This spring, all of my classes were asked to take on challenging assignments requiring the "Big 3" of project-based learning.
Students were required to communicate, collaborate and compromise in dealing with essential questions in United States History. The eighth-graders had to research and analyze the changes over time of America at war, while the seventh-graders researched American expansion.
Both grade levels were divided into groups. As opposed to other group projects where students were placed in random groups, the students chose their own groups. A documentary prepared by each group requiring the use of technology provided the final assessment. These presentations involved far more than simply the presentation of a PowerPoint.
The seventh-graders answered specific questions about territorial expansion by the United States, beginning with the Louisiana Purchase during the presidency of Thomas Jefferson. The students had to develop timelines of American expansion that covered expansion west of the existing states prior to the Louisiana Purchase, Alaska and Hawaii, and territories that did not become states like Puerto Rico and the Philippines.
Using extensive group research and interviews, the groups answered several essential questions relating to their particular geographic area. These questions were ones that were appropriate for each grade level but were also questions that might be appropriate for an Upper School class.
Essential questions for seventh-grade history students:
How did the United States justify expansion?
What were the reasons for expansion?
What responsibilities did the United States have to those people who lived in the areas of expansion?
What were the short and long-term impacts on the native populations?
The seventh-grade documentaries had to cover content, analyze the content, and answer each of the essential questions. Each student was required to participate in the research as well as play a significant role in the production of the documentary. Technology Integration Specialist Rebekah Kinney spent a day with the students in use of the iMovie programs on their new laptops, and her help was immeasurable.
[Video produced by Nick Powell ('20)]
The documentaries had to satisfy content, analysis and problem-solving expectations, as well as display organizational skills and creativity. I was impressed with how quickly students absorbed new material and how creative they were when left to create together with only a minimum of teacher input.
The eighth-graders' assignment was a bit different. Rather than researching and preparing documentaries covering multiple essential questions on a specified geographic area, the eighth-grade groups dealt with a single question over an extended period of time. The assignment was actually a change over time assignment much like that expected in AP essays. The time periods covered went from World War I through the Vietnam War. The goal was to see what changes took place during these periods and to analyze the reasons for those changes, the importance/impact of the changes, and the reasons for the changes.
The challenging task was to culminate with a 40-minute documentary much like that of the seventh-graders. Like the seventh-grade documentaries, research had to be a combination of electronic sources, library research at the McCallie-Kennedy Library, and a minimum of two interviews. In being privileged to use the Upper School library, the efforts of Librarians Melinda Holmes and Michael Hall were very important to the preparation of the projects. Darlington faculty members like History Department Chairman Craig Schmidt were also willing to give of their time to be interviewed by members of both the seventh and eighth-grade classes.
Essential questions for eighth-grade history students:
What motivates American engagement in military conflict?
How does war impact Americans on the homefront?
What factors determine the outcome of the war, and what is the short-term and long-term impact of war?
What were the changes in military technology and strategy?
How were the wars portrayed in art, music and literature?
Eighth-graders had to satisfy the same basic skill and content expectations the seventh-graders followed. One of the rewarding experiences for the eighth-graders involved interviews with several family members and people in Rome who had actually been involved in the war effort, from veterans to women who gave wonderful accounts of their experiences on the homefront.
(Produced by Jack Eady ('19)
Several eighth-grade students made trips to an area assisted living center to interview people from the community who had firsthand knowledge of America at war. One of the real benefits of the projects was that they were open-ended and exploratory, and enabled students to discover multiple opportunities of discovery outside the classroom. All of this research took place without the use of any textbook beyond its use as a reference source.
The presentations were very informative, displayed age-appropriate analysis and understanding of key issues, and were very creative. The projects often became the topics of conversations at home. Students actively communicated with each other on what needed to be done and organized their own schedule. They determined when to meet to record their projects, how work would be distributed between members of their group, and utilized the individual strengths of each group member.
It was interesting to watch and listen to their exchanges and how they compromised on issues involved in the research and organization of the projects. They also grew in their understanding of the value, importance and challenges of collaborative effort, a very important skill that is crucial in working in the adult world.
Our students, like many other students in both public and independent schools, are by nature curious and innovative creatures. Assignments like these two completed by our awesome kids really allowed them to explore, experience both success and failure, and encouraged them to learn on their own with the teacher simply being one of the many sources available to them. They can find ways to accomplish a task with the help of their classmates and become truly active learners completely engaged in their own learning experience.
Grace Lester ('19) wrote to me on the last day of school, “You taught us how to teach ourselves.”
It was very exciting to see Darlington's middle grades students empowered to be active participants in their own education, and it really turned out to be a very rewarding learning experience for both the students and for me.
Congratulations to all of the students in my seventh and eighth-grade United States History classes!
