Arron Cockell

I take a conversation approach to my conceptualising of history, asking my students to engage with the historical material as if it is an abstract story. This helps engage students and offers them the ability to transfer the skills they learn in my lessons to other areas of the world. Whilst I ensure I include all of the key details, dates, figures, and factors, I ask that my students think about history in a different way than they are used to. History is an investigative study of consequences in abstract realms we cannot quite grasp or see. If one can learn to conceptualise different historical worlds, then they will have the ability to apply this same methodology in arguments, business, other humanity-based subjects, and in work.

In my lessons, we will walk through the major determining factors of the period before engaging in a critical examination of the period in question. Once the student has ascertained the main players, events, and outcomes of the period, they will be asked to engage with the lecture as if it is a debate. Learning resources include a host of primary and secondary materials. This will supplement the learning process and give the student the fundamental skills they need to become a historian.

Lectures and sessions will usually last one hour, but depending on the questions and the design of the debates they can extend past this typical timeframe. I want to ensure that my students have enough time to seriously consider the debates and the questions at hand so they can think critically about the material.