It’s just reading, right? Exploring how Year 12 students approach sources

Frustrated by the generic statements that her Year 12 students were making about sources, Jacqueline Vyrnwy-Pierce resolved to undertake a research project into how her students were approaching sources about the French Revolution. Fascinated by the research of American educational psychologist Sam Wineburg, Vyrnwy-Pierce decided to use Wineburg’s methods to find out more about how her students were reading and analysing sources. By asking her students to write down how they would approach an imaginary source, and by comparing this with how they approached a real source about the French Revolution, Vyrnwy-Pierce discovered some fascinating differences between students’ intentions and actions. Her research has led her to rethink the strategies she uses to support students’ source analysis in the classroom...