ETL402 professional development opportunities

Saturday 8th September. Local Geography and History Teachers Association of the NT provided a great opportunity for teachers of history (or interested parties including me) to gather to explore the skill of analysing sources of historical information. Points of interest: While sources can be written or nonwritten (coins, photographs, letters, gravestones, architecture) no mention was made of literary sources as evidence of information. Discussed with some teachers the possibility of using literary sources of information as being of value in exploring historical events. Emphasis in pd was on prescribed texts. Oral histories are valuable. There was considerable discussion about this area of evidence as many students are community indigenous and much culture is passed down through very prescribed oral accounts of events of the past and why nature/seasons/environment are the way they are today as well as the reason for familial relationships being structured in a particular way - those of us from primary schools thought this was important for examining who we are today being influenced by the past. Discussion about being careful to ensure evidence is not of a single source - that analysing multiple sources is critical to the outcome of determining the value of the evidence. History is revised over and over according to interpretations of different parties uncovering further information. My view would be that literary sources of historical material would be of interest to children and teachers to encourage exploring the evidence.