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Module Specifications.

Current Academic Year 2024 - 2025

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Date posted: September 2024

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Module Title
Module Code (ITS)
Faculty School
Module Co-ordinatorSemester 1: Caitriona Ni Cassaithe
Semester 2: Caitriona Ni Cassaithe
Autumn: Caitriona Ni Cassaithe
Module TeachersCaitriona Ni Cassaithe
NFQ level 8 Credit Rating
Pre-requisite Not Available
Co-requisite Not Available
Compatibles Not Available
Incompatibles Not Available
None
Student must write a 3000-word essay (fully referenced with course readings)
Description

In this introductory module students will critically examine the theory and research underpinning children’s historical thinking and reflect on the implications these have for their own professional practice both on school placement and as history teachers in the primary classroom. Throughout the course, students will challenge their own assumptions about the teaching of history and work towards developing a personal teaching statement that outlines their own understanding of the nature of history and history teaching. Using hands-on, practical workshops, the module will also examine key themes in history education such as the purpose of school history, historical consciousness and children’s epistemic beliefs about the nature of history. The pedagogical implications of these on the teaching and learning of history at primary level (e.g. curriculum and textbook design) and the uses of history in everyday life (e.g. public debates on contested events like the Glasnevin Memorial, the toppling of statues and commemorations) will be examined. Students will critically explore the five stages of the History Enquiry Framework (Ní Cassaithe, 2020) and engage with creative strategies for enquiry planning, activities and assessment. The course also explores how these can be used to develop and teach purposeful historical enquiries for all primary students that will allow them to rethink their assumptions about the past, make connections to the present and reimagine a more sustainable and equitable future Through engagement in the seminars, readings, tasks, and reflections, students will develop their confidence and competence in teaching history and the development of children’s historical learning. Students will also evaluate textbooks, online museum resources and ICT and digital resources suitable for the teaching of history.

Learning Outcomes

1. Critically engage with public perceptions on the purpose of history and examine how these impact on teaching and learning in classrooms
2. Draw on current research on children’s historical thinking to plan and activities to challenge common ‘epistemic bottlenecks’ students encounter in the history classroom
3. Demonstrate knowledge of the historical enquiry framework as an effective pedagogy to support children’s historical learning
4. Use the historical enquiry framework to plan appropriate historical enquiries that display an understanding of the underpinning concepts, key ideas, relevant content and skills of history education.
5. Reflect on the module content and readings to develop their understanding of issues relating to teaching and learning in history
6. Develop personal teaching statement for history drawing on course content.



Workload Full-time hours per semester
Type Hours Description
Seminars24Two Hour Seminars (one per week)
Independent Study51Engagement with readings, research and policy pertaining to History Education. Online engagement. Time provided to students engaging in group work and group discussion. Evaluation of resources/sources for the teaching of history.
Independent Study50Design of history activities for teaching in the classroom. Completion of reflections on learning throughout the module.
Total Workload: 125

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

Indicative Content
his course will provide students with a research-informed rationale for teaching primary history by developing a deep knowledge and understanding of historical thinking and historical enquiry as pedagogical pillars for teaching and learning history. In each seminar, students will discuss and review key considerations in planning for history. Pedagogical content knowledge will be developed through engagement with and reflection on exemplar activities. Student readings will be carried out through using a range of hands-on activities, allowing them to engage with and analyse a broad range of literature in history education including practitioner-based book chapters and peer-reviewed research articles in a creative way.

Seminars
In seminars students will: Discuss the purpose of history both at a disciplinary and universal level. They will discuss the reasons why we teach school history, and, through an analysis of the primary curriculum, explore both the substantive and procedural knowledge children in primary schools engage with. Explore the concept of historical consciousness and using Rusen’s Typology of Historical Consciousness (2005), interrogate public responses to historical events that impact on the present such as the toppling of statues, the wearing of a poppy and the Glasnevin Memorial Wall. Examine children’s and teachers’ beliefs about the nature of history and identify approaches to challenging ‘epistemic bottlenecks’ children may have about history and historical evidence. They will also look at specific strategies to challenge the epistemic bottlenecks children may hold about history. Explore the stages of the Historical Enquiry Framework (Ní Cassaithe, 2020) and engage with and then plan a variety of activities that can be used to develop children’s critical and historical thinking skills. Critically evaluate the content of history textbooks and online resources and reflect on their suitability or adaptability to the teaching of enquiry-based history. Students will engage with fieldwork and field trips related to History Education, through interacting with and visiting local community groups, schools, and individuals in and around Dublin. Students will draw on course content to evaluate the educational resources of museums such as Dublinia, Glasnevin and Croke Park.

Assessment Breakdown
Continuous Assessment% Examination Weight%
Course Work Breakdown
TypeDescription% of totalAssessment Date
AssignmentStudents must select 5 Seminars to reflect on over the course of the Semester. Guiding questions for reflection are provided Reflections must show evidence of engagement with the seminars and with the associated literature (2 readings assigned to each seminar – see Loop). Reflections must demonstrate knowledge of the curriculum and how the seminar content/concepts links to the Primary History Curriculum (Students cannot reflect on a seminar that they have not attended).30%n/a
Group assignmentStudents select and research (using at least four historical texts) a topic from the senior strands of the primary history curriculum (3ed-6th class). Students devise a suitable enquiry question. This question should be open ended, challenging and offer potential for historical enquiry. Using the Historical Enquiry Framework, students design a progressional plan using a range of highly suitable activities to develop children’s content knowledge in tandem with historical thinking skills. The progressional plan should highlight a diverse range of high quality sources and resources to support effective teaching and learning and make connections to current issues.50%n/a
AssignmentStudents create a 500 word personal teaching statement for history drawing on course content.20%n/a
Indicative Reading List

  • Barton, K. C. & Levstik, L.: 2004, Teaching History for the Common Good, LEA Publishers New Jersey,
  • Barton, K. C. and Levstik, L.: 2015, Doing History: Investigating with children in elementary and middle schools, 5th Ed Ed., LEA Mahwah, N. J.,
  • Counsell, C., Burn, K. & Chapman, A.: 2016, MasterClass in History Education: Transforming Teaching and Learning, Bloomsbury Publishing London,
  • Donovan, S. M. & Bransford, J. D. (eds): 2005, How Students Learn History in the Classroom, National Academies Press National Research Council, Washington D. C.,
  • Metzger, A. & McArthur Harris, L.: 2018, The Wiley International Handbook of History Teaching and Learning, Wiley-Blackwell New York,
  • NCCA: 1999, Primary School Curriculum: History - Teachers Guidelines, The Stationery Office Dublin,
  • NCCA: 1999, Primary School Curriculum: History, The Stationery Office Dublin,
  • VanSledright, B: 2011, The challenge of rethinking history education: On practices, theories, and policy., Routledge. New York,
  • Wineburg, S: 2001, Historical thinking and other unnatural acts: charting the future of teaching the past, Temple University Press Philadelphia,
Other Resources

51773, Peer Reviewed Journals, 0, Historical Encounters, 51774, Peer Reviewed Journals, 0, HERJ, 51775, Journals, 0, Primary History, 51776, Journals, 0, Teaching History, 51777, Journals, 0, Historical Association,

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