On-Demand Professional Learning

Looking for some high-quality professional learning that you can conveniently access at any time? HTAV have got you covered with the release of their suite of on-demand professional learning. Great for watching together in a Professional Learning Community or Learning Area meeting!


HTAV HistoryEDge eCourses

These professional learning modules are designed to enhance your career and teaching practice.

HTAV is grateful for the support of the Strategic Partnerships Program of the Victorian Department of Education and Training, which provided the seed funding to develop and pilot these modules.

History Teaching Fundamentals – Primary

This module introduces fourteen elements to support the teaching of history in the primary levels (F–6). Each section includes descriptions of vital aspects of history teaching for primary teachers. You will be provided with resources, key terminology, explanations, examples, activities and suggestions for further reading to gain more information.

The cost of the full module is $99 (inc GST).

Purchase access here.
History Teaching Fundamentals – Secondary

This module introduces eight fundamental elements of effective History teaching in the secondary levels (7-12). For each element there are descriptions of vital aspects of History teaching. You will be provided with resources, key terminology, explanations, activities, and suggestions for further reading to gain more information.

The cost of the full module is $99 (inc GST).

Purchase access here.

History Teaching Masterclass series

HTAV brings you practising teachers and other experts sharing the things they really know about and/or have tested successfully in their setting.

History Teaching Masterclass Levels F–8:
Every Student Can Grasp Historical Knowledge


Why is it important for students to grasp historical knowledge and what does a knowledge-focussed history lesson look like? That is the premise of this masterclass webinar that will help teachers implement classroom practices to support their students in grasping historical knowledge.

The cost of the masterclass is $40 (inc GST).

Purchase access here.
History Teaching Masterclass: Every Student Can Succeed at History!

Any student who enjoys history can experience some success in it. That is the premise of this masterclass which provides teachers with strategies to ‘lift’ their students in the History classroom. Covering source analysis, critical thinking, literacy, writing and vocabulary development and more, teachers will discover how to differentiate and scaffold for the students who struggle.

The cost of the masterclass is $70 (inc GST).

Purchase access here.
History Teaching Masterclass: Every Student Can Write Historically!

Students can find it difficult to transfer their historical thinking and knowledge into well-formulated written work. That is the premise of this masterclass which provides teachers with strategies to help improve their students’ historical writing skills.

The cost of the masterclass is $70 (inc GST).

Purchase access here.

On-demand professional learning coming soon

History Teaching Masterclass: Every Student Can Analyse Visual Sources! Available March 2024
History Teaching Masterclass: Every Teacher Can Save Time Using Digital Technology! Available March 2024


Free on-demand professional learning

2023 HTAV Annual Conference – Keynote Recordings

Day One: History Education for the Citizens of the Future
Dr Carolyn Holbrook, Deakin University

The discipline of History has always been concerned with educating the citizens of the future. For the first decades of Australian nationhood, this largely consisted of inculcating young Australians in the virtues of British imperial liberalism—the kind of citizenship education that sent 60,000 young men to their deaths in World War I. The relationship between the History discipline and the nation-state has fractured over the last several decades, but the importance of instilling in young Australians the skills to be active and informed citizens is no less urgent. How should we respond, as History educators, to the multitude of challenges our young people will inherit, the flood of disinformation and the rise of alarmingly sophisticated artificial intelligence, threats to democracy and declining faith in democratic systems, the crisis of housing affordability and the climate emergency? I argue that academic historians need to orient our research more explicitly to the challenges of the present, and to be more prominent advocates for the value of historical knowledge. We must also rediscover our interest in class as a category of analysis, in response to the dramatic rise in equality. As will be argued, tertiary educators can benefit by increased communication with our colleagues in the secondary system about the needs and interests of the citizens of the future.

Dr Carolyn Holbrook is a historian at Deakin University. Her research includes the history of Australian federalism, the concept of national security, anti-tobacco campaigning, Medicare and memory of World War I. Her most recent publication is Lessons from History: Leading Historians Tackle Australia’s Greatest Challenges, co-edited with Lyndon Megarrity and David Lowe (NewSouth, 2022).



Day Two: The Power of Knowledge
Ashley Keith Pratt, Melbourne Girls Grammar, and Reid Smith, La Trobe University

Join Ashley and Reid as they explore the idea of ‘powerful knowledge’ within History and the role that a knowledge-rich curriculum has on improving student learning outcomes within our classrooms and schools. In this keynote, Ashley will explore the background to this way of viewing the purpose of school curriculum and how it relates to our History classrooms. Reid will then look at the impact that this way of constructing curriculum has on students’ ability to live in and understand their world.

Ashley Keith Pratt is President of HTAV and Executive Director of Curriculum, Pedagogy, and Innovation at Melbourne Girls Grammar. Ashley completed his Master of Education at the University of Melbourne with a focus on historical thinking and curriculum theory. Ashley is a regular presenter for HTAV on pedagogical content knowledge within the History discipline.

Reid Smith is a teacher who has worked in curriculum and instruction at both primary and secondary levels. He is also a member of La Trobe University’s Science of Language and Reading Lab and is co-CEO of Ochre Education, a not-for-profit organisation committed to closing equity gaps by sharing teacher practice.


HistoryEDge podcasts for teachers

The History EDge podcasts are hosted by HTAV Board member Lauren Trotter. In the first episode, Maddi Schmidt (St Francis Xavier College) meets with Lauren to tackle the common ways in which history students may find themselves ‘stuck’ in the classroom. Maddi and Lauren share their experiences, ideas and useful classroom strategies and hone in on ways to support History students.

This podcast is available to listen and subscribe to on all major podcast apps and via the following links:

History TeachMeets

Covering such topics as VCE Revolutions, ‘Sassy’ Rubrics, historical thinking skills and digital learning tools, there's plenty to expand your professional learning and your teacher toolkit.

Each presentation only goes for 10 minutes but they are full of helpful tips, guidance and easy-to-use online platforms. Even the ones that cover a subject you aren’t teaching this year will contain classroom strategies and resources that you can use.

Watch the full TeachMeet here, or click on a topic below to head straight to that session:

Strategies for Rising China and Your Students
Maddi Schmidt, St Francis Xavier College
Strategies, Engagement, Revision: Teaching the French Revolution
Sophia Marsden-Smith, Williamstown High School
Sassy Rubrics
James Ridley, Hoppers Crossing Secondary College
Interpreting Russian Revolution Art
Dr Michael Adcock, Melbourne Grammar School
Historical Thinking Skills
Ashley Keith Pratt, Melbourne Girls Grammar School
Digital Learning Tools for Feedback and Support of Students
Nick Frigo, Santa Maria College

Joining HTAV's TeachMeets

HTAV is searching for teachers that have something they would like to share with other History teachers via our online recorded TeachMeets. Presentations would be brief and informal. If you would like to learn more about this opportunity or participate in a session, please email Myra Karantzas, HTAV Events Manager, at m.karantzas@htav.asn.au.


Sponsors & partners

  • Education Victoria - Sponsor Logo
  • National History Challenge - Sponsor Logo

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