Four Questions That Transform History Teaching

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Social studies and history teachers Jon Bassett and Gary Shiffman join Author Chats to discuss their new book, From Story to Judgment: The Four Question Method for Teaching and Learning Social Studies (John Catt Educational). Bassett and Shiffman have collaborated for two decades to develop and refine their four key questions that lead to better history and social studies teaching and learning.

The book is broken down into sections centered on narration, interpretation, explanation, and judgment. By forming lessons around historical stories that clearly define the “what” and adding the motivations behind the “characters” at a particular time and place, students are then encouraged to draw their personal interpretations and connections. This inquiry method leaves a lasting impression on students and leads to deeper understanding of historical events and the associated social context.

Bassett is a believer in setting the foundation of the story first to allow context for the interpretation that follows. “We have to know what happened before we can do some deeper thinking about it,” he explains. Shiffman builds on the concept, explaining that many history classes miss the mark by losing the thread of the story and the carryover meaning. “Kids are most engaged when they have an anticipation of what happens next,” he adds. 

Through a combination of building from the “what” toward “what happens next,” teachers can set the stage for students to dive deeper into meaning. “We have to teach them how to understand and recognize patterns,” says Shiffman. “To better explain why things happen the way they do.” According to Shiffman, the ultimate goal as an educator should be to teach students how to be citizens and make judgments based on high-quality knowledge combined with their personal values. 

As you listen to the interview, think through the following questions, and consider how using the authors’ Four Question Method might improve teaching and learning in your school:

1. How have you collaborated with teaching colleagues to improve and refine your instructional approach? 

2. When you think about the organizational arc of narration, interpretation, explanation, and judgment, how does this compare or contrast with what you’ve done in the classroom? What areas would you most like to explore with your students?

3. Have you tried similar questions to those used in the Four Question Method? How did they engage your students? Can you see questions like these adding richness to classroom discussions?

4. Consider the way you teach about current events, in comparison to how you teach about historical events. Are there conscious similarities? Areas that are by nature different?

5. What other questions do you like to ask your students when evaluating historical (or literary) content?

Listen to more episodes of Author Chats.