B.A. Social Studies
Based on my reflection of the development and implementation of PBL into my classroom last year, I have decided that one of my two key focuses for this year is to improve and implement stronger inquiry based strategies into my curriculum (the other being student blogging--a subject for a future post). The intent of making this change is to allow my students to have better control over their learning and to begin thinking of research as a continuous inquiry process with the end goal of justifying their opinions and supporting them with evidence. Last year as I developed my project/problem based curriculum I began each unit by providing my students with their “essential question” that would drive their learning for the duration. To begin, we broke down the question into many smaller or more detailed ones. In general, students struggled through the process because they did not understand the purpose of it. I explained it as part of the research process and in general, they played along, looking for the specific number of questions that I assigned for them to put together. We created questions as a group, and in general, the students came up with decent ones, but after all of that, I took those questions, and chose which ones met my needs regarding curriculum and content. I found that I was artificially having my students drive inquiry and we never came back to their questions after developing them. After reading Make Just One Change from the Right Question Institute (RightQuestion.org), I found a new method to try to drive this inquiry process and actually provide my students to take more control of their learning by allowing them to drive the research process more completely. In general, the only variation that I made was changing my essential question into a statement that I decided to introduce to my students as a hypothesis for them to prove or disprove. For example, in my government course, my first unit essential question last year was, “What are the most significant principles of American Government and what are their origins?” I changed that to the statement/hypothesis, “The ideas put into the Constitution by the Delegates at the Constitutional Convention were original.” We spent a week on the process of developing our driving questions. In the end, each class now has developed their own research question, from which each group will begin their research. My students were challenged and highly engaged throughout the entirety of the week and I’m excited to see where it takes us. Here is a summary of the first week of the process and implementation specifically. I encourage you to give it a shot! Day 1: Introduce the “Question Focus” and the “Rules for Questioning” from the Right Question Institute. The Right Question Institute (RightQuestion.org) has gone into great depth to develop a Question Formulation Technique (QFT) which is the basis for the development of this portion of our unit in class. I used their rules for developing questions for students to follow which include the following:
Though I didn’t use their QFT to a tee, I did follow the basic direction that they provide and their rules briefly explaining the purpose of the rules in this activity. Next, I introduced the Question Focus to each class. In the government course, it is “The ideas put into the Constitution by the delegates at the Constitutional Convention were original” and in economics it is “The economy is in better shape now than at the beginning of President Obama’s administration.” In the introduction to how each statement should be used in regard to question development, I explained that the students’ job was to prove or disprove the statement using credible research including data for the economics course and primary sources for the government one and that their questions should drive their research. Finally, the students, in groups of two or three, were provided with as much time as needed to develop questions based on the focus statement. It is a process full of ebbs and flows, students struggled getting through the first few questions, but went through highly productive spurts along the way. As I circulated the room in many cases, they were struggling, then when I came back around they had five or ten more questions down. The key to making this process work is to be involved and constantly remind the students of the rules. In general this can be done in a light hearted way and the process is pretty collaborative and enjoyable for the students. Day 2: Prioritize the Questions and Place on Brainstorming Wall To begin the second day, students were asked to prioritize their questions based on the idea that they were developing them to use in their research, reminding them that their goal was to prove or disprove the Question Focus. In order to help them with this process, in their groups, students evaluated each one individually. Upon completion of that step, they were assigned with the task of choosing their top five and writing them on a note card in Sharpie that was eventually taped to the wall (in our hallway due to space restrictions and wanting to offer audience for their work). Students were also asked to evaluate on their process of developing the questions and to write a blog post to share their thoughts. In those blogs, students acknowledged the challenge and the thinking skills that it took to develop those questions. Days 3-4: Creating the Class Research Question: The final phase of class inquiry consisted of two sections, top question selection, then another round of prioritization. To begin the process of narrowing our research focus, each group was offered the opportunity to vote for the three “best research questions” on the brainstorm wall which now included all of the classes’ top questions using a sharpie to dot their votes. Each group also chose the #1 question that they saw on the wall that they thought would be the best to start research. From that point, the top questions that each group decided was the best were written on the board and shared with each class. From there, they evaluated each one, ranking them from most important for beginning research to the least important of the ones on the board. Each group provided their number for each question and the numbers were averaged to come up with the starting question for the class to begin researching. At this point, each class has decided on their own research direction based on their entire class contribution combined with the contributions of the other section of the course. It is interesting to note that each class chose a different question to begin their research.
