Active Teaching Methodologies help students revise History

Key Skills: Working With Others and Managing Information
Active Teaching Methodologies: 

Pairs to Fours:
A pair of students examines a document and answers the questions together.  Than they work with another pair of students to discuss their answers and think critically about the document.
Essay / Short Account Pair Work.  E.g. students work together on writing up a suitable introduction and a plan for the answer to be undertaken.

Marketplace History 
Students are divided into groups of three.  Each group is given a topic to work on.  For example, the Reformation.  Group One: Martin Luther; Group 2: John Calvin; Group Three: The Counter-Reformation; Group 4: The English Reformation; Group 5: The Reformation in Ireland.

Each group writes up 10 facts about their topic in a set period of time e.g. 10 minutes.  

Then, the group divides up.  One person stays at home in the marketplace to sell the information to members of other groups that seek information/produce from their market stall.

The other 2 members of the group seek out information about the other topics and come back to the group after 10 minutes or so and teach the facts that they have learned from other stallholders of topics.

Students are constantly active and it’s a quick teaching/ revision tool.

Marketplace World War II battles and Cold War conflicts.

Stepping Stones 
An invaluable method of teaching events in chronological order such as Hitler’s Germany, 1939-1945 or the significant battles in World War II.

A number of stepping stones are laid out across the room and students have to step on each stone/year and explain what happened in each particular year. E.g. Hitler’s Domestic Policy, 1933; 1934; 1935; 1936; 1937; 1938; 1939.
Again, groups of three can be created and a ‘hero’ appointed from each group.  The group coaches the student that has been elected or selected to cross the ‘pool’ and if he/she makes a mistake, then they fall into the pool and another group has a ‘go’ and their ‘hero’ tries to cross successfully, by recalling facts for that particular year and so, on.

An adaptation of Stepping Stones/ Meeting at a ‘Cross roads’ 
Aim: Students to recall facts and chronological order of events/ agreements; understand the various perspectives; analyse and think critically about a topic/event; perspective etc.

Question: What attempts were made to reach a peaceful resolution to the Troubles in Northern Ireland, 1969-1993?
The British government; The Irish government; The British government and Unionists of Northern Ireland and Nationalists.

5 groups were created and each had to examine a perspective and give adequate and relevant facts in their presentation.  The purpose is to enable students to look at the topic chronologically and understand and think critically about each perspective.  Students will meet at the centre of the room: 1993 and each will come from a certain perspective, along chronologically placed stepping stones and share it with the other perspectives/ groups.

Ms. Kenny

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