NCSS Presentation Notes: Social Studies—Research and Practice

What Does It Mean to Think Historically... And How Do We Teach It?
Presented by Bruce van Sledright

Who epitomizes the depth of historical knowledge?

• Historians.

How do they become these experts?

• It's about reading and literacy practices combined with self-understanding and an awareness of social-cultural context and the individual's role as a citizen.
• Fundamentally, becoming a novice expert is about achieving se;f-understanding and awareness if socio-cultural content itself (positionality)

Our challenges need to address these isues:

• School literacy practices: Searching for the "one right idea"
• Epistomological positions
• The School and Cultural History Curriculum: Our education is about commemoration, not investigation