Published: 15 April 2014
This article concerns a comparative benchmarking analysis of the 1970 – 1990 software intended for the development of cognitive activity skills of pupils at the secondary school history lessons. As a result of the study the content, structural components, stages and interactions in the system of cognitive ability skills development created in Russian educational programs during the period under study were discovered. Special attention was paid to the reasoning of the need of transfer from the knowledge based to the developing model in teaching history. The materials of the study let us use the experience obtained from modern practice of creating the software of new generation for the improving of operational software supply for the history lessons in the field of the development of general training and special skills.