Professional activities

I'm working as professor of History Education (Vakdidactiek, in het bijzonder van geschiedenisonderwijs) at the Research Institute of Child Development and Education of the University of Amsterdam. I give lead to the research lab Domain-specific Learning and the Dutch Centre for Social Studies Education (Landelijk Expertisecentrum Mens- en Maatschappijvakken).

My research focuses on the learning and teaching of history. I published on historical reasoning, historical argumentation, the learning of historical concepts, heritage and museum education, social scientific reasoning,  the potential of dialogic teaching (collaborative learning in small groups and whole-class discussions), content-and-language integrated learning and inquiry based learning.

I was co-editor of a much used history textbook series for secondary education (MeMo, geschiedenis voor de onderbouw).

More information about the conceptualization of Historical Reasoning that I developed with my colleague Jannet van Drie, can be found at the Historical Reasoning page. 

Teaching critical thinking about controversial issues: the potential of an integrative approach

Interlinked research project funded by NRO. Senior researchers: Carla van Boxtel, Geerte Savenije, Tessa van Schijndel, Jaap Schuitema. PhD students Saskia Arbon and Stephan Venmans
To strengthen democracy, people need to be able to think critically about controversial issues. Critical thinking about controversial issues tends to be sub-optimally integrated in most school subjects. The focus is usually on subject-specific skills and knowledge. However, developing critical thinking about controversial issues also requires more general critical thinking and moral reasoning skills. In cross-curricular approaches, on the other hand, there is little attention for subject-specific aspects. Little is known about more integrative approaches. With this proposal we therefore aim to develop and test an integrative approach towards the teaching of critical thinking about controversial issues. The basis for this integrative approach is Levinson’s (2006) framework for addressing the epistemological and ethical structure of controversy. This framework serves as a point of departure for developing a pedagogy for teaching students what is at stake in certain controversies, by explicating the roles of evidence and values. This approach will be embedded in an existing innovative controversial-issues pedagogy: ‘Science Journalism’.
We have two interlinked projects, in science and history education in which we develop an instrument to measure students’ understanding of the role of evidence and values in different types of controversies and investigate to what extent secondary students demonstrate this understanding. In addition, we investigate the effects of the integrated approach on students’ understanding of the role of evidence and values in different types of controversies, their critical thinking about specific controversial issues, general critical thinking skills, moral reasoning skills and use of subject-specific knowledge.

National assessment of students’ performance on social studies at the end of Dutch primary education [Peilingsonderzoek Mens en Maatschappij einde basisonderwijs]

Project coordination: Carla van Boxtel
The Inspectorate of Education commissioned the Peil.Mens & Maatschappij study to gain insight into the current knowledge and skills in the learning area of geography and history of pupils at the end of primary school. It compares students' performance with the performance of students measured in 2008. It also examines how primary schools shape the geography and history curriculum.  The study analyses the relationship between learning outcomes and student, teacher and school characteristics. An in-depth study investigates how schools integrate geography and history and other parts of the curriculum and develop continuous learning lines, and what challenges teachers experience in doing so. The in-depth study also explores how students experience lessons about geography and history. 
The study is conducted by a consortium in which the University of Amsterdam, Utrecht University, the Kohnstamm Institute and Cito work together. 

Reasoning about societal problems: design and implementation of instructional approaches in social science education

Practice oriented research, funded by NRO. Consortium: University of Amsterdam, RSG Broklede (Breukelen), Roland Holst College (Hilversum).  Researchers: Carla van Boxtel, Gerhard Stoel, Thomas Klijnstra, Gerard Ruijs. 
Social science education helps students to make sense of structures and developments in society, analyze current societal problems (e.g. growing inequality) and think about potential solutions. The new Dutch social science examination program emphasizes development of students' ability to use central concepts and theories from the social sciences to reason about societal processes and problems. Teaching and learning this complex competency, however, is a challenging task. Not much is known about effective ways to support students and teachers. This research focuses on the design and implementation of (educative) curriculum materials that support both student and teacher learning. First, we analyze the quality of students' reasoning to identify frequently occurring flaws and define levels of reasoning. Rubrics are constructed to help both teachers and students better understand the reasoning skills that are aimed at. Second, a design research is conducted at two schools to design and test materials and activities that promote students' reasoning. These are designed according to principles of explicit teaching, the use of authentic tasks and reasoning schemes. Third, the materials and activities will be used in a professional development program (PDP) for social science teachers. We investigate to what extent the educative curriculum materials contribute to teachers’ professional growth related to the teaching of social scientific reasoning. The materials should provide enough guidance and at the same time leave room for adaptation to meet the time teachers have, the topics they deal with and their students' needs.

Enhancing selfregulated application of domain specific skills in the context of inquiry tasks about historical and social phenomena (finished)

Practice oriented research, funded by NRO.  Researchers Carla van Boxtel, Gerhard Stoel (University of Amsterdam), Jasper Beckeringh (Cartesius 2 Amsterdam), Hanneke Beneden (Montessori Lyceum Amsterdam), Bernhard Kors (Spring High Amsterdam), Jaron Schoone (Berlage Lyceum Amsterdam), Anique ter Welle (Montessori Lyceum Amsterdam).
Social studies teachers use open and authentic task in order to realize meaningful education and contribute to the development of domain specific and generic skills. In the context of these tasks, it is important that students can regulate the application of domain specific skills. Integrating domain specific and self regulation skills is quite a challenge for teachers. The teacher has to be able to define a particular domain specific skill, why it is relevant and at which levels one can demonstrate the skill. Furthermore, the teacher needs several tools (such as checklists or worked-out examples) and self-evaluation instruments. 
In this research project, teachers and researchers collaborate in the design of tools to support students when they have to apply domain specific skills in inquiry tasks. We focus on the ability to formulate inquiry questions; to analyze social issues with social science concepts; to analyze historical processes of change; to emphatize and to construct a moral reasoning. For each skill we define proficency levels, develop a white board animation to introduce the skill to students, a scaffold and a self-evaluation instrument. 
The tools will be developed in a design research with two cycles. The tools will be implemented in several classes. Following a mixed-method approach, we will use focus groups of experts and students, questionnaires, observations, content analysis of student work and interviews to evaluate the tools. 

