Julieann Gleeson_U1130411_ Assignment 1_Podcast

The literature review discusses the importance of teaching history in the contemporary world. It explores the responsibilities, opportunities, difficulties, and challenges faced by educators in teaching history that includes the present time. The review highlights the need for relevance and activism in historical understanding, as well as the impact of individual learning circumstances on students' engagement and understanding of history. It also examines the role of digital technology in providing access to information and promoting independent learning. The review suggests strategies such as community and global focus and enquiry-based learning to enhance history education in the contemporary world. Overall, the review emphasizes the value of history and the need for continual research and adaptation to keep up with societal changes. This literature review will discuss Chapter 1 in the book Teaching History for the Contemporary World, written by Adele Nye and Jennifer Clark, published in 2021. The delivery of history within schools have been consistently reviewed and adjusted for many years, and the changes continue with the new contemporary era which has grown and been accustomed to more innovative ways of learning. This literature review will discuss Nye's and Clark's 2021 Page 1 research, Questioning, whether teaching history comes with additional responsibilities, opportunities, difficulties and challenges by specifically focusing on how educators teach the subject to include the contemporary world. In addition to teaching difficulties, Nye and Clark's 2021 Page 1 questions, should we teach history to consider the concerns of our own era? Should history be more than interpretation of the past, or should it be a positive force in the present to create understanding that leads to a better future? Adele Nye and Jennifer Clark's book Teaching History in the Contemporary World discusses the ideology of relevance that has advanced with the times, and this discussion will analyse deeper into Chapter 1 on the importance of understanding the roles and responsibilities in teaching history. Teaching history is an essential part to a student's education in gaining knowledge to promote relevance and appreciation of a deeper understanding of contemporary issues that engage students in learning. Nye and Clark's collection of essays have incorporated many areas of discussions with other historians who have also contributed various ideas of specific historical frameworks in such a challenging contemporary world. It all began with a research trip to Europe, and by attending a conference in Bergen, Norway, Adele Nye and Jennifer Clark improved their research by embracing various contributors to this publication, and it had been agreed that encouraging a more personal methodology to history assists students to develop and advocate stories, events and developments from a more connected learning environment. Is this adjustment a relevance or activism in historical understanding? Firstly, looking into different ways people view history and how that can play a part on how a student views and understands of history, not everyone sees themselves as objectors of history or even want to know about historical events. However, no matter what, everyone has been in a position of learning or understanding in historical events. Nye and Clark 2021 had stated from their own perspective and the view of other contributors have identified their own collective impartiality, and educators also need to understand that students are in similar situations, that their individual family circumstances and the broader areas to include gender, class, ethnic, race and religion communities all learn differently, and these variations in circumstances may be restrictive or enabling to the engagement and understanding of history. Furthermore, Scott Metzger and Lauren Arthur-Harris 2018 has also discussed the differentiation in restrictive historical understanding for the engagement with the concerns of the rise in high-stakes assessments and teaching pressures may provoke long-standing misjudgments on various factual abilities in history education. Another study written by de Oliveira 2008 has revealed additional challenges and difficulties within historical learning similar to Nye and Clark who have identified restrictions in individual learning circumstances with the lack of time and students' limited abilities contribute to the differentiation in historical understanding. By understanding the matters within the new contemporary history education and the content consistently evolving and creating new challenges, teachers of history need strategies to manage these issues in the classroom. When discussing the era of contemporary learning in history, Nye and Clark 2021 page 5 stated, living in the digital world means that our current students are competent to operate in various ways within the classroom and have shown to be more independent learners and are no longer entirely dependent on the information that their teacher can provide. This statement has clearly described today's era with the amount of available content through online platforms with the ability to gather and share information. Also, this displays the ability to have equal access for all students to a large array of information using digital technology to assist in research, relevant historical content that the student may be interested in. The new contemporary world still needs teaching strategies and approaches for classroom history education and the teaching history for the contemporary world discusses the importance of a community and global focus for relevant content is one strategy to link the past, present and future using a chronological and intellectual framework. Nye and Clark believe these frameworks provide an outstanding and exceptionally educational framework to promote, encourage and strengthen the debate and discussions about the purpose of teaching history in this contemporary world. Upon further research regarding strengthening discussions and debates about new perspectives on history content delivery, Metzger and MacArthur-Harris, 2018 Page 7, indicated one of the most significant concepts in education within the contemporary era has been literacy and this fundamental element works in with the critical analysis of historical text. The concept of improved literacy with Metzger and MacArthur-Harris' research is certainly linked to the meaning of relevance as a tool for understanding that had been discussed by Nye and Clark, 2021 and the means to research a deeper understanding of contemporary issues. Students are able to utilise both linguistic and cultural knowledge bringing opportunities for a new perception on history literacy. Another area of discussion that had been identified by Nye and Clark, 2021 is the debate about teaching strategies and approaches for this contemporary world. Within their book, Nye and Clark and their contributors have identified one particular approach to teaching, the enquiry-based learning approach. The Australian Government Department of Education, no date, identifies when utilising an enquiry-based learning approach in education. This area is particularly focused on the investigation and problem-solving allowing students to use critical and creative thinking and promote student-centred learning approach. Both Nye and Clark, 2021 Page 8, believe this particular approach encourage students to explore multi-perspectives on the recent past. It was McCulley, 2012, cited in Nye and Clark, 2021 Page 8, who also supported the enquiry-based learning by using historical perspectives and the use of collective memory as an innovative pedagogy. Even though there is evidence from Vogt and de Weaver, 2016, discussing the difficulties with the lack of pedagogical knowledge, causing problems with delivering enquiry-based learning. This does not fully disregard the evidence that Nye and Clark have discussed in their book. With various connections of a student's learning to the enquiry-based approach does encourage positive active roles for the history teacher to bring change. In conclusion of this review, the research of Adele Nye and Jennifer Clark's Ideology of Relevance in a Challenging Era of History Education has recognised the diversity of students and acknowledged the innovative strategies of teaching historical context. This book had intended to challenge the reader's thoughts and reflect on what students and teachers would want to see from history education to include critical engagement and discipline in this new contemporary world. The intent of this publication has created not only a valuable amount of knowledge regarding relevance of historical approaches, but the understanding of fundamental positioning as an educator. Times are consistently changing and research in this area will never be fully complete as the meaning of contemporary is now and now is consistently changing so fast that research will just be a continuation just to keep up with society. There will always be new challenges and debates about the roles of teachers and delivery approaches of historical content, but one thing will always stay the same, the value of history will not change.