The methodology of teaching the humanities has undergone significant changes in the last two decades. This is primarily due to socio-political transformations that occurred at the turn of the nineties of the last century. They were also reflected in the methodology of teaching history, a key discipline with the help of which the consciousness of a citizen of the former Soviet Union was formed.
Today, the teaching of history is fundamentally different. First of all, programs have changed in which a significant number of hours is devoted to Russian history, and in the second, the attitude to the student as a subject of the educational process. From now on, it becomes not just a vessel that is filled with knowledge. He is actively involved in the lesson, becoming the "torch" that is able to rekindle interest in the lesson, in the subject. The methodology of teaching history at school is based on the involvement of the student in all forms of educational activity. For this, the teacher has a variety of forms of teaching the discipline with which he must skillfully operate all the time allotted for studying the topic.
Now let us dwell on the key points that the methodology of teaching historical disciplines has acquired recently. First of all, it is the activity that is at the head of any lesson. The choice of this or that method depends on the goal that the teacher pursues, the psychological characteristics of the class, on how much the children are ready to work according to the methods, on the teaching skills with which they operate. To facilitate the perception of the material, you can use logic circuits, reference signals, and to enhance cognitive activity - business games, creative laboratories, historical research.
When applying such innovations, children develop logic, perception of the new through associations, interest in any socio-political problems, skills in using the experimental base and solving new problems on the basis of experience.
In order for the teaching methodology to become more active, the following methods can be applied.
- Critical thinking. Events, personalities, phenomena lend themselves to criticism, during which students learn not only to find the negative, but also the positive side.
- Brainstorm. Under him, students should express their opinions and assumptions on the issue immediately, almost without thinking. With these impulsive answers, they learn to isolate from the complex of possible solutions, even the most fantastic ones, those rational grains that are actually worth attention.
- A chain survey is a series of decisions, among which the best are selected. In this case, the teacher can build an outline diagram on the board.
In order to make the teaching of history more lively and rich, interdisciplinary connections can be applied with might and main. In the lessons, you can use the connection primarily with literature, such works as “Woe from Wit” by Griboedov, Gogol's “The Inspector General”, and “Who Can Live Well in Russia” by Nekrasov.
To study major topics that are not included in a large volume in the program, you can create creative laboratories, the results of which will be presented in the lesson. When studying topics about the war, one can analyze letters from the front, conduct historical research of the NEP period, collectivization, and perestroika. At the same time, you can collectively defend essays and work in mini-groups. As a result of the work, the students defend their opinions, learn to be tolerant of the opinions of others, interest in the conversation and involve the interlocutor in it. Such new approaches do not let children get bored - in the lessons they turn into judges of history, form a civic stand in relation to events, which helps to foster a sense of pride in their homeland.