Welcome to the Teaching Portal
A Resource for Students and TeachersThe Royal Historical Society’s Teaching Portal offers ideas, advice and guidance for teachers and students of History in Higher Education.
Launched in 2020, and now with more than 60 articles, the Portal seeks to: provide guidance on good practice and innovative methods of teaching;
- offer posts for undergraduate and postgraduate History students;
- address transitions through Higher Education from BA to PhD;
- discuss career progression for History teachers in HE;
- give advice to history graduates on careers to which a History degree may lead;
- serve as a hub for online resources useful for research and teaching.
Use the links below to browse the six categories. The articles express a range of perspectives and views, written by current History students, researchers and teachers. The Portal is also an evolving resource: we very much welcome suggestions for additional articles and resources, reflecting new initiatives and resources in HE History teaching.
Recent additions to the Teaching Portal
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
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...
Studying history in a secure environment: legacies, challenges, opportunities
In July, Rosalind Crone was awarded this year's Royal Historical Society's Innovation in Teaching Prize, for the creation of Exploring the History of Prisoner Education, an open online course for the Open University which launched in October 2022. The 8-session...
New to Teaching History 2022: An Interactive Workshop, Part 8 – ‘Assessment and Feedback in History’
In September 2022 the Royal Historical Society, in partnership with History UK, organised an interactive workshop hosted by Professor Jamie Wood (Lincoln). This workshop aimed to open discussions on the challenges and opportunities of teaching History at UK...
New to Teaching History 2022: An Interactive Workshop, Part 7 – ‘Coordinating Large Classes in History’
In September 2022 the Royal Historical Society, in partnership with History UK, hosted 'New to Teaching, 2022': an online Workshop in which 8 university lecturers provided seminars for those new to teaching History in UK Higher Education. The Workshop explored...
New to Teaching History 2022: An Interactive Workshop, Part 6 – ‘Creativity in History Curricula’
In September 2022 the Royal Historical Society, in partnership with History UK, organised an interactive workshop hosted by Professor Jamie Wood (Lincoln). This workshop aimed to open discussions on the challenges and opportunities of teaching History at UK...
New to Teaching History 2022: An Interactive Workshop, Part 5 – ‘Module Design and Delivery: Challenges and Opportunities’
In September 2022 the Royal Historical Society, in partnership with History UK, organised an interactive workshop hosted by Professor Jamie Wood (Lincoln). This workshop aimed to open discussions on the challenges and opportunities of teaching History at UK...
New to Teaching History 2022: An Interactive Workshop, Part 4 – ‘Online Teaching in History’
In September 2022 the Royal Historical Society, in partnership with History UK, organised an interactive workshop hosted by Professor Jamie Wood (Lincoln). This workshop aimed to open discussions on the challenges and opportunities of teaching History at UK...
New to Teaching History 2022: An Interactive Workshop, Part 3 – ‘Small Group Teaching in History’
In September 2022 the Royal Historical Society, in partnership with History UK, organised an interactive workshop hosted by Professor Jamie Wood (Lincoln). This workshop aimed to open discussions on the challenges and opportunities of teaching History at UK...
New to Teaching History 2022: An Interactive Workshop, Part 2 – ‘The History Lecture’
In September 2022 the Royal Historical Society, in partnership with History UK, organised an interactive workshop hosted by Professor Jamie Wood (Lincoln). This workshop aimed to open discussions on the challenges and opportunities of teaching History at UK...
New to Teaching History 2022: An Interactive Workshop, Part 1 – ‘Decoding the Discipline’
In September 2022 the Royal Historical Society, in partnership with History UK, organised an interactive workshop hosted by Professor Jamie Wood (Lincoln). This workshop aimed to open discussions on the challenges and opportunities of teaching History at UK...
Working with History outside HE: a Guide to Professions beyond Academia
About this event ‘Working with History outside Higher Education: a Guide to Professions beyond Academia’ is is part in the Royal Historical Society’s series of online training events designed for early career historians. This session was held online in...
Becoming a Historian: an Informal Guide
How do we undertake a major historical research project for the first time? What should we do to ensure that a project's completed? How do we best engage in debate about our own, and others', work? How can we apply historical understanding to our...
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...
Applying and Interviewing for your First History Lectureship
About this event ‘Applying for your First Job: a Guide to Preparing and Interviewing for a History Teaching Post’ is part in the Royal Historical Society’s series of online training events designed for early career historians. This session was...
Facing current challenges can be a vital part of our curriculum
At a time of already great disruption, historians at Aston University this year faced the threat of departmental closure and redundancy. Public and private support for Aston historians led to the programme's survival, though colleagues at Aston and historians...
UKRI Open Access protocols: August 2021
On 6 August, UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) published its long-awaited report on its future approach to Open Access publishing. UKRI is the overarching body responsible for government research strategy and funding for universities in the UK. It brings together...
The Future of (Teaching) the Past
What happens when a university lab-based Digital History module goes online due to lockdown? You might think the imposed digital switch would be straightforward for 'born digital' digital history students. But as Dr Jessica van Horssen of Leeds Beckett University...
Historians on ‘Contested Heritage’
In March the Royal Historical Society was one of six institutional signatories to a letter calling on government to clarify its attitude towards and involvement in areas of 'contested heritage'. The letter highlighted ministers' increasing attempts to define -- and so...
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...
Creating an Online Community: A Pre-Pandemic Initiative
Professor Marjory Harper won the 2020 RHS Jinty Nelson Award for Inspirational Teaching and Supervision in History. Here, she reflects on the process of planning an online Master’s Programme in Scottish Heritage in 2017. Launching in July 2023, the Jinty Nelson...
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...
Making sense of your research
In this post, Dr Andrew Foster offers guidance to PhD research students about how to make sense of their research during the PhD process. His guidance offers to encourage students through the highs and lows of research, and poses a series of questions to support...
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...