Answer 1

1. Teaching history backwards (looking at one point in history and thinking what happened to cause this, the researching it, then continuing the process) has been proven to be beneficial to students in teaching environments (not just at home study) and has shown promise for the teaching community. 
2. Studies have shown that students retain more information when learning history through this process.
3. Hermann, Kenneth W. "The Pedagogical Strengths of Teaching History Backwards." Web. 15 Sept. 2011. <http://www.bestlibrary.org/thread/files/backwards.pdf>.

(as a future historian i know the importance of citing my work!) ^^^