Using Wikis to teach History Education to 21st Century Learners: A Hermeneutic perspective

Abstract

This paper argues that history education is becoming dangerously obsolete, as it does not always relate to the contemporary needs of 21st century learners, who often find history useless and irrelevant to their present situation. This challenge is attributed to, among other reasons, the way history is taught through largely lecture-driven pedagogies that significantly reduced active learner engagement. This article draws on Gadamer's Hermeneutic philosophy to advocate for dialogue in understanding and interpreting history artifacts using 21st century technologies. Gadamerian Hermeneutics focuses on horizons of understanding through open-ended questioning and answering between past and present rather than transmission to passive audiences. The article argues for the collaborative interpretation of history meanings between teachers and students mediated by a Wiki. The methodology involved a case study of pre-service teachers enrolled at Makerere University in Uganda. The purely qualitative study draws on Gilly Salmon's five-stage model of online learning. The findings indicate that participants successfully engaged with the first three stages-access and motivation, online socialisation, and information exchange-but less so with stages four and five, knowledge construction and development. The paper concludes by proposing a framework that could be useful to teachers wanting to facilitate history education using modern approaches that are relevant and meaningful to today's learners.

The utilisation of a Mobile Phone Forum on the Winksite application in the teaching and learning of History: a case study of Pre-service Teachers at Makerere University

“…The collaborative interpretation of historical meanings implied that learning can take place through sharing knowledge and obtaining views and opinions of other participants. The use of an online forum-enhances shared negotiations and interpretations of historical meanings where students are actively engaged in the pedagogical process (Sebbowa, et al, 2014;Mclean et al, 2017).…”

Improving student teachers’ knowledge-base in language education through critical reading

“…Absence of a LTLC underscores the fact that phonetics and phonology courses are taught theoretically which limits students' practical knowledge in the sound system of the language under study. Though the significance of the lecture method cannot be disputed in as far as introduction of new topics is concerned, the persistent use of the method neither stimulates learner engagement nor nurtures their interrogative skills necessary for cultivating innovation and creativity among student teachers (Sebbowa, Ng'ambi, and Brown 2014). One of the reasons behind the persistent use of the lecture method concerns the traditions under which the teacher education industry rests.…”

Using Activity Theory to Explore the Possibilities of Integrating ICT in the Training of Literature in English teachers at Makerere University: A Literature Review

“…The Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (2014) policy charges universities with the responsibility of developing ICT human resource and establishing effective innovation centers. In addition, ICT has become an educational tool in most universities in Uganda (Bakkabulindi & Ndibuuza, 2015) and it has attracted multiple studies (Bakkabulindi, 2011(Bakkabulindi, , 2012Ndawula, Ngobi, Namugenyi, & Nakawuki, 2012;Omona, Weide & Lubega, 2010;Sebbowa, Ng'ambi & Brown, 2014). These studies document how ICT has been adopted in higher education in Uganda and also provide the much-needed evidence to show the potential for ICT in education (Dede, 1998).…”