Enhancing the development of motivation, self-regulation and achievement for potentially excellent students through an integrated enriched learning arrangement in mathematics and history education (NWO project, finished)

Carla van Boxtel, Thea Peetsma, Jaap Schuitema & Sonia Abrantes-Garces Palha

High achiements in school are the result of both high abilities and students' motivation and self-regulated learning. Excellence must be supported by a learning environment which challenges and motivates students. Characteristics of the learning environment that have been found to enhance student motivation and self-regulated learning of students include support for student autonomy, structure and collaborative learning tasks. This study investigates how the learning environment can support potentially excellent students in upper high school (vwo5). Two enriched learning arrangements will be developed for mathematics and history education. One condition includes more open tasks and the second more structured tasks. In addition, we investigate the influence of the groups’ constitution (homogenous or heterogeneous on cognitive ability) on students’ outcomes. In a longitudinal study the effects of the learning arrangements on the development of potentially excellent students’ motivation, self-regulated learning and achievements will be investigated.

Supervision of PhD students

Current PhD projects

Uddhava Rozendal, Causal historical reasoning in secondary education. Co-supervisor: Jannet van Drie.
Sevinç Göksen-Zayim, Mathematical modelling. Co-supervisors: Derk Pik. Rijkje Dekker
Maartje van der Eem, Media wise through meaningful history education, co-supervisors Jannet van Drie and Saskia Brand-Gruwel
Yolande Potjer, Stimulating historical reasoning through Inquiry-based learning: development and evaluation of a professional development programme for elementary school teachers. Co-supervisor: Marjolein Dobber.
Thomas Klijnstra, Socio-scientific reasoning about social problems. Co-supervisors: Geerte Savenije, Gerhard Stoel.
Gijs van Gaans, Historical narratives of secondary school students. Co-supervisors: Geerte Savenije, Arnoud-Jan Bijsterveld
Chris Veldwijk, Increasing linguistic complexity in communicative speaking tasks in the EFL classroom, Co-supervisors: Marrit van de Guchte, Marije Michel.
Anna Rebel, Enhancing self-regulated learning of high school studens through individual coaching, Co-supervisors: Joost Jansen in de Wal, Jaap Schuitema.
Genja Ferschtman, Stimulating creativity by means of extra-disciplinary intervention to support the incubation mechanisms, Co-supervisors: Mathijs Baas, Gert Rijlaarsdam, Marie-Therese van de Kamp.
Stephan Venmans, Teaching critical thinking about controversial historical issues. The potential of an integrative approach. Co-supervisors: Geerte Savenije, Jaap Schuitema and Tessa van Schijndel.
Saskia Arbon, Teaching critical thinking about socio-scientific issues. The potential of an integrative approach. Co-supervisors Tessa van Schijndel, Jaap Schuitema and Geerte Savenije.
Bouke van Laarhoven, Holocaust education: opportunities of heritage education at the Auschwitz memorial site in teacher training. Co-supervisor: Gerhard Stoel.
Irma Westheim, Multilingual language pedagogy, a (re)recognition for every learner! A study on promoting language awareness and target language development through implementation of multilingual language pedagogy in Dutch and modern foreign languages, Co-supervisors: Joana Duarte, Catherine van Beuningen. 
Remco Menke, Learning to write using subject specific language in history education. Reasoning with historical concepts in lower pre-vocational education. Co-supervisors: Jannet van Drie and Daphne van Weijen.
Bas Clercx, The teacher as Canon.  Co-supervisor: Lidewij van Gils.
Suzanne  van Stratum, Integrated writing education in higher vocational education. Co-supervisors: Daphne van Weijen, Catherine van Beuningen
Emma Oudheusden Deliberate literacy across the curriculum: Effects of genre pedagogy on secondary students’ disciplinary reading and writing in History. Co-supervisors: Jannet van Drie, Ninke Stukker (RU)

Finished PhD Projects

Background

Based on our research on students' reasoning during historical inquiry tasks and literature on historical thinking and reasoning, we developed a framework to conceptualize and analyze historical reasoning in the classroom. This framework was presented in Jannet van Drie and Carla van Boxtel (2008). Historical reasoning: towards a framework for analyzing students’ reasoning about the past. Educational Psychology Review, 20(2), 87-110. Based on our recent research on students' historical reasoning ,we extended this framework (see Figure below).

Types and components of historical reasoning

Historical reasoning is an activity in which a student attempts to reach justifiable conclusions about processes of continuity and change, causes and effects, and/or differences and similarities between historical phenomena or periods. A historical reasoning is constructed by asking historical questions, constructing temporal and causal relationships utilizing substantive and metahistorical concepts and historical contextualization, and supporting assertions with arguments based upon critical analysis and evaluation of available historical interpretations and primary sources.

Resources to construct a historical reasoning

Students use several resources when they engage in historical reasoning. First, there are mental resources such as content knowledge (knowledge of historical facts, concepts and chronology), understanding of metahistorical concepts (such as causation, change, historical evidence), epistemological beliefs (about the nature of history and the construction of historical knowledge) and historical interest.
Second, students' reasoning is shaped by historical representations that are present in the public sphere (e.g. the media, museums,and commemorations).and the social groups students participate in.