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Christine CounsellChristine Counsell

Position/Status
Senior Lecturer

E-mail Address: cc247@cam.ac.uk

Phone: 01223 767648

Qualifications
MA (History), PGCE, MEd

Membership of Professional Bodies/Associations
Historical Association::
Member of Council 1995-2004; Member of Secondary Committee 1995-2005; Deputy President 2000-2; Chair of Secondary Committee 1995-7.

Profile

Senior Lecturer in Education teaching on secondary PGCE course. Also extensive in-service training experience through national profile in developing literacy across the curriculum. Specialises in the curricular-pedagogic theory and practice surrounding the teaching of language and literature through history. Chief interests:

  • secondary school pupils' historical knowledge and cultural awareness; the links between pupils' knowledge and their development of critical and analytic skill, especially in written and spoken argument;
  • developing reading in pupils, especially using extended texts with the full ability range;
  • teacher subject-specific development;
  • the changing role of school-based subject mentors in initial teacher-education.

Editor of Teaching History, the Historical Association's journal for history teachers, reaching 3,500 secondary school history departments in the UK. Regular consultancy for QCA, TDA, Ofsted, DfES, BECTA, NAGTY and the government's National Strategy. Steering group of Project HITT (HA and TDA), developing materials for the professional development of new and experienced history teacher trainers.

In addition to academic publications (see below), author of nine textbooks for Key Stages 2 and 3, and General Editor of six embodying new approach to conceptual and knowledge development in historical learning, Think Through History (Pearson). Sixth in this series (forthcoming, 2006) on Islamic history is aimed at average and below-average attaining 11/12-year-olds (Islamic Encounters: A Meeting of Minds?).

Currently editing new series for teachers: History in Practice (John Murray), blending expertise of teachers, education scholarship, historical scholarship and teacher educators. Authoring first three, each on the use of demanding texts in the history classroom, and commissioning eight other authors.

International invited talks and keynote addresses include:

  • University of Bologna, Italy, 26 March, 2003: Euroclio Conference (the association of European history teacher associations). How do UK history teachers link concept, knowledge and skill?
  • Nicosia, Cyprus, 7/8 February, 2004: Association for Historical Dialogue and Research, First combined conference for Greek and Turkish Cypriot history teachers: "What does it mean to think historically?". Keynote address: Curiosity, critical thinking and intellectual independence: How do history teachers change history teaching? How does historical learning change students?
  • Erasmus University, Rotterdam, 16 June 2005: Conference: "Beyond the Canon - History for the 21st Century". Paper: Making meaning out of a new curriculum construct: the professional transformation of 'Interpretations of History'.
  • Norway (series): i) 20 October 2005: Agder University College, Dømmesmoen: National Forum for Teacher Educators. Whole-day subject didactics seminar: "Developing school-based partners into a subject mentor community". ii) 21 October 2005: University of Oslo / Norwegian History Teachers Association. Address: Build it in, don't bolt it on: linking history, language, literacy and critical thinking in the history classroom.

Academic Area/Links

History education in primary and secondary schools

Cross-curricular language and literacy in secondary schools

Professional development of teachers - initial and continuing - especially subject knowledge and its role in underpinning effective practice.

Mentor development and training

Research Topics

The professional knowledge of subject teachers; the experience of mentors in initial teacher-training; the role of mentors in HEI-school partnerships; computer-mediated conferencing in initial teacher education - building subject professional e-discourse amongst mentors and trainees; history education in secondary schools: relationship between subject-specific progression and improving pupils' extended reading, writing and oral communication; relationship between subject knowledge, critical thinking and literacy; second-order concepts in the history curriculum; conceptualising ICT within historical learning.

Current Research Projects

Understanding the experience of history mentors - a hermeneutic-phenomenological study of school-based subject mentors' use of non-context-specific sources

Course Involvement

Teaches, coordinates and manages Secondary History PGCE (c30 mentors/28 trainees in c25 schools).

Miscellaneous short courses for secondary history teachers, curriculum leaders and language/literacy consultants.

Early Career MEd: "Researching Assessment"

MPhil and PhD supervision

Publications

Counsell, C. (1997) Analytical and Discursive Writing at Key Stage 3, Historical Association
(shortly to go into revised, extended edition, 2006).

Counsell, C. (1998) 'Big stories, little stories' in The Times Educational Supplement, 8 September.

Counsell, C. (1999) Defining Effectiveness in History using ICT: Approaches to Successful Practice, Coventry: BECTA.

Counsell, C. (1999) 'Subject knowledge, professional knowledge and student teachers' theorising' in R.Phillips and G.Easdown (eds) History Education: Subject Knowledge, Pedagogy and Practice, St Martins College Lancaster: HTEN: History Teacher Education Network/St Martins College.

Counsell, C. (2000) 'Historical knowledge and historical skills: a distracting dichotomy' in J.Arthur and R. Phillips (eds) Issues in History Teaching, London: Routledge

Counsell, C. (2000) 'Using history to help pupils sort, classify and analyse: why was Becket murdered?' Teaching Thinking, 1, 1. Questions Publishing.

Counsell, C. (2000) 'Didn't we do that in Year 7? Planning for progress in evidential understanding' Teaching History, 99, Curriculum Planning Edition (May), The Historical Association.

Counsell, C., Evans, M., McIntyre, D. and Raffan, J. (2000) 'The usefulness of educational research for trainee teachers' learning', Oxford Review of Education, Vol.26, Nos 3 & 4.

Counsell, C. (2001) 'Knowledge, writing and delighting: extending the historical thinking of 11 and 12 year-olds', The Welsh Historian, No.31.

Haydn, T. and Counsell, C. (eds) (2003) History, ICT and Learning, London: Routledge.
including:
Counsell, C. (2003) 'The forgotten games kit: putting historical thinking first in long, medium and short-term planning' in Haydn, T. and Counsell, C. (eds) (2003) History, ICT and Learning, London: Routledge.

Counsell, C. (2003) Fulfilling history's potential: nurturing tradition and renewal in a subject community, (Keynote Address), in Harris, R. and Riley, M. (eds) (2003) Past Forward: A Vision for School History, 2002-2012, Historical Association.

Counsell, C. (2003) 'History for all', in Harris, R. and Riley, M. (eds) (2003) Past Forward: A Vision for School History, 2002-2012, Historical Association.

Counsell, C. (2004) 'Looking through a Josephine-Butler-shaped window: focusing pupils' thinking on historical significance', Teaching History, 114, Making History Personal Edition (March), The Historical Association.

Counsell, C. (2004) Building the Lesson Around the Text : in Year 7 (History in Practice series), London: John Murray

Counsell, C. (2004) Analytical and Discursive Writing: Second (revised and extended) Edition, London: Historical Association.

Counsell, C. (forthcoming) Building the Lesson Around the Text : in Year 8 (History in Practice series), London: John Murray

(Additionally, author of 9 history textbooks for Key Stages 2 and 3 and General Editor (with Dr Michael Riley, Bath Spa University College) of a series of six - Think Through History series - published by Pearson, currently developing sixth text on relationship between Islamic civilisations and the world for 11 to 14 year-olds: Islamic Encounters: A Meeting of Minds?)