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Four Quick Fixes for Increased

Engagement in Secondary

History Classrooms

By Melissa Hodgson, Supervisor of Social Studies, Montgomery High School

In today’s world, one can who are - quite literally - forced to sit But, gratefully, times have changed,
argue that history is the through daily history instruction, which and we are seeing a shift in the
way history is taught and assessed.
for many students may be the worst
most important subject part of their school day. This reality Much of that shift is due to the focus
area for the 21st century baffles me, and it is one that I am on increasing student engagement.
determined to reverse.
Engagement may be the key to
student to master. That’s easy I quite often hear adults remark that permanently moving history to thumbs-
for me to say and defend. I’ve taught they hated history when they were in up status and for students to finally
history in New Jersey high schools for high school, but love it as adults. The realize the benefit of the content. It is
nearly two decades. I have a natural past practice of lecture-based teaching now widely accepted that increased
interest in learning more about these and rote memorization assessment engagement positively impacts student
time periods, as do most other history helped create a bad experience for achievement. Programs such as
teachers. However, that cannot be history students (cue images of Ferris Brown University’s Choices Program
said for many high school students Bueller’s history class or the bickering and Stanford History Education
between Jeff Spicoli and Mr. Hand). Group’s Reading Like a Historian aim

Educational Viewpoints -49- Spring 2018