Reflecting back on class tonight after I had sometime to think about the information that was presented, I think that the activity could be very beneficial to an educational classroom. While the process did seem to move slow tonight the video at the end really made each step process for me. Seeing how important that it is to give the correct amount of time to review each document and make a claim about what I have read and reviewed is a very important piece of the puzzle. As was mentioned many times tonight, helping my students create a perspective that is wide and much more vast than words that are simply in a textbook is an exciting thought. Knowing the impact that developing a sense of awareness to not believe the first thing that they read would be a skill that the students could use far outside the walls of my future classroom.
Personally, my concern with presenting information this way, as I am sure will be the case with most things, is how to handle push back from students who don’t want to use the model that I have selected. While I want to welcome that student development I am also worried that it would fluster me and cause me to lose track of time. Keeping students on task even if they don’t agree with the process is a skill I am sure I will develop as I have practice, however the thought of it at this moment is a little bit scary. Overall, I think that seeing this done in class in the process that students would take was super helpful!
Hello Caroline,
The experience you had with analyzing primary sources was for you. It was important for Dr. Stohr and I that you and your classmates experience what it feels like to delve deeper into an historical event and learn there is more to it than a textbook description. I can tell from your reflection that you got that! I am also glad the the video helped bring it all together. That is what I was going for so it is affirming to me that I made the right instructional decision. I appreciate your honesty regarding the idea of teaching the analysis of historical documents in your own classroom one day! I would feel the same way if I was you! Feel secure in knowing that this lesson is not one you would begin with. You will scaffold students knowledge and skills ahead of time. As well, you may decide to use only one primary source, like Joanne Robinson’s letter, to have students analyze.
I appreciate your thoughtful reflection. Lynne