TASKs for democracy

Step 3 (group work – 50 minutes)
1. Give each group a sample of history textbooks (OR have them research textbook materials on the Internet).
Participants review the materials (20 minutes).
2. Ask participants to highlight positive and negative elements in the materials (20 minutes).
3. The rapporteur co-ordinates the creation of a poster that will be used to present the findings after the
reflection. Groups visit the posters (5 minutes).
4. Moderate a discussion on the findings (10 minutes).
Step 4 (debriefing – 15 minutes)
Lead a whole group discussion using the following prompts.
Present your own experience using official criteria on history textbooks.
What latitude do you have in choosing textbooks?
How can you alleviate the deficiencies in textbooks that are imposed?
Can you think of any learning outcomes that you would like to reach with your students that the
textbooks cannot develop? If so, how could you remedy this?
How will this activity help you to choose the textbooks you wish to use? OR How will this activity help
you to adapt the use you make of the mandatory textbooks that you use?
How much independence from the textbook can you handle?
What other impact will it have on your practice?
Step 5 (evaluation – 20 minutes)
1. End the session with an informal discussion with the whole group.
Did you feel comfortable with this activity?
What would you say about the phrase: “a good teacher can teach with nothing more than a stick to
write with in the dirt”?
2. Invite participants to write down the three most important things they learned during the activity.
PLANNING
Preparation
Set up the room for group work.
Prior to the session you will need to gather, or ask participants to bring, a large sample of textbooks so that a
comparative critical approach is possible.
Resources and equipment
Large sheets of paper (A3), or flip chart and markers
A large sample of textbooks
Requirements for textbooks by country
Rubrics for requirements for textbooks (Task sheet 1)
Tips and potential difficulties
This activity is centred on pedagogical criteria for evaluating textbooks. It does not approach the issue of curricular
content. For example, it does not question European textbooks’ general disregard for “global history”,
inclusive of the Asian, African, and South American continents and large parts of the Far East, etc. regarding
the happenings, culture and the rich human development occurring there.
TASKs for democracy Page 232