Skills development in the study of
history
1. Introductory advice and guidance
Advice and guidance for
practitioners for History National
Qualifications
The approaches contained within these materials are for exemplification
purposes only. Practitioners should adapt them to suit the needs of their
learners. Practitioners should refer to SQA documentation at all times.
Practitioners are encouraged to share good practice by contacting Education
Scotland through customer services.
Contents
Presentation 1: Introductory advice and guidance
Presentation 2: Active skills development – World War I
exemplar
Presentation 3: Active skills development – The Atlantic
slave trade exemplar
Presentation 4: Active skills development – Civil rights
exemplar
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Focus on skills development
• This support is designed to provide advice and guidance for
practitioners by demonstrating potential approaches to
learning and teaching.
• It is intended to offer support to individuals and departments
planning for the learning and teaching of any units and
contexts.
• It is designed to support practitioners working with learners
from National 3 to Higher level.
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Focus on skills development
• The examples provided are adaptable and will help to
stimulate further development of approaches to learning and
teaching relevant to the context of the practitioner.
• None of the presentations included in this support are
designed to be used with learners in their current form. The
presentations provide advice, guidance and exemplars for
practitioners to reflect on their own planning for learning
and teaching.
• In order to support practitioners delivering across the levels
of National Qualification presentation, the exemplification
provided varies in depth and challenge.
4
Focus on skills development
• The development and application of skills, as outlined by
both Bloom and McGinlay, are crucial for the
‘transformational changes needed to improve the life
chances of young people in Scotland’. They develop
towards higher-order thinking skills, such as creating,
evaluating and analysing. These are essential skills for
learning, skills for life and skills for work. These are
illustrated at the end of this PowerPoint. More information
can be found in Building the Curriculum 4: Skills for
learning, life and work:
http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/buildingyourcurriculum/polic
ycontext/btc/btc4.asp.
Focus on skills development
• Practitioners should refer to SQA documentation for the
specific skills to be developed and assessed for the three
exemplar topics.
• Examples are provided from the contexts of World War I,
the slave trade and civil rights. However, the approaches
are transferable across the study of any topic as the focus is
on the pathways to develop skills, rather than content for
knowledge and understanding.
Focus on skills development
• Practitioners should be encouraged to develop a holistic
approach. Learning can focus on one aspect of one unit or
can deal with a theme or issue across two or three units.
• The skills developed in these activities should enable
learners to be at the centre of the learning experience.
These materials support effective learning and teaching in
National Qualifications but it is built on skills and
knowledge developed from the broad general education.
• If practitioners choose to adapt and use any of the example
material provided, they should ensure it is both
contextualised for their own setting and prepared as
appropriate for the level of study.
Focus on skills development
• As the approaches are transferable across the study of any
historical unit due to the focus on the pathways to develop
skills, this could be an opportunity for practitioners to share
their skills with other practitioners. Practitioners may wish
to consider leading CPD sessions for colleagues.
• Practitioners could also use this opportunity to share and
develop skills in interdisciplinary and intersector contexts,
eg through Glow Meets etc.
Focus on skills development
• All new and revised SQA National Qualifications are
designed to reflect Curriculum for Excellence values,
purposes and principles. They offer flexibility and provide
more time for learning, more focus on skills and applying
learning, and scope for personalisation and choice.
• In the history suite of courses there is an emphasis on skills
development and the application of those skills.
• These courses provide learners with opportunities to
continue to develop the attributes and capabilities of the
four capacities as well as skills for learning, skills for life and
skills for work.
Focus on skills development
• Learners should build on the knowledge, understanding and
skills developed through the broad general education.
• All courses provide opportunities for practitioners to develop
breadth, challenge and application.
• Learners will develop a wide range of important and
transferable skills. The level of skills development progresses
through the levels of qualification, providing smooth transition.
Practitioners should make reference to the appropriate course
and unit specifications when planning learning and teaching,
and be clear that exams will build on the principles and
practice document, and experiences and outcomes.
