Effective CPD and training for History teachers is often hard to find – or afford in many departments. This post seeks to identify some cost effective sources of CPD for teachers of Weimar and Nazi Germany. Its split into several sections for ease of use: Teaching strategies; Subject specific CPD and sources of online / hard copy ‘self help’.

Teaching Strategies

In many cases a strategy can be applied to all sorts of historical content. Its the strategy that does the trick, rather than the content demanding a specific teaching method. Luckily, we are blessed with having lots of good CPD available in this area – and it isn’t always overly expensive.

The Schools History Project run an annual conference in Leeds which usually provides a range of workshops that address both teaching strategies and specific areas of content. Not only are these workshops really useful but theres lots to be gained from discussion with colleagues, authors and reps from organisations and exam boards at the conference. The SHP are also delivering regional conferences, such as this one in London in November.

The Historical Association run a number of events each year. The content varies based on the type of event and available speakers but usually incorporate excellent workshops on teaching methods and at branch events can include talks / workshops about new research into all sorts of areas – indeed, one of the best talks I have attended was a HA locla branch event about the way in which German forces and the Gestapo acted in Eastern Europe.

An alternative to attending conferences is to run CPD sessions in your own school. This means that the whole department can benefit and enables CPD to be tailored specifically to the needs of your learners and staff.

Topic Specific CPD

At examination level there are often CPD events run by the different exam boards that are specific to delivery of the content noted in the specification. Invariably these will focus on assessment, though there have been some aimed at developing a better understanding of the content.

Many of the independent CPD providers offer day long courses on Weimar and Nazi Germany. Any recommendations / comments about these courses would be welcomed.

One aspect of studying this period that has lots of excellent CPD on offer is the Holocaust. The Holocaust Education Trust run extremely well thought of courses aimed at everyone from ITT trainees through to colleagues wanting to study to Masters Level. The HET website also contains some very useful resources and the CPD is based on research, so it an excellent method of updating your subject knowledge.

The German Embassy run regular (Annual, I believe) CPD tours for History Teachers. These tours combine workshops in the UK with guided tours of sites in Germany. This CPD and the tour is funded by the German Embassy and appears to be a fantastic method of developing awareness of many issues. This years tour has just finished, details of tours are usually promoted on the Historical Association Website.

Self Help – Online and hard copy sources of CPD

Twitter – use the hashtag #historyteacher to ask questions and share ideas.

History Teachers’ Discussion Forum – a great place to ask for tips from colleagues. Registration is officially closed for the time being but if you contact us with details of which school you work at etc we can make sure you get registered!

There are numerous journals and websites that publish the results of research into Weimar and Nazi Germany. Below are just a few of these, there are many many more!

DW.de is the website of a German broadcaster. They feature articles about research etc in much the same way that the BBC would in the UK. This is a link to one such story they’ve featured, with links to additional stories at the foot of the page.

Washington Universities Library Service host an online guide for students studying Nazi Germany. It references journal articles, Primary Documents and current research.

The German Archives have an online subject reference site that is a good place to look for specific records. Handy if you want to research somethign in more depth.