Day 5: Introduction to Researching the Questions At this point, the students have understood that this course will be made up of sustained inquiry as a part of their project based units. Therefore, they understood that they were not done asking questions. Although we had narrowed our research focus, I still wanted to offer them the opportunity to personalize the question if they did not necessarily agree that it was the “best one.” For this reason, students were asked to evaluate the class question, then break it down into five more detailed research questions. Finally, students divided up those questions among their group members and were set to begin their basic research with the caveat that they were expected not to answer those questions, but to begin creating a database of people, places, things, documents, ideas, etc. that will direct their next set of questions. It’s awesome to see that the students have taken to the process of developing the questions and that they are wanting to dive in and answer them, but I am still working them through the process of developing research by expanding their net before just trying to answer the question. This will be a continuous process, and I’m excited to see how it continues to challenge them and promote higher order thinking. I just returned from the Missouri Council for the Social Studies (MCSS) annual conference yesterday and I would like to reflect on the experience and my top five takeaways from my weekend in Columbia. I had a great time reconnecting with my Mount Vernon friends (it’s amazing how these friendships have grown in such a short time) and making new connections that all created a positive weekend and professional development experience. Here are my top five takeaways (in chronological order) from the conference: #1: Teachers are Looking for Examples of Project Based Learning
#2: George Washington Is Still the Man!I have already written on the lesson that I planned and executed based on my inspiration from my professional development trip to Mount Vernon (http://bit.ly/AntonGW). Our (Sarah Courtney's, Kris Larson's, Alexis Small's, and my) session began with that activity and included three others that could be used as a way of integrating Washington, but also could be used for so many other historical figures. I think that our attendees left with four great lessons and ideas that they can take and use in their classrooms in some variation.
One person made the same note about the abundance of Washington sessions, but pointed out that every one of them were passionate and different, showing the diverse amount of information and excitement for G.W. gained from the experience in Mount Vernon’s education programs. #3: How to Use Nazi Propaganda in the ClassroomMoving into the afternoon, I attended Rhonda Ireland’s presentation on “Examining Nazi Propaganda.” Rhonda has an evident passion for studying the Holocaust and she is well-versed on the topic. Her session was centered around her experiences with the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education (MCHEKC.org). I walked away with a packet full of primary sources that I can use in the classroom. A few of the most interesting documents pertained to Nazi education on the issue of racial education that were very striking and could be used as an introductory activity to use in the discussion of the Holocaust or Nazi ideology. I think these documents would pair well with the Disney film, “Education for Death: The Making of a Nazi.” There is a ton of potential to show that American propaganda was factual in many cases. To me, the most striking part of these documents was how transparent and open the Nazis were in spreading their ideology of hate--something that always astounds me when researching the topic. #4: How to Better Incorporate Photographs as StorytellersFrom my perspective as a high school teacher, I am always skeptical when I walk into a session with an elementary teacher for the reason that there are often methods discussed that are more appropriate for that level than mine. This session was not that way. I walked out with a lesson that I can and will use in my classroom that used photographs and primary source analysis skills to create a timeline. Kathy Wilson and Craig Carson did an excellent job presenting a lesson pertaining to the history of the postal service that could be easily adapted to any historical event or topic. I especially appreciate how it could be used for a local history course where you could have students or maybe a local historical society provide photos to tell the story of the area.
#5: Activity Ideas to Promote Sustained InquiryMy interest in PBL and intertwining inquiry based strategies brought me to this workshop. Paula Keltner provided us with many resources and ideas for use in our classrooms that included primary sources, infographics, op-ed pieces, interaction, and collaboration. One of my key points when incorporating PBL is that there is still structure even though the students are driving their own learning. This session provided activities that I will be able to use in my course as a way to drive and promote sustained inquiry in my classroom. My favorite activity dealt with photographs as inquiry hooks. There were a series of photos on the wall that introduced the idea for the unit that dealt with defining the “American Dream” and whether it is possible to achieve it. We circulated the room and wrote our thoughts on sticky notes based on each photo that helped us to wrap our minds around the differences that perspective has on our views of the American Dream and what it means to have accomplished it or if it's possible. My second favorite, because it is a skill that I have focused on more recently dealt with helping students annotate and see the value in annotation by having the teacher read aloud their thoughts with students as they analyze a text. Personal Bonus: Appointment to MCSS Board of DirectorsI was fortunate to make many new connections over the weekend and was appointed the Vice President of Legislation for the Missouri Council for the Social Studies. This position is perfect! It combines my passion for social studies education with my interest in state and local politics and government. I'm excited to get started and hope that I can provide value to the organization and promote the protection and value of social studies in education.
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AuthorBrian Anton currently serves the Purdy R-II (Missouri) School District as the 7-12 Principal after working in the PK-12 Assistant Principal and Athletic Director roles for two years. In the 12 years prior to moving into administration, he served as an award-winning high school social studies teacher. Archives
September 2018
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