Imaginative Historical Education & Inquiry (IHI)

Lead Contributor/Content Editor: Dr. Tim Waddington

Welcome one and all to Imaginative Historical Education & Inquiry, or IHI, for short. As the name suggests, this sub-community within the larger imaginED network will focus on three overlaying areas of interest: the principles and philosophy of Imaginative Education, the teaching of History, Social Sciences, Literature, and the Humanities, and concept-centric notions of teaching and inquiry.

You will find posts categorized as follows:

I envision this place as a collective where Imaginative Educators can share ideas, gather amazing lessons, and reflect more purposely on the philosophical rationales underpinning recent revolutions in curriculum and instruction.

Posts in this sub-community will be of varying lengths. Typically, we will aim for the quick and snappy posts, approximately 1,000-1,200 words in length, such as “Aristotle and a Leather Jacket” and “Look Out! An Eruption of Cognitive Tools!” Still, some will run longer, for reasons that the ideas expressed either need the space or are just that heckin’ interesting, such as “Was Literacy Just a Phase?” or the post on Path Dependence and curricular innovation.

Building a genuine community of teacher practitioners, experimenters and authors requires a lot of energy, imagination and passion. Mostly, it requires YOU!…to read the posts, to write responses, and contribute your best ideas. Whether you have experiences to share, ideas you want to sharpen with the help of like-minded imaginative colleagues, or just want to refine your writing and build up a list of short publications, this space is yours to share, to think and to grow professionally.

Let’s get started!!!

Dr. Tim Waddington has over twenty years’ experience as a public school educator and advocate for children and youth. With advanced degrees in Education Leadership and the Philosophy of Education, Curriculum and Instruction, Tim currently holds a position Lecturer in the Faculty of Education at UBC as well as an Associate Directorship with the Imaginative Education Research Group based at Simon Fraser University. Tim is passionate about intellectually rigorous and emotionally engaging curriculum, with expertise in the subject areas of History, Literature and the Humanities, particularly as it pertains to Philosophic and Ironic Understandings. His ongoing research is centered upon theories of imagination, irony, ethics in curriculum, and possible existential outcomes for both teachers and learners alike.