HA Annual Conference 2011: The Secondary Pathway

Full Workshop details! 

To book please contact Suzannah Stern on 0207 820 5989 or suzannah.stern@history.org.uk 

The 2011 Annual Conference takes place at Manchester Conference Centre on 13^th and 14^th May 2011.  We have two fantastic days of workshops, talks, visits and much more.  This Conference will cater for all our education practitioners, as well as our general enthusiasts.

Secondary Education Pathway - Full Details

Friday 11.45-12.45

1. Running a history department for dummies

Barbara Hibbert

Former Head of History at Harrogate Grammar School

This is not a session on how to set and achieve targets or how to meet the latest demands of your SLT, but rather some tips for new and aspiring subject leaders on how to market their subject, enrich the experience of students and keep the passion and interest of teachers alive in an increasingly difficult environment. Led by a teacher with over 30 years experience of teaching history in an 11-18 comprehensive school including more than 20 years as a head of department (recently rebranded Programme Leader).

Saint George slaying the dragon, as depicted by Paolo Uccello, c. 1470

2. Slaying the Dragon: What's the point of sources in the new history narrative?

Andrew Payne

Head of Education, The National Archives

With the growing emphasis on narrative within the proposed History curriculum is there any purpose to source-based enquiry or does it just confuse students and undermine their understanding of the big picture? Andrew Payne, Head of Education at The National Archives, will be using the greatest archive collection in the world to show how to slice open the soft underbelly and expose the grisly innards of the Grand Narrative in order to put the thrilling complications back into history.

A disputed Portrait of Equiano in the Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter

Friday 13.30-14.30

3. Good practice in teaching Empire and slavery to enhance community cohesion and active citizenship

Michaela Alfred-Kamara

Education Officer, Anti-slavery International

The workshop will work with participants to interrogate teaching methodology in relation to the emotional and multi-faceted history of empire and slavery. Participants will look at the use of appropriate and inclusive language, imagery and classroom activities to enhance students' historical enquiry skills while learning the ‘never again' lessons from history to develop their active citizenship skills.

Code: FS MAK 2

4. Reflecting on the legacy of the Holocaust through historical enquiry

Kay Andrews

National Outreach Co-ordinator, Holocaust Education Development Programme, Institute of Education, University of London

Working with a short BAFTA nominated film and teaching materials devised by the Holocaust Education Development Programme at the world renowned Institute of Education, University of London, this session will focus on the legacy of the Holocaust. The workshop will reflect on where to end a unit of study about the Holocaust through meaningful historical enquiry. Participants will gain access to a range of teaching materials.　

Code: FS KA 2

Rachmaninoff, in his later years, toured the United States extensively, and remained there from 1918 until his death.

Friday 14.45-15.45

5. My country right or wrong? Using the biographies of 20th century composers to explore a diverse range of attitudes, values and beliefs

Ian Philips

Senior Lecturer, History Education. History PGCE Course Leader, Edgehill University

Using fragments of biographical information participants are asked to reconstruct the lives of 4 European composers, collectively the music they composed during the war years was important. Reconstructing the biographical fragments does not necessarily require detailed knowledge of the individual composers just good background knowledge of the period and the power of deductive reasoning. The biographies of these composers demonstrate that in trying times people do not always behave as expected. Along the way there are opportunities to explore the nature and the significance of some of the music of the individual composers and begin to explore how ‘classical' music might be used in the history classroom.

Code: FS IP 3

6. ‘This time it's personal': Making the most of particular people and places in history

Michael Riley

Director of Schools History Project, Jamie Byrom

Teacher Trainer & Author

The simple aim of this session　is　to help teachers find new ways of putting real people and real places at the heart of history teaching. Drawing on stories, pictures, maps, documents and artefacts we will show how to capture and feed the imagination of the young people we teach, and how to move them confidently back and forth between detail and big picture, enriching the learning as we go.

Head of History, Sawston Village College

Role play in lessons can often involve a few pupils at the front of the class.　What if a class of 30 could take a role that would last a whole enquiry? What if each pupil could feel that his/her role is valuable and for　each lesson thinks as that character? What if you could take away a ready made role play for 30 pupils, easy to adapt to suit your class? This workshop will enable you to drive an enquiry using role play whereby pupils become the period being studied. 　 It is versatile enough to be adapted to any period of study, and second order concepts such as change/continuity, causation, significance.　　

Sutton Hoo Ceremonial Helmet (Reconstruction).

8. Making archaeology relevant in the classroom

Mary Mills and Catherine McHarg

English Heritage

Let　Archright and　Bob Builder help your　pupils　understand　the real world of　archaeology. This session　will allow people　to take part　in an archaeological enquiry.　You will be　using archives and photographs to promote　an　understanding of the past and how it affects our landscape/lives today. The activity　is designed to encourage　thinking skills, group work and decision making. It draws on material from English　Heritages's　online　archives and its education website　Heritage Explorer. 　 Come along and have a go　- can you stay on time, in budget and figure out the archaeology!

