decoding primary sources and historical arguments: defining what students have to do the history...
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Decoding Primary Sources and Historical Arguments:
Defining what Students Have to Do
The History Learning ProjectArlene Díaz, Joan Middendorf, David
Pace, and Leah ShopkowHistory in Higher Education Conference, April 1, 2009
This project has been funded by the Teagle and Spencer Foundations, and by the Vice-Provost for Undergraduate
Education, the College of Arts and Sciences, and the History Department of Indiana University
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Step 1: Defining the Bottleneck: Primary Sources
© David Pace & Joan Middendorf, 2004
What is a Bottleneck to Learning in this class?
Identify a place where many
students encounter obstacles
(bottlenecks) is mastering the
material
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Discussion Question
Define a bottleneck where your students get stuck in their learning
•Think and write
•Pair and Share
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Step 2: Defining Expert Thinking: Primary Sources
© David Pace & Joan Middendorf, 2004
How does an expert do
these things? Explore in the
depth the steps that an expert in the field would go through to
accomplish the tasks identified as a bottleneck
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Step 1: Defining the Bottleneck: Argument
© David Pace & Joan Middendorf, 2004
What is a Bottleneck to Learning in this class?
Identify a place where many
students encounter obstacles
(bottlenecks) in mastering the
material
6
Step 1: Defining the Expert Thinking: Argument
© David Pace & Joan Middendorf, 2004
How does an expert do
these things? Explore in the
depth the steps that an expert in the field would go through to
accomplish the tasks identified as a bottleneck
7
Step 2: Defining the Expert Thinking: Argument
They don’t actually make the argument.
They don’t take you through the parts. They don’t show you where the
evidence is. They don’t explain why they believe this
to be true.
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Step 2: Defining the Expert Thinking: Argument They don’t actually make the argument.
How should they go about making an argument?
They don’t take you through the parts. They don’t show you where the
evidence is. They don’t explain why they believe this
to be true.
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Step 2: Defining the Expert Thinking: Argument They don’t actually make the argument.
How should they go about making an argument?
They don’t take you through the parts. How do they know what the parts are?
They don’t show you where the evidence is.
They don’t explain why they believe this to be true.
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Step 2: Defining the Expert Thinking: Argument They don’t actually make the argument.
How should they go about making an argument?
They don’t take you through the parts. How do they know what the parts are?
They don’t show you where the evidence is. How do they select evidence?
They don’t explain why they believe this to be true
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Step 2: Defining the Expert Thinking: Argument They don’t actually make the argument.
How should they go about making an argument?
They don’t take you through the parts. How do they know what the parts are?
They don’t show you where the evidence is. How do they select evidence?
They don’t explain why they believe this to be true. How do they make the connection between
evidence and argument clear?
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Step 2: Defining the Expert Thinking: Argument 1. What is the subject matter of the
article? 2. What is the argument presented by
the author or the author’s point? 3. What counter-arguments does the
author acknowledge? 4. What evidence does the author use
in support of his or her position?
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Step 3: Modeling how to create arguments
© David Pace & Joan Middendorf, 2004
How can these tasks be explicitly modeled? Show the students the steps
that an expert would complete to
accomplish these tasks.
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Step 3: An assignment modeling how to create arguments
Day 12 Web Assignment: You are writing a paper on male and female gender roles, based on the readings.
Briefly state the thesis that you will defend in the paper.
Make a list of three basic propositions that you need to support in order to make your interpretation credible to readers.
Give one piece of evidence that supports each proposition.
Explain how this evidence makes this proposition more convincing.
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Step 4: Practice and Feedback
© David Pace & Joan Middendorf, 2004
How will students
practice these skills and get
feedback? Construct
assignments, team activities
and other learning
exercises that allow students to
do each of the basic tasks
defined above and get feedback on their mastery
of that skill
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Discussion Question
Given the evidence presented here, how well are the students doing on creating an argument? How might the process be made more visible to them?
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Step 5: Motivation
© David Pace & Joan Middendorf, 2004
What will motivate the
students? Consider
principles of student
motivation that will enhance the learning
environment.
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Step 6: Evaluation
© David Pace & Joan Middendorf, 2004
How well are students
mastering these learning tasks? Create
forms of assessment that provide specific
information about the extent
of student mastery of the
particular learning tasks
defined in Step 2. Are there other
bottlenecks?
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Step 6: Evaluation -- Have students learned to make arguments?
Student 1, Assignment 1, a class on the Student 1, Assignment 1, a class on the HolocaustHolocaust
“ “History is a History is a relative subject which can be which can be viewed in viewed in different lights. For example, the . For example, the underlying causes of the extermination of Jews underlying causes of the extermination of Jews can be viewed in can be viewed in many theoretical approaches. . The bookThe book The Origins of Nazi Violence The Origins of Nazi Violence by Enzo by Enzo Traverso approached the Holocaust in a Traverso approached the Holocaust in a material and ideological way…On the other material and ideological way…On the other hand, the bookhand, the book The Roots of Evil The Roots of Evil by Ervin Staub by Ervin Staub approached the Holocaust from a psychological approached the Holocaust from a psychological point of view.”point of view.”
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Step 6: Evaluation -- Have students learned to make arguments?
Student 1, Assignment 3, a class on the HolocaustStudent 1, Assignment 3, a class on the Holocaust
““This paper seeks to discuss why much of the German This paper seeks to discuss why much of the German population willingly conformed to extermination during population willingly conformed to extermination during World War II. Three specific aspects of this question will be World War II. Three specific aspects of this question will be analyzed: analyzed: 1) The effects of post-World War I and anti-Semitic The effects of post-World War I and anti-Semitic feelings before extermination began feelings before extermination began 2) the experience of the experience of duress felt by the German population brought on by the Nazi duress felt by the German population brought on by the Nazi regime regime 3) the effect the role of power has on an ordinary the effect the role of power has on an ordinary person. These aspects created an environment in which person. These aspects created an environment in which ordinary people could commit atrocities. Specifically, ordinary people could commit atrocities. Specifically, examples of ordinary people committing atrocities will be taken from Police Battalion 101. This was a large group of . This was a large group of ordinary Germans who were assigned to the task of killing ordinary Germans who were assigned to the task of killing and deporting Jews and Poles in Poland.”and deporting Jews and Poles in Poland.”
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Why Bother with all of This?
Develops basis for targeted evaluation of student learning
Provides a map for interventions to foster student learning
Provides a frame and a common language for curricular development
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To work with this paradigm (14:30) Session 1: Using
decoding to better evaluate students’ learning
Session 2: Using Decoding to Develop Curricula and Departmental Response Teaching Challenges
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