Agora 2021-2 Assessment in History

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Assessment in History | Agora vol. 56 no. 2 (2021)

Assessment in History

Agora vol. 56 no. 2 (2021)

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REFLECTION/EDITORIAL

Reflection Bianca Crawford

Editorial Guy Nolch


SUNGRAPHÔ
Original research
Assessing Historical Thinking: Challenges and Possibilities
Lindsay Gibson
Historical thinking has become a central concept in history teaching. The educational literature has identified several challenges and approaches to weigh up when designing effective historical thinking assessment tasks.

THEMA
Reflections on the theme
A Quick Guide to Designing SACs for VCE History
Gerard Martin
An overview of the key issues and considerations that need to shape the designing of assessment tasks in History.
What’s the Point of Assessment?
Ben Lawless
The data generated by assessment doesn’t necessarily improve student outcomes or teaching. Here’s how a teaching team can plan a differentiated curriculum that hits a bullseye for both.
Inclusive Assessment Strategies for Culturally Diverse Classrooms
Nyree Wilson
How we design and scaffold learning for students in culturally diverse classrooms can overcome the inequities they face due to the emphasis on knowledge-based assessment.
The Students Become the Teachers
Cat Jones
When teachers ‘let go’ of some control over assessments, students feel ownership of their learning and the quality of their work will improve.
Assessment in the History Classroom: Incorporating Inquiry Approaches
Heather Sharp
If inquiry is used in the classroom to teach content and historical thinking skills, it makes sense to also incorporate this approach meaningfully into assessment tasks.
The National History Challenge: An Opportunity for Meaningful Assessment and Enduring Understanding
Jo Clyne
The National History Challenge can help students form enduring understandings
through their study of History.
Assessing VCE Examinations from the Perspective of the Assessors
Deborah Erikson and James Ridley
Becoming a VCE Examination Assessor can be daunting but it is rewarding and can help
your teaching.

PRAKTIKOS
Teaching ideas
Designing Assessments for the Primary History Classroom
Natasha Ziebell and Robyn Floyd
How do you assess well when teaching primary history?
Approaches to the Historical Inquiry SAC in Unit 3/4 History
Ian Lyell
Here’s how you can develop a historical inquiry SAC that will help your students develop their historical skills without sacrificing time needed to cover examinable content.
Revolutionise Your Study Skills and Exam Technique
Maddison Schmidt
These strategies and tasks will help students (and new teachers) prepare for exams.
Designing and Implementing SASSY Scaffolds for SAC and Exam Success
James Ridley
Catchy rubrics can help students remember the key ingredients they need to produce high-scoring responses to short answer, extended response and essay questions.
Class Activities to Assess Knowledge and Skills in VCE History Revolutions
Sophia Marsden-Smith
Some simple informal activities and revision prompts in class can inform teaching choices and formal SAC assessment approaches.
Activities and Assessments on Nero and the Great Fire of Rome
Diana Millar
Some useful rubrics can help you assess the work of individual students and groups in a study of Nero and the Great Fire of Rome.
Strategies to Improve the Effectiveness of Exemplars
Elizabeth Morgan
Writing is integral to most assessment tasks in History. A number of strategies can ensure that students draw connections between their own writing and the exemplars you provide.
HTAV Turns Forty
Longstanding members of HTAV reflect on its achievements and challenges over the past four decades.

KRITIKOS
Reviews
Reviews available online

Good Humanities 7, 8 and 9: Victorian Curriculum
By Ben Lawless, Danielle O’Leary and Peter van Noorden
Reviewed by Kara Taylor, Irymple College

Welcome to Country (Youth Edition)
By Marcia Langton
Reviewed by Eliza Lowes, Jennings Street School

People of the River
By Grace Karskens
Reviewed by Hollie Griffiths, Prahran High School

Truganini: Journey through the Apocalypse
By Cassandra Pybus
Reviewed by Selena Prior, Federation University

Vida: A Woman for Our Times
By Jacqueline Kent
Reviewed by Ingrid Perkins, St Patrick’s College, Ballarat

On a Barbarous Coast
By Craig Cormick and Harold Ludwick
Reviewed by Cat Jones, Strathmore Secondary College


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