Three of my colleagues - Liz, Rachel, B., and Kim, all historians - wrote a lesson plan with the purpose of increasing students' literacy within the domain of historical documents. As a budding English teacher who worked on my project with two history buffs, I was very interested in comparing my group's lesson plan with theirs, assuming there would be some overlap. One thing I found interesting, though not too surprising, is that both of our groups chose to address the Common Core Standard to "compare and contrast treatments of the same topic in several primary and secondary sources" in the lesson plans. This is indicative of the importance of and emphasis on developing the ability to work with, analyze, and distinguish between primary and secondary sources in the history discipline. However, the approach my group took was very different from that of our colleagues'. We chose to utilize a specific primary source and one secondary source to allow students the opportunity to think about and form their own opinions about the use of technology in the classroom, particularly in regards to the BYOD initiative. But, as I understand it, Liz, Rachel B., and Kim approached their lesson already coming from the stance that allowing students to bring their own devices creates fruitful learning opportunities. Though, to be honest, it is not very clear in their lesson plan what technology the students would be using to conduct the I-Search on a history topic of their choice. However, it is certainly clear that this group envisioned technology playing a pertinent role in their lesson; whereas our group took a much more skeptical stance. I am not surprised by the connections their group made.
What did strike me as noteworthy about Liz, Rachel B., and Kim's lesson was their use of technology to initiate interactive discussion. I thought the Last Supper clip was a great way to begin class. It is entertaining, capturing the attention of students, and a clear example of the ways historical sources may be skewed to convey a particular message. I think the historical inaccuracy of the clip would be obvious enough to students that they would have a lot to say to each other about the potential pitfalls of a secondary source, getting them motivated, and hopefully excited, to investigate primary and secondary sources on their own. I also liked that this group used a multimedia text, rather than a document, because it demonstrates to students the multitude of forms a secondary source may take.
Samantha, great post. I’m so amazed that a Teaching with Technology class and your English Methods class essentially can cover the same topic! I think that David Thuene did a wonderful job presenting his ideas and how they truly enhance student education. I see the benefit of having meaningful opportunities to write for an audience to develop enduring knowledge for students. As you clearly write in your blog, if we can get students to find meaning in their work then the learning naturally will follow. However, I still am trying to figure out how that would apply to a math or physics class. It's just challenging for us STEM folks to translate these ideas into our classroom. I know it’s possible but it’s just not obvious to me yet. I’m curious if you think you’ll have a chance in your placement to engage your students with a meaningful opportunity to read and write like David Thuene has done? Do you think your students will respond positively and productively to such an assignment?
ReplyDeleteHey Wilbur! I assume this comment is in response to my most recent post...haha! I completely understand the tension you are feeling about how to translate the Theune's concept of an audience into a STEM classroom. But, as you said, it is totally possible! I think it would be awesome if you invited parents and community members into your classroom just to hang out and see what's happening, but also to listen to students present science projects or the results of an experiment. You could also have students design experiments or do research surrounding real community issues. Of course, I am saying this as an English teacher who has no expertise in science but I think there is a lot you can do in your classroom that is similar to what Theune is doing in his classroom.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your question about the likelihood of having the opportunity to engage my own students in such meaningful opportunities to read and write. It is actually something that I anticipate being a tremendous struggle. There are two main reasons for this: one is the overall lack of community at TCEC, and the other is lack of community surrounding TCEC. There is a strong sense that we don't belong to any community because while TCEC is part of the Berkley school district, it is located in Southfield, stigmatized for being an alternative school, and a decent majority of the students come from Detroit. I think having a community audience to read and write for would be incredibly beneficial for my students and I know they would react positively. Right now, I am brainstorming how to bridge the various communities that TCEC is a part of, i.e. Southfield, Berkley, Detroit - a unique conglomeration if we can find a way to make it happen!