The Development of Historical Thinking: Implications for the Teaching of History

THE ABILITY to think historically is one of the most frequently sought-after goals in teaching history. Yet satisfactory explanations of how to teach historical thinking and historical understanding are rare. The literature on the discipline of history is extensive. But the published work dealing with the unique cognitive demands which the study of history places upon students is small. This paper, therefore, will attempt to summarize the important, albeit limited, research that has been done on the psychological processes that are involved in historical thinking. An awareness of what researchers know or suspect about those psychological processes should help history teachers at all levels facilitate more effectively the development of historical understanding among their students.