History classes are often thought of as boring, so I feel like authentic tasks would be my go-to, sure fire way of motivating my students to really love what they're doing. For me, as a future high school social studies teacher, utilizing authentic activities is key because they will be graduating soon and moving on to the real world. They NEED to learn how to be patient, work in teams, build "people skills" as my mom would say, and become more self-directed.
That being said, my authentic task would probably fall under a project-based learning task. Ormrod defines this as, "Classroom activity in which students acquire new knowledge and skills while working on a complex, multifaceted project that yields a concrete end product" (Ormrod 231). It's no denying that I am a huge patriot and supporter of the men and women in our military; they do what only a few can do. Going along with my love for student autonomy, I would give my students maybe two or three options.
- Interview a member of their family who served in the military and tell their story either through a video interview or write an essay. If that family member is deceased then they could do a research project on them.
- Send them out into the community to find war veterans to interview. As the teacher, it would be my responsibility to figure out where these men and women are and if they will be willing to cooperate with a student for an interview. The older vets absolutely LOVE recognition and are thrilled to have someone talk to them.
- It's always important to have a "Plan C" if the above two don't get the job done. If the above two do not work then I would assign them to, maybe, write to a historical figure and the student could act as the secretary of state. They would advise the president on what the proper course of action should be. Something along those lines, I'm just shooting out ideas here!
I know this is a hypothetical scenario and a perfect world example, but I would hope my students would react positively to it. I hope they will realize the positive impact they had on that veteran just by simply having a conversation. Who knows, maybe they will love it and may not seem like work at all! Students, especially high school age, are often opposed to writing papers so I hope that they will avoid option 3 and go for the first two! Upon completion of the activity, they will have done many things: serve their community, learn FAR more than a textbook could explain, have a new understanding for veterans, and build interview skills that will help them later on in life.
I see several obstacles with this assignment. One, finding enough veterans in the community who want to be interviewed. Two, the technical side of things. How will they record the interview? With the student's own camera or having to use school equipment which may be short or non-existent? Three, many students won't know how to be respectful and know what questions to ask. Four, how will I know as a teacher if I am putting too much work on a young kid? They have other commitments and lives as well. I will have to approve each and every interview between student and veteran. The list could go on and on! But I wholeheartedly believe the positive aspects of this project outweigh the negative.
I like that you say you will motivate students. From this comment I can tell you think motivation isn’t just a static characteristic of a learner. I also liked how had a plan C and I actually included something like this in my blog post. It’s good that you notice the problems of interviewing. In my cultural geography class, we spent a whole semester learning different styles of interviewing and aspects of a good interview. Many students still hadn’t mastered interviewing by the finals.
ReplyDeleteIt's nice that the authentic activities are what you remember most in high school and I totally agree. I can only imagine the fun you had when you defended something you actually support verses having to support something you really care nothing about or do no support yourself. One time I had to write a paper (in college) that was "for" taking organs from an anencephalic baby (a baby born with out a brain) and, with the parents permission of course, having them donate their baby's organs to other babies in need of organs. It was really challenging and I did NOT want to write the paper at all, but I had to defend that side of the issue. Anyways, on a lighter note, I think motivation is key in any subject and especially in a history class. If you show them how motivated you are then you can maybe relay that same feeling to you students and I like that a lot! I also like your assignment choices and having them interview a veteran in the military or someone they know that has served. That would be a really interesting assignment and I bet you would love to read and grade all those papers. Anyways I like your style and your ideas, good job and keep it up! :-)
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