Teaching History: Bridging the Gap between Theory and Practical Teaching

Abstract

Introduction: The purpose of the study was to identify effective teaching strategies to bridge the gap between theory-based and practical-based approaches to teaching a history curriculum. Methods: A qualitative exploratory case study was used. Twenty educators who taught history in K-12 classrooms participated in the study. Semi-structured interviews and document analysis served as data sources. Results: The findings indicated that History is better taught by actively engaging students. Innovative activities integrated with traditional methods to activate engagement and promote historical skills. Discussion: The key to making history come alive is using multiple teaching strategies. The strategies to bridge theory to practical application include engagement, innovative teaching, and authentic teaching. Limitations: It was difficult for some participants to commit to the scheduled interview. Conclusions: The content of the study may be used as a reference for practitioners to reflect on current teaching practices and developed strategies to implement in a history lesson or other content areas.