Browsing by Subject "History--Methodology"
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Item Children learning from children of the past: a study of fifth graders' development of empathy with historical characters(2005) Geneser, Pamela Vivien Loomis; Field, Sherry L.Empathy with historical characters provides a gateway into the development of historical thinking in children. When young students look into the lives of other people, especially children who lived long ago, they are motivated to investigate facts that are relevant to understanding the context of the times and can begin to perceive aspects of the events from a historical perspective. A research study with fifth grade elementary students was conducted to determine how these students could develop historical thinking skills using both primary and secondary sources. The students engaged in a background study of the first French colony in the state of Texas, Fort Saint Louis, which existed from 1685 until 1689. The researcher and students focused on the lives of four French children who lived with Karankawa natives after the demise of the adult members of the settlement. Using information about the history of the French settlement, as well as literature that describes the experiences of other children who had lived with Native Americans, the group engaged in discussions about the saga of the Talon children. With this knowledge, the students prepared a script and produced the setting for a drama to share the story of the French colony with the student body. Tape recordings of the group discussions as well as interviews with the individual participants before and after the study comprise the data for analysis of the development of empathy. While the information is almost the same as in the textbook, students are more motivated to learn facts about an historical era when they are engaged in lessons that encourage active involvement. By participating in historical simulations, discussing the lives of children who lived with Native Americans and helping with the creation of a drama, the students were able to advance their historical thinking skills and to develop empathy with the historical characters.Item Teaching historical thinking: what happened in a secondary school world history classroom(2005) Chowen, Brent William; Davis, O. L.In a secondary school world history classroom, a teacher focused on teaching historical thinking to a group of 20 students. Using primary source documents, including written, visual, and photographic evidence, the teacher sought to develop and build students’ abilities to utilize higher level thinking skills in history. Students participated through a series of activities, among which were role plays, historical simulations, essays, classroom discussions, and class readings. Data was collected through the use of student questionnaires, videotapes of classroom activities, class transcripts, student interviews, classroom participation charts, and student think-aloud sessions. Interpretations of the data revealed that students exhibited signs of historical thinking and critical thinking skills in guided classroom discussions and activities. Independent student work, as shown through essays and interviews, showed a decrease in the signs of historical thinking. Students identified classroom activities, such as role plays and historical simulations, which augmented their ability to develop historical thinking. Students’ efforts revealed a disconnect between their work and the work of historians. Acknowledging the difference between their school work and the professional field of history, students did not identify the skills they used in classroom work as those used by professional historians, despite the emphasis on historical thinking. These results, though specific for the particular students in this context, can be added to the research literature on history education and higher level thinking skills. As student and school accountability and rankings through social studies testing become more prevalent in the school community, this study may provide a model for future studies that seek to examine the occurrences in history classrooms.