More than facts: teaching complexity in history

2026-04-16

You know history is complex. How do you teach that in the classroom?

We unpack what 'complexity' in history means and how to bring it to life for your students.

As history educator Jonathon Dallimore puts it, “Factual information… is not sufficient. Information doesn’t guarantee that you actually have insight."

Because there’s the past (everything that’s happened) and then there’s history: the way we interpret, debate and make meaning of the past.

You’ll hear from experienced teachers and history educator Jonathon Dallimore, on why history is complex, with examples, and how to teach contestability and historical thinking skills to junior and secondary students.

Students are already debating the world around them. This is about helping them bring those skills into history.

Resources and tipsheetA Practical Guide for Secondary School Teachers. By Jonathon DallimoreTeaching history, teaching complexity: Agora, Vol. 53, No. 3, Dec 2018, 36-39 (free download for members of the History Teachers Association of Victoria)‘Historical time’ helps students truly understand the complexity of the past – and how they fit into it: The Conversation https://doi.org/10.64628/AAO.nfmakjwreFree professional development tipsheet for this episode (in Teacher Downloads)
Voices

Educators: Natalie Abadier (New South Wales), Sarah Coleman (Queensland) and Jonathon Dallimore, History Teachers Association of New South Wales.

Host: Professor Anna Clark

CreditsHey History Teacher! is supported by the History Teachers Association of NSW.Executive Producer is Professor Anna Clark.Producer is Jane Curtis at UTS Impact Studios.Sound engineering by John Jacobs.Made on Gadigal Country in Sydney Australia.

No. of episodes

17

Latest episode

2026-04-29

Where can you listen?

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For kids age 8-12, a series on Australian history with stories and music. For teachers, a professional learning series called Hey History Teacher!

Season 1 follows Stage 2 and 3 of the Australian curriculum, and of NSW, Victoria, Western Australia and Queensland. Students can listen in class and use our Learning Materials designed and road-tested by a primary school educator.

Go back in time to the Gold Rush. What happened at the meetings between Captain Cook and First Nations people at Kamay Botany Bay? Experience life as a convict kid, and hear how First Nations people learn on Country.

Season 2 is for teachers, teacher-educators and pre-service teachers. hear conversations and advice about over 8 episodes, including teaching difficult histories, creative history teaching, approaching First Nations histories with care and confidence, complexity in history teaching, advice for new history teachers, great history teaching, and teaching the Australian Wars.

These eight PD episodes are grounded in current research and features fifteen classroom educators and academics from around Australia.

Hey History! is made by history professors, so you'll hear from Australia's top historians and experts. It's produced by The Australian Centre for Public History and Impact Studios at the University of Technology Sydney, in partnership with La Trobe University.

Hey History Teacher! series is made with the support of the History Teachers Association of New South Wales.