Heather Boyd EPPL 534

Virginia History and Social Science Standards of Learning United States History to 1865 Exploration to Revolution: Pre-Columbian Times to the 1770s USI.5 The student will demonstrate knowledge of the factors that shaped colonial America by: a) describing the religious and economic events and conditions that led to the colonization of America; b) describing life in the New England, Mid-Atlantic, and Southern colonies, with emphasis on how people interacted with their environment to produce goods and services, including examples of specialization and interdependence. c) describing colonial life in America from the perspectives of large landowners, farmers, artisans, women, African-Americans, indentured servants, and enslaved African- Americans; d) identifying the political and economic relationships between the colonies and Great Britain. (History and Social Science Standards of Learning Curriculum Framework, 2008, p ).

“…too many [teachers] are yoked to the textbook, captive to chalk and talk, unable or unwilling to connect objectives with the real world…” -W. Hope

Effective Instructional Strategies: ROLE PLAY What is it? A form of experiential learning where students reflect and create meaning from experience. Role play allows for students to actively engage in recreating a person’s life or experience in a hypothetical situation. It allows students to act, feel, speak and move as a historical person. Role play is effective for any grade level. How can it be used? SOL USI.5 curriculum framework’s essential skills call for students to interpret ideas and events from different perspectives. Students could role play indentured servants, women, slave owners, enslaved Africans, farmers and artisans in order to gain that deeper perspective. (USI.5c) This would give the student greater insight into life as one of these people and take this standard beyond merely a comprehension cognitive level.

ROLE PLAY What do the experts say? John Dewey Emphasized action and meaning for student learning Believed this would lead to responsible citizenship Howard Gardner Theory on Multiple Intelligences- “Bodily Kinesthetic” Intelligence Movement and mind manipulation. Acting and performing the knowledge. Other role play research Carl Savich states, “Role play simulation activities and assignments gave students a better understanding of historical events by allowing for greater empathy and sympathy and greater internalization.” McCarthy and Anderson found, “Role- playing history students participated more in class and did better on the exam by nearly a whole letter grade than their peers engaged in the teacher-centered discussions.”

Effective Instructional Strategies: COOPERATIVE LEARNING What is it? A form of interactive learning where the focus is discussion and sharing among students. Cooperative learning is a strategy in which students work together to achieve goals within an assigned task. It has 4 features: student interdependence, strengths, cooperation, and group accountability. How can it be used? SOL USI.5b calls for students to describe life in the colonial regions. The USI.5b curriculum framework includes a detailed chart under essential knowledge that divides the colonial regions by resources, geography and climate, specialization, interdependence examples, and the social/political culture. Cooperative learning could be implemented to complete the essential knowledge chart.

Cooperative Learning What do the experts say? John Dewey Also emphasized cooperation for student learning Believed this would lead to responsible citizenship Lev Vygotsky Students develop in large part because of their social environment. Zone of Proximal Development- Solomon states, “The adult…sets a learning environment…that stretches the child above his present knowledge level toward a higher level.” Other cooperative learning research From Spinelli’s research- “Interactive learning activities promote cooperative interaction with peers….This …interaction and encouragement is positively correlated with improved critical thinking.” “Cooperative learning activities….foster positive interdependence, face-to- face positive interaction, individual accountability, social skills, group processing and development of problem solving skills.”

Instructional Strategies: Enabling Standards Role Play Cooperative Learning Resources Needed Preparation time Materials Art supplies Construction paper/fabric Additional space Additional class time Professional development Resources Needed Preparation time Additional space Materials Map or set of atlases Primary source documents Possible technology or media equipment Professional development

Resources Hildreth, R. W. (2004, April 15). John Dewey as a critical resource for the theory and practice of civic engagement. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, Illinois. [Online]. Retrieved November 14, 2008 from Hope, W. (1996, January 1). It's time to transform social studies teaching. Social Studies, 87(4), (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. EJ538434) Retrieved November 16, 2008, from ERIC database. Golubtchik, B. (n.d.). The Multiple intelligence classroom: Matching your teaching methods with how students learn. Retrieved November 14, 2008 from McCarthy, J., & Anderson, L. (2000, January 1). Active learning techniques versus traditional teaching styles: Two experiments from history and political science. Innovative Higher Education, 24(4), (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. EJ611584) Retrieved November 10, 2008, from ERIC database. Savich, C. (2008, April 10). Improving critical thinking skills in history. Online Submission. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED501311) Retrieved November 9, 2008, from ERIC database. Spinelli, C. (1998, March 3). Teacher education reform: Promoting interactive teaching strategies and authentic assessment for instructing an increasing diverse population of students. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED418076) Retrieved November 16, 2008, from ERIC database. Vocke, D. (1992, January 1). American history and cooperative learning: A rationale and sample lesson for the secondary level. Social Studies, 83(5), (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. EJ463269) Retrieved November 10, 2008, from ERIC database.