Educational Rationale
Elizabeth Farm Site Study is based on the constructivist learning theory that promotes active construction of historical knowledge by the students during exploration and inquiry. The linkage between personal experiences with evidence on the site, and historical data enables the learners to develop meaning, which enhances their understanding of the colonial and Aboriginal histories of Australia.
Such a strategy relates to social constructivism developed by Vygotsky and focusing on the collaboration and guided discovery. Scaffolding discussions by teachers also assists students to relate the past and the current views with critical thinking and empathies.

Teaching Approach
This pedagogy is inclusive of experiential, inquiry-based, and student-centred learning. Teachers are facilitators and not providers of information, this implies that they stimulate curiosity and questioning. The artefact analysis, site visits, and reflection tasks allow students to work with real objects and contexts of history and make it concrete and meaningful.
The strategy incorporates priorities in cross-curriculum, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures and Sustainability, which guarantees a culturally responsive and inclusive teaching practice.

Theoretical Foundations
The works of educational theorists like: are used on this page.
• John Dewey (1938)- experience/reflection learning.
• Lev Vygotsky (1978) -social interaction as a source of learning.
Jerome Bruner (1961) discovery learning and the spiral curriculum.
All these theories make using Elizabeth Farm site as a learning environment that allows inquiry, reflection and empathy with history.

Relation to NSW History K-6 Syllabus
This teaching methodology allows major syllabus outcomes, such as:
HT1-2 / HT2-2 / HT3-2: Describes and explains the effects of the changing technology, environment, and human experience with time.
HT1-4 / HT2-4 / HT3-4: Shows the ability to ask questions and communicate on the topic of examining the past.
This method will make sure that students not only acquire content knowledge but also learn how to critically inquire as well since the pedagogy will align with the expectations of the syllabus.
Reflection
The Elizabeth Farm Site Study is able to make learning interactive through this pedagogical framework. Students do not read about history, but they live it. This method leads to a sense of curiosity, empathy and knowledge of how history determines identity, culture and society.

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