Beginning teachers' conceptual understandings of effective history teaching

Abstract

The paper reports on the investigation of seven preservice teachers who studied a nine-week unit of a secondary History methods course in postgraduate diploma of education studies program. The focus of the study was to look at participants' conceptions of effective History teaching, especially pedagogical content knowledge over a period of time, that is, a study of conceptual change. Participants constructed concept maps in their first and last tutorial of the course. Only two participants' concept maps indicate conceptual change, and growth in pedagogical content knowledge in History teaching, although other participants' concept maps show a generic understanding of subject matter, curriculum knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge in teaching and learning.