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The purpose of this study was to determine if the use of primary source historical documents used in conjunction with the heuristics associated with historical reasoning (sourcing, corroboration, and contextualization) would lead to a subsequent development of historical empathy. Three intact groups (already formed history classes) from Northeast High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania were studied throughout a baseline and four trials for this study. One group was designated as the experimental condition and received primary source historical documents as well as scaffolding of the historical reasoning heuristics of sourcing, corroboration, and contextualization. The next group was designated as the comparison condition which received the primary source historical documents but no scaffolding on the aforementioned heuristics. The final group was designated as the control condition and received traditional textbook instruction throughout the four main trials of the study. Results showed that mean scores of the heuristics involved in historical reasoning as well as historical empathy increased simultaneously for the experimental as well as the comparison group throughout the study, with the experimental group showing the highest mean gains. However, whether training in the historical reasoning heuristics of sourcing, corroboration, and contextualization lead to historical empathy cannot be conclusively proven from this current study. / Educational Psychology

The dissertation explores middle-school students' abilities to engage in historical thinking. I dispute the Hallam-Piaget model, which discourages analytical thinking through the assumption that children lack skills to think critically about history. My historical narrative inquiry model (1) teaches procedural knowledge (the process of "doing" history); (2) enhances interpretative skills; (3) cultivates historical perspectives based upon evidentiary history; and (4) encourages student authorship of historical narratives. In the fall semester of 2006, with a classroom of twenty-five seventh-graders, I initiated a research study designed to explore the impact of the historical narrative inquiry model through a sequence of thirty-two lessons. The lessons involved small- and large-group activities, including oral presentations, discussions about primary documents, and consideration of the relation between narratology and the creation of written history. Students generated their own historical narratives in order to articulate their perspectives. Eight students having varied reading-level proficiency served as primary participants in the study. Each of these students received pre- and post-intervention interviews. Outcomes reflected the enhancement of pedagogy intended to facilitate historical thinking and historical empathy in the classroom.

Motion pictures have been used in the history classroom for a long time. Despite that fact, there are not a lot written about how this can be done. This essay, therefore, explores the possibility of a theoretical frame with the aim for a motion picture to promote the development of historical empathy among students. It is not deployed in a classroom setting; however, it seeks to study the preconditions in how it can be done. The study draws from history didactics and film analysis to study Michael Haneke´s The White Ribbon from 2009. Haneke is renown in the academic world where his movies draw a lot of attention. The reason is that his movies have a tendency to depict the ongoing decay of our society. This study aims at intertwining theory of history didactics with film analysis in order to promote the development of historical empathy among students. The theoretical frame the essay provides show a possibility in how a motion picture can be used for this purpose in the history classroom.

Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka populärkulturens didaktiska egenskaper. Detta görs utifrån resonemang av historielärare på mellanstadiet.Syftet utgår från tre forskningsfrågor där tanken är att undersöka om lärarna använder populärkultur i sin historieundervisning och hur de i så fall motiverar användandet av detta. Den sista forskningsfrågan undersöker om lärarna anser att populärkultur kan bidra med förmågor och kunskaper hos eleverna, så som historisk empati. Undersökningen görs genom kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer med fem historielärare på mellanstadiet, lärarna är i olika åldrar och har arbetat som historielärare i olika utsträckning. Det är lärarnas svar som sedan analyseras utifrån forskning om populärkultur samt historisk empati. Resultatet visar att lärarna är positiva till användande av några former av populärkultur i historieundervisningen. Dock framkommer det också olika slags problemfaktorer, så som tidsbrist, lärarnas engagemang samt deras syn på populärkultur, vilket spelar en stor roll i användandet av populärkultur i undervisningen.

The purpose of this qualitative interview study is to understand junior high school students' perception of the use of historical video games for learning and from this identify and analyze how the students perceives story-driven historical games in relation to developing historical empathy and a sense of history. The study also seeks to understand student’s perception of potential challenges with using historical digital games for learning purposes. The theoretical basis of the study is grounded in a history didactic perspective on game-based learning and a genealogical approach to history. The study uses semi-structured interviews with five junior high school students aged fourteen to fifteen years. The study found that all of the students who participated in the study had a perception that historical games may increase students’ understanding of history and that the increased sense of understanding takes place above all through the games ability to let students immerse themselves in the games story. Furthermore, the study shows that most students had a perception that the games allowed them to be virtually present in history, which can help students view the world and the people in it from different perspectives, to reflect on history, see connections between different historical events and to form their own thoughts about history. Perceptions of several potential challenges with using the games as teaching aids were also found. The most distinctive challenges according to the students were an increased distractibility, requirements for prior knowledge and interest in the games, structural challenges, and a perceived lack of historical accuracy in the games.

Vi ville undersöka några svenska gymnasielärare i historias attityder till att låta sina elever arbeta kontrafaktiskt. Vilka svårigheter de ser med arbetet, hur de arbetar eller kan tänka sig att arbeta med det och om de såg några specifika för- eller nackdelar jämfört med mer traditionell undervisning? För att ta reda på detta utförde vi kvalitativa intervjuer medyrkesverksamma lärare. Vi hörde inte av oss på förhand om huruvida de arbetat kontrafaktiskt tidigare och vi väntade oss en viss skepsis mot arbetssättet. Men vad vi fann var att även om inte alla medvetet arbetat med det så var alla insatta i, och positiva till, metoden. Och trots attde var eniga om att det innebär stora svårigheter att arbeta kontrafaktiskt så vittnade de samtidigt om stora fördelar, såsom effektivt utvecklande av historiemedvetande, främjande avhistorisk empati, samt motverkande av historisk determinism. / We wanted to investigate some Swedish high school history teachers' attitudes towards letting their pupils work counterfactually. Which difficulties they see with this kind of work, how they are working or can fancy themselves working with it and whether they see any specific pros or cons compared to more traditional education. To find these answers we conducted a series of qualitative interviews with working teachers. We did not inquire before hand as to whether they ever had been working counterfactually and we expected some degree of scepticism towards this way to work. But what we found was that even though not all of them had tried working this way, they were all well informed on the subject and favourable towards the method. And despite being unanimous about the difficulties of working counterfactually,they testified to the great advantages to doing so, such as benefiting the development of a historical consciousness, promoting historical empathy and countering historical determinism.

