Engaged a class of 23 diverse fifth graders in historical investigation of U.S. colonial history to help their thinking skills and understanding of the past. Focused on a teaching dilemma provoked by history's interpretive paradox and showed how the teacher/researchers found his pedagogical thinking changed by that encounter. (SLD)

Classroom observations and interviews with 60 children, aged 6 to 12 years, in Northern Ireland and comparisons with previous U.S. research show the extent to which specific forms of historical representation shape understanding of change over time. As was consistent with differing historical representations, children in Northern Ireland are less…

Historical accounts by fourth graders at the beginning stage of learning history show that these young students lack an experience-based framework for grounding and connecting historical teaching. Implications for teaching history to elementary school students and aspects of children's reliance on imagination in constructing historical narratives…