Constructing Meaning from Historical Content: A Research Study

Through an examination of one undergraduate American history course at a large university in the southeastern United States via interview, observation and content analysis, we attempted to discern if the pedagogical methodology was relating to the students in such a way as to foster students' ability to construct meaning beyond simply knowledge-based content. After a review of relevant literature regarding historical thinking methodology, we then sought to observe the class, interview some of the students and analyze the content presented. Our findings indicate that this particular instructor favored lecture as her presentation method, which discouraged students from seeking meaning beyond the content as it was presented. In interviews, students indicated little prior experience or prior knowledge employed in this class resulting in a feeling of disconnectedness from the content. Most students however, still expressed an interest in history despite how it was taught in this course, and others they had experienced, but lamented the neglect of their prior knowledge and experiences with historical content in the classroom. The lecture style employed by this teacher was not conducive to any deep examination of the content presented, and therefore provided students little opportunity to engage in the material presented. Insofar as this teaching method prevails in secondary and post-secondary history classrooms, this study reveals the lack of engagement students feel when asked to become passive listeners required only to memorize factual knowledge for later assessment. The students interviewed for this research demonstrated the desire many students have to become more actively involved in learning history.