The role of questions and sources in promoting historical thinking

Abstract

This chapter explores the role of questions and sources in promoting historical thinking. The distinction is problematic, however, because historical inquiry is reliant on sources. Questions and sources are fundamental to historical inquiry, and teachers can plan learning and teaching sequences around selected sources. The potential scope of historical inquiry is immense. To engage in research, historians select some aspect of the past to explore. Teachers and students also make choices that shape historical inquiry. A teaching and learning sequence that includes questions and source material is an important foundation. A range of cooperative learning activities will provide students with opportunities to use historical thinking concepts. To acquire a nuanced understanding of the past, it is necessary to consider the perspectives of different people and groups. Teachers facilitate this by presenting students with sources that enable them to explore more than one perspective.