Historical thinking is a way of assessing historical information and questioning the past in order to uncover the unseen forces and hidden influences that exist within essentially every historical narrative we are familiar with today. One of the key concepts of this idea are the different parts of historical knowledge. The first is substantive knowledge, or the facts and narratives we are accustomed to reading about and seeing in movies or depictions of historical events. While this is the most well known type of historical knowledge and what comes to most people’s minds when they are asked how well they “know” history, it is by no means the only one. There is also procedural knowledge which consists of our disciplinary views, methods, and motivations. Contrary to what some may think, historical thinking does not come naturally, but rather is a learned skill that we evolve and continue to grow over time as we come into contact with more interpretations, narratives, and sources. It involves interrogating those sources and their biases, and understanding how they contribute to the interpretations which are informed by them. On a broader level, historical thinking does not only change the way we see history itself, but many other aspects of life as well. As we become more accustomed to this way of thinking, so too does our problem solving, reasoning, and deduction skills which in turns creates a more complete view of the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The three main questions I would like to answer by the end of this course are 1. How do teachers maintain a balance between facts and relevance? 2. What is the best medium to teach young people about history through? and 3. How can we come to terms with the prevalence of AI, and is it more helpful or harmful? To answer each question, I believe facts are the pillars upon which history should be taught, however they are not the whole story. Without facts there is nothing to ground historical knowledge in, however just teaching facts alone results in an oftentimes bland and forgettable experience for students. I think the best medium to teach students about history is face to face conversation, not relying solely on any particular medium of sources but instead using them as a tool to reinforce those conversations. The most memorable experiences I have had with my own history teachers have been through a combination of conversation and being introduced to new primary sources which relate to those conversations. Finally, I personally believe that AI is more harmful to students when it is used as a shortcut for original thought, however in many ways it is no different from other technologies that have come and gone. Ultimately it is up to educators to find new ways to engage students which cannot be answered by AI, just as we had to find new ways around smartphones and the internet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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