2017 Volume 87 Pages 1-12
The aim of this article is to reveal the principles of curriculum and unit organization focusing on teaching for historical writing, with the point of embodying authentic learning in secondary history. In recent studies of teaching and learning history, researchers have focused on reading historical sources to make history learning authentic. However, in consideration of the essence of authentic learning theory, writing historical arguments must be more focused than reading historical sources in history curriculums. This article takes its cue from C. Monte-Sano’s research, which focuses on teaching and learning for argument writing in secondary history. Moreover, she and collaborators developed a resource book titled “Reading, Thinking, and Writing About History”. This book provides learning support tools and lesson plans on U.S. historical topics for 8th graders. This article analyzed Monte-Sano’s research and this resource book reaches the aim mentioned above.
This analysis found that learners should write historical arguments to embody authentic learning in secondary history. In addition, the principles of curriculum organization are as follows: 1) historical forms of argument writing should be taught in the first half; 2) teachers should repeatedly promote writing historical arguments independently in the second half. These points are based on cognitive apprenticeship. The principles of unit organization are as follows: 1) reading sources should be positioned as learning experience for writing historical arguments; 2) the process of deliberative judgments about historical sources should be organized before learners construct historical arguments; 3) dialogues with others should be positioned as learning experiences for writing historical arguments independently.
