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Since 1970, in the different general education laws, social sciences teachers have been oriented to assume innovative approaches, with the aim of enhancing applied elements in their teaching practice. From this perspective, this article sets out to analyze the views of history and geography trainee teachers on teaching methods, investigating the disciplinary past through their memory as learners. The study was carried out at the universities of Murcia and Valladolid, with a total of 55 participants enrolled at the specialty of geography and history of the Master's Degree in Teacher Training during the 2020/2021 academic year. The research design assumed a qualitative approach, and an open questionnaire was used to obtain data. The resulting narratives were inductively analyzed with the Nvivo software. The results show that, although there are some differences according to the legislative framework in which the ESO (compulsory secondary education) was studied, most of the participants have negative memories of their experience as geography and history students. This was found to be linked to traditional teaching methods such as expository classes, the dictation of notes, the use of the textbook, and the practical absence of the promotion of critical thinking. Hence, the key to an authentic transformation in teaching methodologies seems to lie more in an effective initial training, as well as in a revision of the extension of the curricular contents, than in the changes of the general education laws. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]