Mentoring History Teachers in the Secondary School

Book excerpt: Mentoring History Teachers in the Secondary School supports mentors to develop the knowledge, skills and understanding essential to the successful mentoring of beginning history teachers who are undertaking their initial teacher training or being inducted into the profession as early career teachers. The authors critically explore models of mentoring and place subject specificity at the heart of every chapter, offering practical mentoring strategies rooted in the best evidence and research from the history teaching community. This book is a vital source of encouragement and inspiration for all those involved in developing the next generation of history teachers, providing accessible summaries of history-specific thinking on a range of topics alongside mentoring support. Key topics include: • Understanding what being a subject-specific mentor of beginning history teachers involves. • Establishing a dialogic mentor-mentee relationship. • Supporting beginning teachers to develop the substantive and disciplinary knowledge they need to become excellent history teachers. • Guiding beginning history teachers through the lesson planning process. • Conducting subject-specific lesson observations and pre- and post-lesson discussions. • Supporting beginning history teachers to consider the purpose of history education and how they can navigate this in relation to values education, the use of ICT, and the teaching of controversial and sensitive issues. Mentoring History Teachers in the Secondary School offers an accessible and practical guide to mentoring beginning history teachers, with ready-to-use strategies to support and inspire both mentors and beginning teachers alike.