Denos, Mike. “Portals to Understanding: Embedding Historical Thinking in the Curriculum.” (2008)

The author describes an incident when teaching a class concerning the Greeks and the crisis in Cyprus in 1974. He enticed students to think critically about history and to not simply take facts at face value. The students came up with four steps on how to determine the truth of an event. First, they had to gather all relevant primary and secondary evidence. Then they had to establish, based on this evidence, which of the events and sequence of the events they could agree were most accurate. Thirdly, based on the sequence of events they decided upon, they determined the most plausible arguments/explanations for the crisis and who was responsible for provoking it. Lastly, as individuals or in a group, students had to decide which explanation best withstood critical investigation. This exercise transformed students from simply wanting to know what history they needed to pass their exams to wanting to understand history. The author determined that students couldn’t properly understand history unless they critique and think deeply about it and they are more likely to engage in the subject matter if they are invited to think about history. The author describes the issues he faced when attempting to invite more critical thinking and historical understanding into his classroom and teaching. He suggests that by implementing historical thinking into the process of acquiring historical knowledge, educators can still provide the required content while promoting historical thinking. Modifying and framing questions in new ways, keeping in mind the difference between research and inquiry-based questions, can do this. The author offers examples of the different types of questions. This method of teaching history places more responsibility on the student for their own learning. The author continues with a discussion of the six principles of historical thinking and how they can be promoted and used in the classroom. He offers five approaches to aid teachers with the challenges of implementing the six historical thinking concepts in the classroom: make history problematic, assemble multiple resources, accept alternative interpretations, teach the tools, and shift the focus in assessment. This chapter focused on finding ways for students to learn history rather than being taught it.