historians, we tend to take for granted both our structural map of the past and our rich descriptions of different periods. The ability to draw generalisations about certain periods is arguably just as vital as recognising the diversity within that period. Yet how is such a sense acquired?
Steven Barnes proposes a model in which the overview ‘frames' the entire unit and enables pupils to grasp some of the essential characteristics of the period as a whole. His aim is for pupils to be able to hold different aspects of a period in their minds simultaneously, enabling them to make connections and reach overall conclusions to big questions about progress and change. Whatever the model, the key is to know what the relationship between overview and depth is and precisely how this develops pupils' understanding in a distinctive way.