Teaching Sensitive Topics: Training History Teachers in Collaboration With the Museum

• In Event: Moscone Center West Roundtable Session 2
  In Roundtable Session: Bending Curriculum Spaces to Enhance Pedagogy and Learning

Abstract

Teaching sensitive topics is challenging for history teachers. The goal of this small-scaled case study is to evaluate a domain-specific training for history teachers in cooperation with museum educators. 29 in-service student-teachers and three experienced teachers participated and reported a small increase in self-efficacy in teaching sensitive topics. Experienced teachers’ lessons were observed. Teachers report that the training offers them practical and domain-specific tools to discuss sensitive topics with their students and that they feel competent in doing so. From the observed lessons we see that teachers partly apply the design principles in their lessons. The cooperation with a museum offers teachers a promising approach in teaching sensitive topics with tangible objects and by using different perspectives through time.

Authors

• Albert Logtenberg, Leiden University

• Geerte Maria Savenije, University of Amsterdam

• Pieter De Bruijn, Open Universiteit Rotterdam Area, Netherlands

• Timo Epping, Royal Museum of Antiquities, Netherlands

• Guido Goijens, Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands