I have a confession, which may seem strange for someone who uses websites and social media with my pupils:ÌýI really don’t like too much screen time.
One of my goals for teaching history this year is to get pupils off screens.ÌýLet’s face it, they already get too much and online learning only worsened this.
Fortunately, history is a great subject to be taught without always using screens.
Quick read:ÌýWe audited our pupils’ screen time -Ìýand were shocked
Screen time: 5 tips to help reduce student screen
Long read: Should we call time on screen time?
Opinion:ÌýWhy every school should embrace public speaking
More by Matthew Marr:Ìý3 ways we can improve teaching about the slave trade
One simple activity - especially for older pupils - makes them use books, even if some pupils initially react as though this is a form of torture.
My Higher history pupils (broadly aged 16-18) get a chapterÌýand, at first, are told to simply read it, even if this takes the full period.
Some are put off by reading for that long. Others cannot understand why reading without necessarily writing anything is useful.
After this, they get different tasks or challenges, such as identifying historian arguments, or finding evidence to support or oppose an opinion.
As well as taking them off screens - away from the comfort blanket of Google - this teaches valuable concentration skillsÌýand how to research.
Other helpful activities for pupils to try are debates and public speaking.
Spending time at home during the Covid pandemic has isolated many young people - the more they can directly engage with fellow pupils, the better this will be.
A class debate or speech is only ever the end of a series of lessons. Pupils first need to research or discuss initial thoughts with other pupilsÌýbefore they prepare their arguments.
Of course, many young people don’t like speaking in class - and months of home learning may have hardened these attitudes.
But these are useful life skills, and often crucial to helping pupils gets jobs or places in further and higher education, so different approaches can be used to try to fix this. This can include whole-class speeches as part of a teamÌýor organising debates within small groups of pupils.
And getting back to normal in education isn’t just limited to the pupils - staff need time and support to do this, too.
One of my own priorities this year - which has actually been a plan for a while - is to try to do more to engage with university academics.
There is so much new research available about various important historical topics. I have looked for and found different chances to engage withÌýthis in the coming weeks and months, whichÌýincludes online teaching conferences and webinars that examine topics including Scotland’s relationship with slavery.
Given that my target for pupils was less screen time, I suppose I should haveÌýthe same aim, and look to visitÌýsome book shops visits andÌýdo some fresh subject reading inÌýthe year ahead.
It’s great to be back to what feels like a normal school experience, where screens are aÌýhelpful tool but not as all-consuming as they were during the Covid lockdowns. Let’s hope that continues all year.
Matthew Marr is a teacher of history in Ayrshire. He tweets at @mrmarrhistory