9. Full colour history: filling in the blanks

Martin Spafford

Subject Leader for History, George Mitchell School, Waltham Forest

British people of African and Asian origin have been part of our　society since Roman times but largely absent from most school history. By the 18th century parish records and court reports indicate a　significant Black presence with more being discovered by archivists all the time.　We can　include these to deepen our understanding of the history of medicine, law enforcement, protest and reform, recreation, politics, warfare, ideas and belief, the arts and business.　To teach "movement and settlement of diverse peoples...cultural, social and ethnic diversity ...respect for identities" (KS3 curriculum) we need to　encounter and understand these stories and know where to find them. Engaging in their own right, no longer on the margins but at the heart of the curriculum, they reveal to children that the diverse world they inhabit is nothing new. This activity-heavy, resource-rich workshop　shows ways in which British Black and Asian history　can be woven into　most aspects of the curriculum's skills and content. If you go away buzzing with fresh thinking and ideas for the classroom and aware of how and where to find more, I'll have achieved my aim.

Code: SS MS 1

10. Sponsored Session: Maximising Acheivement on AQA GCSE history unit 2

AQA's Chair of Examiners for GCSE.

The workshop will examine how teachers can maximise student achievement on unit 2 using examples from specifications from both specification A (SHP) and B (Modern World). The workshop will be led by AQA's Chair of Examiners for GCSE.

Code SS AQA 1 

Saturday 11.15-12.15

11. Never mind your opinion or your point of view! What's your argument?

Arthur ChapmanReader in History Education, Edge Hill University

How can we help students understand that history is about argument rather than about the subjective expression of opinion or point of view? How can we help students appreciate the difference between argument and dispute? How can we scaffold students' understanding of historical argument and help students learn to construct and to deconstruct historical arguments? This workshop will present a number of practical teaching strategies that aim to help students argue in history and understand the crucial role that argument plays in historical knowledge construction.

Boadicea Haranguing the Britons by John Opie

12. Big Lil, Boudicca and Beatrice

Flora Wilson, Head of History & Jenny Cook, Information Services, University of Sheffield

This workshop will introduce you to Big Lil - a woman whose story deserves to be heard far wider than her native Hull. With the passion, leadership and determination to achieve her goals, she embodies the sorts of stories we should be telling our students, as well as enabling them to get to grips with complex historical thinking and developing sophisticated skills of source analysis and interpretation. We will also look at some of the pitfalls of teaching women's history and explore practical and creative approaches to avoiding them.

Deputy Headteacher, City of Norwich School

This workshop will share and demonstrate a range of teaching and learning approaches to allow your AS and A2

history students to take their first steps towards independence and rely less on spoon feeding from you their teacher. During the workshop you will create your own toolkit of techniques to address: classroom engagement, subject progression and out of class learning. The session is suitable for all teachers of AS and A2 irrespective of experience and will not be specification specific.

Children of an eastern suburb of London during the Blitz.

Saturday 12.30-13.30

14. Liverpool at War: An examination of the impact of the Blitz on the civilian population

Ian Philips

Senior Lecturer, History Education. History PGCE Course Leader, Edgehill University

This presentation draws on the records held in the Commonwealth War Graves database relating to civilian casualties. It begins by an examination of the evidence and the limitations of the CWGC records to support a detailed analysis but then explores how it is possible to use the technology to unpick the data. The records relating to Liverpool civilian casualties have now been transferred into a database which enables a far more detailed study to be undertaken. The presentation will examine the nature of the database and consider what the evidence reveals about the impact of the war on a city and on the civilian population.

History Adviser for Cambridgshire

British armed forces have been involved in numerous conflicts from 1945 into the present yet so many of these have been forgotten in the public memory and are rarely if ever taught about. This practical workshop will share strategies and materials developed with secondary schools across Cambridgeshire, Staffordshire and Suffolk to model effective inter-disciplinary collaboration on this theme　between History and other subjects　in Year 9　Key Stage 3. It will show how a combination of rigorous historical enquiry, learning outside the classroom and creative design outcomes can stretch pupils, especially the gifted and talented.

Head of History- Lostock Hall High School

‘Lessons from the Past' is an innovative and evolving oral history project, designed to enable young people to conduct meaningful enquiries into their local history to show how history can be used to address the issues that affect young people. Additionally, lessons from the past has also been designed to enhance teaching and learning, pupil attainment and pupil enjoyment of History across all key stages. During the workshop it will be demonstrated how and why the project should be adopted by other schools with a look at the pilot of Lessons from the Past and the impact that it has had on the pupils involved.

Humanities Adviser for West Sussex

History AST Hampshire

When Neil took over as Head of history at Forthill School 8 students opted for GCSE - a dismal 6%. Now the number is an impressive 98 students - a staggering 70% - year on year. Working closely and collaboratively over a number of years with then History AST, Richard McFahn, Neil and Richard realised that inspiring students to take the subject went hand in hand with rigorous yet creative and accessible enquiry based history. In this workshop Neil and Richard will demonstrate how enquiry will inspire your students. You will learn how you too can manage such an improvement, keep results high and never ever compromise teaching good history. This session will be based on practical examples taken from the classroom.

Author and Consultant

What does today's history teacher need to have at his/her fingertips? This session will examine a range of resources, teaching strategies, theories and perspectives on what makes history teachers effective and successful. It will unashamedly steer clear of targets, management jargon and performance indicators and will focus on engaging students, powerful history and examples of effective classroom practice.

Director of Schools History Project

Teacher Trainer & Author

See the Friday at 14.45 entry for full details.