The impact of employing various pedagogical strategies to enhance the quality of learning and teaching of history in the further education and training phase

Abstract

The use of interactive, learner-centred and active learning strategies facilitates the teaching of history in the twenty-first century. Anchored in the conversation theory, which aligns with the social constructivist framework, the study aims to examine the impact of employing different innovative pedagogical strategies and practices used by history teachers as vehicles to enhance and promote quality learning and teaching in history classrooms. A shift from traditional instructional teaching has given way to emerging strategies that aim to produce critical and independent thinkers who can apply historical knowledge in diverse contexts. The basis of the analysis is on various strategies, including direct instruction, discussion, small-group work, cooperative learning, problem-solving, inquiry, case studies, role-playing and writing as teaching methods. The focus of history learning and teaching is on inculcating problem-solving skills in the learners. Content analysis of books, policy documents, dissertations, theses and journal articles as well as some records retrieved from the Internet, was employed to generate data using a qualitative research approach. The results show that history teachers, as required by history curricula, have gradually shifted from using age-old teaching strategies to emerging learner-centred methods, reflecting a shift from rote-learning to learning with understanding. It is recommended that learner centred teaching strategies be employed to enhance learner performance and improve the quality of learning and teaching in the history subject.