The objective of this study was to gain knowledge concerning what up-per secondary students need to learn to be able to construct historical explanations while working with historical sources. The study also explored how teaching could be designed to enhance student’s capabilities. The history didactical framework took its departure in the British Historical Thinking-tradition and the methodology was based on Learning Study, an iterative research method for analysis and enhancement of teaching and learning. Empirical data originates from one Learning Study undertaken in an upper secondary school performed in cooperation with three teachers teaching three different classes. The bulk of data consists of student interviews, video recordings from research lessons and essay texts performed by the students before and after research lessons. Variation Theory was used to analyse teaching and learning with the purpose to identify critical aspects of what characterizes the capabilities and what the students needed to learn to reason about causation, interpret and use historical sources. The historical content was framed on the late 19th century phenomenon known as The Scramble for Africa where the students were supposed to reason on the causes for thescramble while working with a variety of primary sources. The methodological design of the research-lessons was based on a combination of principles from Variation Theory and Learning Activity with the ambition to form an educational practice that would allow students to discern the critical aspects and advance their learning. The results show that the students who participated in this study needed to distinguish the following critical aspects to be able to construct Historical Explanations when working with sources: Cause To distinguish temporal aspects of historical change not to confuse causes and consequences. To distinguish that historical change are caused by societal structures and intervention by historical actors and do not occur by itself. To distinguish that historical change predominantly have their origin in several causes and cannot be reduced to single causes. To distinguish that historical explanations need support from evidence. Interpret and Use Historical Sources To asses sources critically rather than view them as neutral information. To contextualize sources to avoid presentism and literal interpretations. To corroborate sources to be able to validate claims and present different perspectives in a historical explanation. To see that values and limitations of sources depend on the historical questions we seek an answer to. To distinguish the difference between authentic sources and reliable claims.

This paper explores the potential of historical simulation games to nurture historical consciousness. Merging the subject of history and game studies, the material analyzed is the digital game Crusader Kings 2 as well as player created narratives spawned from it. The paper uses a mixed method from game study and history didactics, and theories of historical consciousness to interpret the material. The study shows that the potential to develop historical consciousness do exist in the historical simulation game, and that the narratives that players create from play contain signs of historical consciousness. The study opens up the field for future case studies where the development of historical consciousness through historical simulation can be tested in a formal school setting. / Denna studie undersöker potentialen hos historiska simulationer i digitala spel att utveckla historiemedvetande. Ämnet historia och spelstudier blandas i denna uppsats där det digitala spelet Crusader Kings 2 och tillhörande spelarskapade narrativ undersöks. Studien använder en blandad metod från spelstudier och historiedidaktik. Teorier om historiemedvetande används för att tolka materialet. Undersökningen visar att det finns potential för detta historiska simulationsspel att utveckla historiemedvetande. Den visar även att tecken på historiemedvetande syns i de spelarskapade narrativen. Studien öppnar upp för framtida fallstudier där utvecklingen av historiemedvetande genom historisk simulation kan testas i formell skolmiljö.

Pensar o ensino de História da Ditadura Civil-Militar Brasileira a partir de práticas pedagógicas de construção de biografias históricas que nos permitam perceber a empatia histórica desenvolvida pelos alunos é o objetivo dessa dissertação. A atividade principal para a análise foi a construção, por parte de estudantes da Educação Básica, de biografias de mortos e desaparecidos políticos no período da Ditadura Civil-Militar no Brasil. Assim, a problemática inicial da pesquisa é "que conhecimentos e sensibilidades os estudantes da Educação Básica mobilizam ao aprender sobre a Ditadura Civil-Militar no Brasil através de exercícios biográficos?". Para resolver esse problema, foi utilizado, enquanto referencial teórico-metodológico, o conceito de “empatia histórica”, desenvolvido por Peter Lee. A pesquisa permitiu identificar que o uso de fontes primárias, conectadas ao exercício da escrita biográfica, são fatores que potencializam a aprendizagem em história. Além disso, tornou possível perceber que a aprendizagem histórica é uma construção resultante de um processo didático-pedagógico. / Thinking about the History teaching of the Brazilian Civil-Military Dictatorship from pedagogical practices of construction of historical biographies that allow us to realize the historical empathy developed by the students is the objective of this dissertation. The main activity for the analysis was the construction, by students of Basic Education, of biographies of dead and political disappeared during the period of the Civil-Military Dictatorship in Brazil. Thus, the initial problem of the research is "What knowledge and sensibilities do the students of Basic Education mobilize when learning about the Civil-Military Dictatorship in Brazil through biographical exercises?". To solve this problem, the concept of "historical empathy" developed by Peter Lee will be used as a theoretical-methodological reference. The research allowed to identify that the use of primary sources, connected to the exercise of biographical writing, are factors that potentiate the learning in history. In addition, it became possible to perceive that historical learning is a construction resulting from a didactic-pedagogical process.