As an assistant professor in the research group 'Domain Specific Learning' of the Research Institute of Child Development and Education at the University of Amsterdam, I conduct research in the learning and teaching of history in secondary education. My key interests are: controversy and sensitive historical topics, the skill of historical perspective taking and learning history in museums and heritage institutions.
Next to my research activities, I work as a teacher trainer at the Graduate School of Child Development and Education (ILO) at the University of Amsterdam. Together with Maartje van der Eem, I coordinate the UvA/VU history teachers network, where we are organising meetings, museum visits and lectures.
In this design-based research, fifteen social studies teacher-educators from five universities join a Design lab to develop Educational Curriculum Materials (ECM’s) and pedagogical knowledge to support future teachers and students in secondary education in conducting classroom dialogues aimed at integrating these skills.
This project aims to develop and test an integrative approach towards the teaching of critical thinking about controversial issues (integrating general critical thinking skills, subject-specific skills and knowledge and moral reasoning skills) in history and science education.
Using a method used in spiritual counselling, this study examines the narrative plots students (fourth year of secondary education) and teachers use to bring these together into meaningful narratives to orient themselves in their current world and to their future when discussing sensitive histories.
This project focuses on the design and implementation of (educative) curriculum materials that support both student and teacher learning to promote social scientific reasoning about social problems.
Using eye witnesses in the classroom, this project focuses on the contribution of history education to students' understanding and appreciation of empathy.
This project studies teachers' dialogic teaching about sensitive historical topics, focusing on their discussion of multiple perspectives and the ethical dimension of the topics.
This project developed a domain-specific teacher-training that focuses on the asking of historical questions to museum objects in three dimensions of time to show that the ways in which topics are considered to be sensitive changes over time and context.
Within this COST Action network we studied history teachers' perceptions of and experiences with the teaching of sensitive historical topics in 10 countries across Europe.
Project: Adapting the Bovenland paradigm for adolescents and to use as a pedagogical tool’ (together with Thomas Klijnstra and Allard Feddes)