Critically looking at audiovisual historical sources

Young people are daily confronted with a large quantity of images reaching them through various channels. However:

• How well do they process the information from these sources?

• How does this influx of information reach them?

• To what extent can they assess the reliability, usefulness, and accuracy of this information?

Education is increasingly faced with the significant challenge of imparting to children and young people the skills necessary to navigate through the 'information trees' in the midst of a forest. Furthermore, technology is advancing faster than ever, and the influx of information continues to grow. Critical thinking is more urgent than ever.

Media literacy, critical thinking, and the development of historical awareness also play a crucial role in the final objectives and curriculum objectives. However, evidence-based, well-founded didactic material for the development of critical thinking and historical awareness using historically authentic audiovisual material is scarcely available for the target audience of primary education and the overlooked B-stream. In this research project, we aim to focus on the development of a didactic approach for fostering critical thinking and historical awareness in students of the third grade of primary education and the first grade of B-stream secondary education.

By establishing a collaboration between the teacher training programs for primary and secondary education at Artevelde University College and meemoo, the Flemish Institute for the Archive, and their educational platform, The Archive for Education, we bring together two areas of expertise. Through The Archive for Education, meemoo makes unique and authentic audiovisual material from the archives of media, art, culture, and heritage institutions in Flanders freely available for education. Thanks to the teacher training programs at Artevelde University College, this project gains the necessary expertise, research, and practical experience to develop a step-by-step educational methodology for the development of critical thinking through integrated historical source use in primary education and the first year of B-stream secondary education.

As part of this project, new historical sources from the rich meemoo archive will be selected and made accessible through The Archive for Education. This digital source material will be made available through a project page in ready-to-use collections with accompanying didactic frameworks and concrete teaching tips. The developed material will be tested by some of our partner schools. Based on the results of these practical tests, the designed didactics and accompanying teaching materials will be adjusted and refined. Through a diverse focus group, we will gather input from experts in the field to strengthen our research.

Keep an eye on the newsletter of ENW Education for more information about this project. If you have any questions, suggestions, or interesting input for us, feel free to email us.

Not familiar with The Archive for Education yet? Log in as a teacher and explore this virtual treasure trove: Audiovisual image bank for teachers | The Archive for Education.

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