Teaching history needs to be modernized, which requires continuous development of educational staff, as it was concluded, inter alia, at a two-day series of trainings for history teachers and teachers of a social group of subjects, organised by the Centre for Civic Education (CCE), within the framework of the project “Teaching history in COVID19 pandemic – equal opportunity for all”.
Through eight-tailor made modules, 16 educators from several Montenegrin primary and secondary schools participated in personal trainings. Members of the author team that created the supporting video curriculum worked with them – Valentina Knežević and Žana Savović for primary school, and Lazar Aranitović and Marko Radojević for secondary school.
The objects of the personal trainings were to provide interested teachers with more detailed insight into the process of creating educational modules, predominantly for sensitive and controversial issues, as well as the implementation methodology, application of a multiperspective approach in presenting themes, and teaching based on competence and comprehension.
Personal trainings covered the themes as follows: Dissolution of Yugoslavia, Gross Human Rights Violations in Yugoslavia and Montenegro, Migration, Women’s and Children’s Rights, culturicide, History of minorities in Montenegro, etc. The focus was also on teaching sociological, economic, processes and personal histories.
25 video lessons designed as a supporting curriculum for teaching history were created through the project “Teaching history in COVID19 pandemic – equal opportunity for all”, with the aim of modernizing and improving the quality of history teaching. These video lessons represent the first of its kind created in the region, dealing with sensitive and controversial issues of the second half of the 20th century, and above all the 90s. By holding personal trainings, as an accompanying programme of a two-day online seminar on learning and teaching sensitive historical issues, the CCE provided interested educators with detailed insight into all aspects of teaching these issues and the opportunity to work on their continuous professional development.
The project is supported by the German Federal Foreign Office through the German Embassy.
Maja Marinović, Programme Associate