How to enhance students’ learning
motivation: History and daily life (2)
History is dead ? !
Dr. Flora Kan
Faculty of Education
HKU
CDI020130779
25.6.2013
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“History is dead ! ”
Who might probably say
this?
• Student?
• Teacher?
2
Comment from students:
“History is useless. We
study dead things and
dead people,
the knowledge acquired
bears no relevance to my
daily life”
3
For this lesson, is “History is dead !” justified ?
Lesson A
• In teaching the Cultural Revolution, a history teacher
distributed a well-prepared handout to his students. He
started by stating the definition of the Cultural Revolution,
followed by an analysis of the remote causes of the Cultural
Revolution. Powerpoint slides and video clips were used to
illustrate the different causes. At the end of the lesson, the
teacher administered a quiz for his students to check their
mastery of the points covered. It was found that some
hardworking students simply rote memorized and regurgitated
the various points contained in the notes and the textbook.
Some others could only give a few disorganized points and
some could not even recall any points at all. The best students
gained six marks out of ten while the worst gained only one
mark.
• (Objective of the lesson: students should be able to identify
the remote causes of the Cultural Revolution)
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“History is dead ? ”
Who might probably say
this?
• Student?
• Teacher?
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Teacher’s view:
“History is not dead, it’s not even past”
Look at Lesson B, on the same
topic – the Cultural Revolution:
remote causes and with the
same lesson objective
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Lesson B
Introduction:
The teacher showed a picture of 2012 which was taken outside the Japanese embassy in
Beijing and asked students why people raised Mao’s picture and not the then
president Hu Jintao in the protest against the Japanese occupation of Diaoyu island.
Then the teacher linked the prominence of Mao today to the topic. (source: Mala
Ramchandani)
Please use the following link to view the picture of protest
against the Japanese occupation of Diaoyu island.
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/09/19/world/C
HINA/CHINA-articleLarge.jpg
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Lesson B con’t
The teacher then analysed the remote
causes of the Cultural Revolution. He
used powerpoint slides and video clips to
illustrate the various causes.
Closure:
The teacher asked students to use at
least one of the temporal dimensions to
evaluate Mao’s influence in China based
on two points in time (a) 1966 the start
of the Cultural Revolution and (b) 2012
people protested against the Japanese
occupation of Diaoyu Island, and
explained why.
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Temporal dimensions
1
2
Turning point (from good to bad)
3
4
Progression
6
Turning point (from bad to good)
5
Regression
Repetition
7
Continuity
Change & development
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An analysis of lesson B:
 Use current issue to bring out the prominent
role of Mao at present
 Closure
Linking history with the present and ask
students to evaluate Mao based on two points in
time over a span of more than 40 years.
 Strengths of this arrangement ?
Bring out the legacy of Mao and relate this to
the way he administered China when he was in
power during the Cultural Revolution
 Concrete
abstract
 Near
far
 Present
past
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Rationale ?
Historical consciousness (Rusen, 1996)
• A dialogue between the present and the past.
• One’s ability to see the similarities/differences
between the present and the past, and see the
significance underlying those similarities/
differences.
• One’s understanding of the present through related
situations of the past. When a person makes sense
of the past in order to orient practical life, s/he is
exercising her/his historical consciousness.
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Other examples
TIMES Magazine
Why Did World War I Just End?
By Claire Suddath Monday, Oct. 04, 2010
Please use the following link to view the article
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,85
99,2023140,00.html
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How would you use this Times
article in the history lesson
(Treaty of Versailles / Rise
of Hitler) ?
• At the beginning?
• As an illustration
• In the closure?
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IB DP Topic
• Osama bin Laden : Jihad
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orawG7vt68o
• George W. Bush: Crusade
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsjgjM56HRw
Source: Dave Perry
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How would you use these two
video clips in the history lesson
(Crusades: Introduction) ?
• At the beginning?
• As an illustration?
• In the closure?
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Another approach
On the same topicCultural Revolution:
remote causes
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Lesson C
In teaching the Cultural Revolution, a history teacher
identified the key question to inquire into as
“What was the motivation of Mao in initiating the
Cultural Revolution ?”
The issue : “In launching the Cultural Revolution,
was Mao attempting to fulfill his vision for
China?”
He first asked students to use 1-10 words to
describe their impression of Mao Zedong, he then
wrote it on the board and left it there throughout
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the lesson.
Lesson C – con’t
Based on the inquiry focus and issue
students in groups of four were to collect information on
Mao’s deeds. At frequent intervals, the teacher discussed
with students their progress, what they had found, why
they had come to that understanding. He provided useful
feedback to them as to what they now needed to find out
and where they might refer to. Each group of students
was then asked to present their findings to the class. The
other classmates, as well as the teacher, raised critical
questions and provided constructive comments about their
work during the lessons.
Finally, the teacher referred students to the word(s) they
previously described Mao and asked whether or not they
would change it and why.
For this lesson, is “History is dead ?” justified? 18
An analysis of Lesson C
1. Start from students’ impression / initial thought of Mao
(from hearsay, literature, drama series, etc)
Prior knowledge : internal representation of the views of
historical figures/ events
2. Main body of the lesson – students in groups were to
inquire into Mao’s deeds
Learner activity (new information might / might not challenge
students’ prior knowledge) +
collaboration ( student can perform at higher levels in a
supportive, interactive environment),
3. Students were to refer to the word(s) they used to
describe Mao and to consider if they would change the
word(s) and why
In taking into account the new information, students’ prior
knowledge might be modified or changed
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Queries:
Q 1. What has this to do with enlivening history?
Q 2. For the main body of the lesson, if the
teacher adopts a worksheet approach,
would it be acceptable?
Q 3. For the main body of the lesson, is group
work a must?
Q 4. What is the crucial part of this
constructivist approach?
Q 5. For prior knowledge, what if students have
never heard of the historical figure/event ?
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No prior knowledge?
• Use picture
Please use the following link to view picture of Mao zedong.
http://s3.timetoast.com/public/uploads/photos/1565463/m
ao-zedong.jpg?1304969547
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• Use poster
Please use the following link to view poster of Mao zedong.
Designer: unknown 1968, Landsberger collection
http://chineseposters.net/images/e13-856.jpg
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Use any images as stimuli for
students to express their
impression/ view /
interpretation
Revisit it in the lesson closure
and let students decide
whether they would modify /
change their initial thought
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Lesson C is based on:
• Constructivism (Resnick, 2002) –
knowledge is actively constructed
by learners
• Social constructivism (Vygotsky,
1978) – children can advance to
higher levels with support and
mediation from adults or more
capable peers, Zone of Proximal
Development [ZPD)
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History is dead!
History is dead?
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History is not dead,
it is not even past
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Thank You !
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