National Study Option B China 1927-1949

Upon reflection, this task had proved to be engrossing due to its intricacies in the creation of a structured and progressive lesson sequence that was responsible for enhancing student historical inquiries. The topic of choice for a year 12 HSC class, was the National Study Option B China 1927–1949 (BOSTES, 2009, p.29), with focus upon the historical concept of “perspectives”. An often understated, yet historically complex unit, China itself provides an ideal opportunity for students to explore the multifaceted perspectives amongst the participants of history along with their differing contexts. It was the intention of this lesson sequence that students develop a conceptual understanding of China through the engagement of well-conceived activities,

Ultimately, by the creation and engagement of this substantive project, it has afforded me an enriching experience as a preservice history teacher in the development of lesson sequences that seek to display students conceptual understanding of history within a 21st century classroom.

Unpacking the Concept

This assessment task has encouraged me to gain a clearer and in depth understanding of the historical concept of “perspectives”. This concept becomes one of the cornerstone of historical inquiry as students learn to identify and distinguish between multiple views and acknowledging their influences upon the past (BOS, 2009, p.6). Before one engages in the exploration of perspectives they should be aware of the extent of differences between current views, beliefs and attitudes and those of prior society. Simply put, one must acknowledge that “the past becomes a foreign country”. The HSC syllabus recognises the concept of perspective as being one of the key elements of achieving an outcome in the process of historical inquiry, as students are required to “explain and evaluate differing perspectives and interpretations of the past (BOS,

Initially, the assessment task had required revision to ensure that it had remained clear for students, by the inclusion of details such as the date for this task and the allocated time to be taken. It was also suggested from our peers that the assessment could be revised by excluding the fakebook notes from the assessment criteria, as it is already implied that they use this information to support their interpretations. A point of useful feedback received was the inclusion of success criteria for our extended response, which we shall implement as we agree it will strengthen student’s responses. It also had been pointed out that our timing needed reviewing, for example our “Kahoot” activity even though receiving positive critique, it was suggested that more time could be allocated to it or even to shift this mini quiz to the end. However, after though, it was decided to keep it at the beginning as it proved to be most beneficial in this instance in recapping prior knowledge. Furthermore, we deliberated upon the comment regarding our group sizes in the debate activity and arrived at the conclusion that we should maintain the group size we had as it was appropriate for the question, whilst any potential disruption will be thwarted through the strategy of reaffirming students set roles within