History Education Subject Interest Group

Statement of Intent

Subject Interest Group (SIG)

The aim of the SIG is to promote subject specific research and scholarship across the partnership.

We are keen to offer our partnership school colleagues opportunities for subject specific continued professional development and are working closely with our colleagues in the University of Nottingham Humanities Department and other History Education collaborators to develop programmes to support subject knowledge enhancement and pedagogical thinking for history teachers. The SIG hopes to offer teachers the opportunity to explore and understand the questions academic historians are asking about particular periods of history and to be introduced to and engage with recent historical scholarship and explore pedagogical approaches.

We recognise that many teachers are currently particularly concerned with gaining subject knowledge enhancement to support:

• local history studies
• the development of a more diverse and representative history curriculum
• considering how the history curriculum should address climate change
• arguing a case for a 3-year Key Stage 3 to provide breadth of historical experience
• developing a rigorous historical KS4 and KS5 curriculum

SIG Structure and Format

SIGs take place three times a year (one per school term) on a weekday from 5-7pm in the Dearing Building. Occasionally meetings take place on MS Teams.

• Lecture (45mins)
  Specialist subject knowledge enhancement lecture from a UoN History/ Humanities academic/History Education collaborator
• Exploration of accessible source materials and resources (15mins)
  Led by UoN History/ Humanities academic/History Education collaborator
• Table discussion and questions (20mins)
• Transition point – scholarship in school (10mins)
  Led by UoN History Mentor
• Table discussion/ activity considering implications for practice (30mins)

The lecture element of the evening is filmed to be shared on the Partnership Gateway to ensure it is accessible to all partnership schools and colleagues.

Feedback

“Stimulating session at the University this evening talking about how we can make history relevant and challenge exclusive historical narratives that may be in our curriculums. Also great to listen to some academic history - it’s been a while!”

“A really good session, my school has over 30 different ethnic backgrounds in it, so this sort of approach will prove interesting to develop.”

UoN Humanities ‘Ways to Study History’ KS5 Project

Through the SIG, we are working with UoN Humanities to develop support for sixth form students considering ways to pursue their interest in history at undergraduate level. Resources and outreach events will be made available to the SIG network.