Teaching History for the Common Good Book PDF, ePub eBook

Join our eBook service for unlimited books & audiobooks. Get a free 7 day subscription! ↓↓↓↓↓


Book Descriptions:
In Teaching History for the Common Good, Barton and Levstik present a clear overview of competing ideas among educators, historians, politicians, and the public about the nature and purpose of teaching history, and they evaluate these debates in light of current research on students' historical thinking. In many cases, disagreements about what should be taught to the nation's children and how it should be presented reflect fundamental differences that will not easily be resolved. A central premise of this book, though, is that systematic theory and research can play an important role in such debates by providing evidence of how students think, how their ideas interact with the information they encounter both in school and out, and how these ideas differ across contexts. Such evidence is needed as an alternative to the untested assumptions that plague so many discussions of history education.

The authors review research on students' historical thinking and set it in the theoretical context of mediated action--an approach that calls attention to the concrete actions that people undertake, the human agents responsible for such actions, the cultural tools that aid and constrain them, their purposes, and their social contexts. They explain how this theory allows educators to address the breadth of practices, settings, purposes, and tools that influence students' developing understanding of the past, as well as how it provides an alternative to the academic discipline of history as a way of making decisions about teaching and learning the subject in schools.

Beyond simply describing the factors that influence students' thinking, Barton and Levstik evaluate their implications for historical understanding and civic engagement. They base these evaluations not on the disciplinary study of history, but on the purpose of social education--preparing students for participation in a pluralist democracy. Their ultimate concern is how history can help citizens engage in collaboration toward the common good.

In Teaching History for the Common Good, Barton and Levstik:
*discuss the contribution of theory and research, explain the theory of mediated action and how it guides their analysis, and describe research on children's (and adults') knowledge of and interest in history;
*lay out a vision of pluralist, participatory democracy and its relationship to the humanistic study of history as a basis for evaluating the perspectives on the past that influence students' learning;
*explore four principal "stances" toward history (identification, analysis, moral response, and exhibition), review research on the extent to which children and adolescents understand and accept each of these, and examine how the stances might contribute to--or detract from--participation in a pluralist democracy;
*address six of the principal "tools" of history (narrative structure, stories of individual achievement and motivation, national narratives, inquiry, empathy as perspective-taking, and empathy as caring); and
*review research and conventional wisdom on teachers' knowledge and practice, and argue that for teachers to embrace investigative, multi-perspectival approaches to history they need more than knowledge of content and pedagogy, they need a guiding purpose that can be fulfilled only by these approaches--and preparation for participatory democracy provides such purpose.

Teaching History for the Common Good is essential reading for history and social studies professionals, researchers, teacher educators, and students, as well as for policymakers, parents, and members of the general public who are interested in history education or in students' thinking and learning about the subject.

Teaching History for the Common Good by Keith C. Barton, Linda S. Levstik

From reader reviews:

Eunice Bosse:

This Teaching History for the Common Good usually are reliable for you who want to be considered a successful person, why. The key reason why of this Teaching History for the Common Good can be on the list of great books you must have is actually giving you more than just simple reading food but feed a person with information that possibly will shock your before knowledge. This book is actually handy, you can bring it everywhere and whenever your conditions throughout the e-book and printed versions. Beside that this Teaching History for the Common Good giving you an enormous of experience like rich vocabulary, giving you tryout of critical thinking that we know it useful in your day action. So , let's have it and enjoy reading.

Lisa Morgan:

This book untitled Teaching History for the Common Good to be one of several books in which best seller in this year, that's because when you read this e-book you can get a lot of benefit on it. You will easily to buy that book in the book store or you can order it through online. The publisher on this book sells the e-book too. It makes you quickly to read this book, because you can read this book in your Smartphone. So there is no reason to your account to past this e-book from your list.

Clyde Connell:

That guide can make you to feel relax. This particular book Teaching History for the Common Good was colourful and of course has pictures around. As we know that book Teaching History for the Common Good has many kinds or genre. Start from kids until adolescents. For example Naruto or Investigator Conan you can read and think you are the character on there. So , not at all of book are make you bored, any it offers you feel happy, fun and unwind. Try to choose the best book to suit your needs and try to like reading which.

Eunice Nunn:

Reading a publication make you to get more knowledge as a result. You can take knowledge and information originating from a book. Book is composed or printed or descriptive from each source that will filled update of news. On this modern era like currently, many ways to get information are available for you actually. From media social including newspaper, magazines, science book, encyclopedia, reference book, fresh and comic. You can add your knowledge by that book. Are you ready to spend your spare time to spread out your book? Or just searching for the Teaching History for the Common Good when you required it?