Resources for Teachers

This section of the RHS Teaching Portal is for History teachers of any level in Higher Education and is designed to incorporate new ideas and fresh perspectives on pedagogical practices.

These include materials and strategies for:

  • decolonising the curriculum
  • ‘pandemic pedagogies’
  • designing and enhancing the curriculum
  • improving learning and teaching
  • reflecting on postgraduate supervision and collaborative doctoral awards.

Posts cover topics from well-established in-class/ synchronous activities such as the lecture, seminar and research-rich teaching, to initiatives in formative and summative assessment, inclusion, compassion-focused pedagogy and quality assurance.

We also offer information that will be useful for those thinking about engaging in their own pedagogic research – methodological approaches; research ethics; research networks and communities of practice; and where to publish.

We warmly welcome ideas and exemplars for inclusion across the board, from undergraduate to postgraduate studies. If you wish to propose an article, please Contact Us.

Browse the Resources

Student numbers for History A-Levels and Scottish Highers, 2023

Student numbers for History A-Levels and Scottish Highers, 2023

    The 2023 A-Level results, for students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, were released on 17 August 2023. They follow the 2023 results for Scottish Highers, published on 8 August. Both sets of data allow for observations on the uptake and relative...

Teaching the early modern Islamic World

Teaching the early modern Islamic World

  In July 2022, Peter Good received one of two Jinty Nelson Teaching Awards given annually by the Royal Historical Society. In this post, for the Society's 'Teaching Portal', Peter reflects on his classroom practice, and how he seeks to communicate the histories...

UKRI Open Access Policy for the Arts and Humanities: FAQs

UKRI Open Access Policy for the Arts and Humanities: FAQs

    In August 2021  UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) announced its future policy regarding Open Access publishing. UKRI is the overarching body responsible for government research strategy and funding for universities in the UK. It brings together the...

Teaching the Tudors on a two-way street

Teaching the Tudors on a two-way street

Dr John Cooper was runner-up in the 2020 RHS Jinty Nelson Award for Inspirational Teaching and Supervision in History. Here, he reflects on the importance of open dialogue in teaching: between undergraduate year groups, who've much to teach one another, and between...

Data Protection and Historical Research: The Basics

Data Protection and Historical Research: The Basics

Recent data protection laws, implemented across Europe in 2018, have implications for academic researchers. The Royal Historical Society recently published a set of guidelines to help researchers navigate the legal requirements around data protection. Here, Dr...

Ethics in the Classroom Setting

Ethics in the Classroom Setting

History is about opinion, judgement and (often) getting beyond monolithic assumptions about ‘right’ or ‘wrong’.  At the same time, the classroom should be a safe and ethical place for the exchange of views and a space that is marked by respect, sensitivity and...

Small Group Teaching in a Large Class: ‘Understanding History’

Small Group Teaching in a Large Class: ‘Understanding History’

In this post Dr Marcus Collins, Senior Lecturer in Cultural History at the University of Loughborough, shares his knowledge and experience of teaching the course 'Understanding History', a compulsory module for second-year undergraduates which aims to develop the...

Supervising PhD Students: A Collaborative Approach

Supervising PhD Students: A Collaborative Approach

In July 2018, Professor Julie Anderson, Professor of Modern History at the University of Kent, was the first winner of the Royal Historical Society’s Jinty Nelson Award for Inspirational Teaching and Supervision in History. Here she provides an account of her...

Bridging ‘Digital Divides’ in Virtual Teaching

Bridging ‘Digital Divides’ in Virtual Teaching

We should not assume that others interact with the digital world in the same way as we do ourselves. In this post Dr Andrew Smith and Dr Mary Morrissey consider the challenges that many students encounter when required to engage with online teaching.  As noted by...

The Anatomy of a Thesis

The Anatomy of a Thesis

In this post, historian Dr Andrew Foster provides research students with a general guide about the main elements of writing up a PhD thesis. The advice Dr Foster gives is based on years of discussions with research students in seminars and workshops about the...

Climate in the History Curriculum

Climate in the History Curriculum

In September, Amanda Power spoke to the RHS Education Policy Committee about putting climate into the history curriculum. In this post for the RHS blog, which draws on that presentation, she considers how we might develop history curricula to integrate climate, and...

Gender-Neutral Pronouns

Gender-Neutral Pronouns

Using correct pronouns for non-binary and trans people is a simple indication of acknowledgement and respect. Gendered appearance does not reliably tell you about a person’s gender. Checking which pronouns to use, and then doing so consistently, is an easy way to...

Curriculum Conference Report

Curriculum Conference Report

From 23-30 April 2020, the RHS hosted its first Virtual Curriculum conference. The event had originally been designed as a one-day workshop to be held in the RHS offices on 23 April. Instead, registered participants were invited to read, watch and listen to a range of...