The third Social Studies unit is Germany. One of the topics seen in class is World War II and the Holocaust. The reason I chose this particular topic is because I believe it is important for students to analyze circumstances from different perspectives. During the previous lessons, the Nazi beliefs would have already been explained and with the completion of this project, students will be able to have insight on both sides of the spectrum.
The framework for this project is founded on an inquiry based model. Students create questions about what they would like to research, thus guiding their own knowledge. The research aspect of the project is pushing students to become active learners. It puts them in charge of building their knowledge. This project is making a deliberate connection to Construction of knowledge (Kintsch, 2006). They become responsible for researching, collecting data, and giving meaning to the information they find.
The writing of the journal entry, is designed to allow students to connect previous knowledge about World War II and the Holocaust to the writings of the Jewish children. They will make use of their critical thinking skills in order to recognize patterns or discrepancies in the lives of these children.
Bransford, Brown and Cocking (2000) highlight the value of growth in interdisciplinary inquiries. Subjects should not be taught separately. There should be a cross curriculum approach. This refers to concepts being applied in every discipline, not being decontextualized. The design of this assignment is cross curricular. Students are using their prior knowledge of Germany and applying it to this assignment. In addition, the journal's intention is to have the students apply their writing skills within a social studies context.
Bransford, Brown and Cocking (2000) mention the importance of organizing information into a conceptual framework. That is the purpose of document #1. Students will be able to organize their findings in a table designed to promote greater transfer of information, which can be later applied in new situations or learn related information more quickly (Atkinson-Schiffrin,1968). This transfer of knowledge will be beneficial for the following unit which is Israel and ties in with Germany. Their background knowledge will be helpful in building their knowledge on Israel
Students will be asked to give feedback to a classmate by answering document #2. The intention of this document is for students to answer questions about the accuracy of the journal entry. It also provides an opportunity for peer editing. By analyzing peer work students will not only revise conventions of writing, but they will also utilize their knowledge of the Holocaust.
Furthermore, metacognition is an approach intended to enhance learning. Metacognition is "thinking about thinking". Students need to make sense of what they are doing. They need to self assess and reflect on what needs improving. In this case metacognition will be done through feedback. It is important for students to learn how to make relative contributions and offer suggestions, as well as, evaluate the feedback they receive in order to improve their own writing.
The definition of intelligence covered in Bransford, Brown and Cocking (2000) is searching, understanding, trying, failing, reflecting and improving. Having the students cover every aspect of intelligence, is the expected outcome for the project.
Curricular Expectations
These are the standards that are meant to be covered in this inquiry project.
1. Demonstrate understanding of structure through the use of graphic organizers and outlining.
2. Recognize similarities and differences when presented with varying styles or points of view.
3. Use comprehension strategies (e.g., association, categorization) to enhance understanding.
4. Generate questions of interest and narrow the focus of research to construct a basic research plan.
5. Identify and use a variety of sources when researching.
6. Develop familiarity with available electronic literary forms.
New Literacies
In order for students to gain perspective on a topic, they need access to different perspectives and this is done through research. For this project, students must use InstaGrok as their primary search engine. It is educational and it differs from others in that it provides a visual related terms web. Creating an inquiry question, defining search terms, locating information on the web and scaffolding are all referred to as New Literacies. "Today, the definition of literacy has expanded from traditional notions of reading and writing, to include ability to learn, comprehend and interact with technology in a meaningful way (Coiro, 2003)." By having students scaffold and collect data using a technological tool, they are coming in contact with technology in a significant way. Technology aids their learning process.
Students must locate information on their subject of interest and construct meaning from text read on the computer, this is different than reading from a book which is linear. Reading online requires a whole new set of skills. "It is the reader, rather than the author, who determines a unique pathway through the fluidity of online text (Dwyer, 2012 in press)." These skills must be modeled and that is the purpose of the screencast, it shows students how to explore the internet.
Evaluation
This project has two aspects of evaluation, a formative assessment and a summative assessment. After students have researched and filled in the table on Document #1 they will receive feedback the next day. This will enable me to see what they found and their planning for the journal. It will also allow me to plan more research time for those who need it. "Formative assessments -ongoing assessments designed to make student's thinking visible to both students and teacher - are essential. They permit the teacher to grasp students' preconceptions, understand where the students are in the developmental corridor from informal to formal thinking and design instruction accordingly (Bransford, Brown and Cocking, 2000)." Document #2's aim is to receive instructional recommendations from peers. This will help them realize how the reader is perceiving and understanding their writing. This form of assessment is purposeful of student learning. Sadler (1989) mentions opportunities to evaluate others' work to be part of formative assessment.
- The second type of evaluation is summative. There are a series of parameters in which the project needs to be done. Fulfillment of these guidelines, will interprete into a numeric grade. I am required to evaluate and provide a grade. A rubric is an easy to follow tool to grade an assignment. In addition, it explains what the assessment will be focused on.
References
Atkinson, R.C., Shiffrin, A.M. (1968). Human memory: A proposed system and its control processes. In K.W. Spence & J.T. Spence (Eds.) The psychology of learning and motivation: Advances in learning and theory (pp. 89-191). New York: Academic Press Inc.
Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L. & Cocking, R.R. (2000). Learning: From speculation to science. In J.D. Bransford, A.L., Brown & R.R. Cocking (Eds.), How people learn: Brain, mind, experience and school (pp. 3-27). Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press. Retrieved from http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?isbn=0309070368
Coiro, J. (2003). Reading comprehension on the Internet : Expanding our understanding of reading comprehension to encompass new literacies.The Reading Teacher, 56(5), 458-464.
- Dwyer, B. (2012, in press ). Developing online reading comprehension: Changes, challenges and consequences. In K. Hall, T. Cremin, B. Comber & L. Moll (Eds.), International handbook of research in children’s literacy, learning and culture. UK: Wiley-Blackwell
Kintsch, W. (2006). Learning and constructivism. In S. Tobias & T.M. Duffy (Eds.) Constructivist instruction: Success or failure? (pp. 223-241). New York: Routledge.
Sadler, D. R. (1989). Formative assessment and the design of instructional systems. Instructional Science, 18, 119-144.
- The second type of evaluation is summative. There are a series of parameters in which the project needs to be done. Fulfillment of these guidelines, will interprete into a numeric grade. I am required to evaluate and provide a grade. A rubric is an easy to follow tool to grade an assignment. In addition, it explains what the assessment will be focused on.