Focus on skills development
Key aims are to enable learners to:
• develop their understanding of the history, heritage and culture of Scotland,
and an appreciation of their local and national heritage within the world
• broaden their understanding of the world by learning about human activities
and achievements in the past and present
• develop their understanding of their own values, beliefs and cultures, and those
of others
• develop an understanding of the principles of democracy and citizenship
through experience of critical and independent thinking
• explore and evaluate different types of sources and evidence
• learn how to locate, explore and link periods, people and events in time and
place
• learn how to locate, explore and link features and places locally and further
afield
• engage in activities which encourage enterprising attitudes
• develop an understanding of concepts that encourage enterprise and influence
business
• establish firm foundations for lifelong learning and for further specialised study
and careers.
Drawn from Social Studies: Principles and Practice
Focus on skills development
reflective questions
In order to plan for skills development, it may be beneficial for
practitioners to consider their current practice and reflect on
the following:
Considering your current approaches to learning and teaching
in National Qualification courses, basing your answers on the
evidence you have:
– How effectively involved are the learners in their learning?
– In what ways are the skills of learners effectively developed?
How could this be improved?
– What aspects could be improved through increased use of
active learning?
– How will you measure the impact on learners?
Focus on skills development
reflective questions
It is also important for practitioners to consider skills from Building the Curriculum 4:
Consider your current approaches to learning and teaching in National Qualification
courses. Base your answers on the evidence you have:
–
–
–
–
–
–
How do you currently develop literacy skills in classrooms or other settings? What new
opportunities might you provide?
Young people need to be able to use a range of texts (spoken, heard, written, visual,
mixed media). Where might these texts be used and how might they develop learners’
skills in literacy?
How are numeracy skills used in your area of the curriculum or cross-curricular context?
What new or better experiences might you provide to develop these skills in classrooms
and other settings?
What range of learning activities could you use more effectively to help develop young
peoples’ higher-order thinking skills?
What kinds of questioning by both practitioners and learners might help to develop
thinking skills?
Focus on skills development
• In order to plan for skills development, practitioners
may find it helpful to refer to Bloom’s taxonomy and
the related work of Morag McGinlay.
• McGinlay’s skills path draws on Bloom’s taxonomy
and demonstrates how learners can progress through
their learning and develop higher-order thinking
skills.
• The following two slides outline the revised version of
Bloom’s taxonomy and McGinlay’s skills path.
Focus on skills development:
revised Bloom’s taxonomy
Creating:
designing, constructing, formulating and/or adapting opinions, theories and/or products. Can
I construct/create a viewpoint/theory?
Evaluating:
making judgements, considering opinions, defending decisions by assessing, comparing,
judging, deciding and/or proposing alternative solutions. Can I justify my decision?
Analysing:
differentiating and distinguishing information into appropriate parts, working out how the
parts relate to each other and to the overall setting by comparing, contrasting, matching,
classifying, grouping. Can I distinguish aspects of my knowledge/learning?
Applying:
using and demonstrating knowledge, understanding and information in a new way. Solving
problems to new situations; implementing procedures in unfamiliar situations; constructing
answers. Can I use my knowledge/learning in a new way or an unfamiliar situation?
Understanding: demonstrating understanding of facts and ideas by organising, comparing, classifying,
translating, interpreting, describing, discussing and stating ideas. Can I explain my
knowledge/learning?
Remembering:
demonstrating the ability to remember previous learning by recalling facts, terms, concepts,
ideas and answers. Can I recall my knowledge/learning?
Focus on skills development:
McGinlay’s skills path
Focus on skills development
• The examples provided in this support aim to
demonstrate potential approaches to developing
higher-order skills through active and collaborative
learning in the study of different historical periods.
• The activities in this exemplification can be used
across all units.
• When using any of the other three presentations
within this support, practitioners should make
reference to this introductory PowerPoint.