A Brief Discussion on Cultivating Thinking Skills in High School History Education

Abstract

Historical thinking refers to a cognitive activity or process that integrates general thinking with specific thinking activities unique to the history discipline. Historical thinking skills, therefore, represent the ability to solve problems demonstrated within the context of historical thinking activities. Cultivating high school students’ historical thinking skills requires teachers to familiarize themselves with the fundamental characteristics of students’ historical thinking, guide them in deeply understanding the basic concepts and principles of historical thinking, refine their cognitive structures, innovate teaching, learning, and evaluation methods, and stimulate intrinsic motivation for learning. This is not only a vital field of theoretical research in high school history education but also a key aspect of the reform and development of history teaching in secondary schools.