What should history teachers know? Assessing history students authentically at the conclusion of the PGCE year.
Abstract
For many years the author has concluded a PGCE (Postgraduate Certificate in
Education) History Education course by choice with a formal written examination
(albeit an unusual one – it doesn’t have a time limit, for instance). When
somewhat bemused students each year ask “Why?”, the answer given is so that
they will be assessed while working completely on their own under similar pressure
to that which they will experience when preparing material for the classroom the
following year. The article provides illustrations of the examination and students’
answers. It considers how student teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge may be
assessed in history, how the knowledge and understanding of history may be assessed
together with core history teaching abilities, and the interaction of history skills and
content. It raises, also, issues of formative and summative assessment and lower and
higher order thinking, and poses questions about testing the knowledge of in-service
teachers.