How to enhance students’ learning motivation: History and daily life (2)

History is dead ? !

Dr. Flora KanFaculty of Education

HKUCDI02013077925.6.2013

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“History is dead ! ”

Who might probably say this?

• Student?• Teacher?

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Comment from students:

“History is useless. We study dead things and dead people,

the knowledge acquired bears no relevance to my daily life”

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For this lesson, is “History is dead !” justified ?Lesson A• In teaching the Cultural Revolution, a history teacher

distributed a well-prepared handout to his students. He started by stating the definition of the Cultural Revolution, followed by an analysis of the remote causes of the Cultural Revolution. Powerpoint slides and video clips were used to illustrate the different causes. At the end of the lesson, the teacher administered a quiz for his students to check their mastery of the points covered. It was found that some hardworking students simply rote memorized and regurgitated the various points contained in the notes and the textbook. Some others could only give a few disorganized points and some could not even recall any points at all. The best students gained six marks out of ten while the worst gained only one mark.

• (Objective of the lesson: students should be able to identify the remote causes of the Cultural Revolution)

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“History is dead ? ”

Who might probably say this?

• Student?• Teacher?

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Teacher’s view: “History is not dead, it’s not even

past”

Look at Lesson B, on the same topic – the Cultural Revolution: remote causes and with the same lesson objective 6

Lesson B Introduction:The teacher showed a picture of 2012 which was taken outside the Japanese embassy in

Beijing and asked students why people raised Mao’s picture and not the then president Hu Jintao in the protest against the Japanese occupation of Diaoyu island. Then the teacher linked the prominence of Mao today to the topic. (source: Mala Ramchandani)

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Please use the following link to view the picture of protest against the Japanese occupation of Diaoyu island.

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/09/19/world/CHINA/CHINA-articleLarge.jpg

Lesson B con’t

The teacher then analysed the remote causes of the Cultural Revolution. He used powerpoint slides and video clips to illustrate the various causes.

Closure:The teacher asked students to use at

least one of the temporal dimensions to evaluate Mao’s influence in China based on two points in time (a) 1966 the start of the Cultural Revolution and (b) 2012 people protested against the Japanese occupation of Diaoyu Island, and explained why. 8

Temporal dimensions 1 2

Turning point (from good to bad) Turning point (from bad to

good)

3 4 5

Progression Regression Repetition

6 7

Continuity Change & development 9

An analysis of lesson B:Use current issue to bring out the prominent

role of Mao at present

ClosureLinking history with the present and ask students to evaluate Mao based on two points in time over a span of more than 40 years.

Strengths of this arrangement ?Bring out the legacy of Mao and relate this to the way he administered China when he was in power during the Cultural Revolution Concrete abstract Near far Present past 10

Rationale ? Historical consciousness (Rusen,

1996)• A dialogue between the present and the past.• One’s ability to see the similarities/differences

between the present and the past, and see the significance underlying those similarities/ differences.

• One’s understanding of the present through related situations of the past. When a person makes sense of the past in order to orient practical life, s/he is exercising her/his historical consciousness.

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TIMES Magazine

Why Did World War I Just End? By Claire Suddath Monday, Oct. 04, 2010

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http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2023140,00.html

Please use the following link to view the article

Other examples

How would you use this Times article in the history lesson (Treaty of Versailles / Rise of Hitler) ?

• At the beginning?• As an illustration• In the closure?

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IB DP Topic• Osama bin Laden : Jihadhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orawG7vt68o

• George W. Bush: Crusadehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsjgjM56HRw

Source: Dave Perry

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How would you use these twovideo clips in the history lesson (Crusades: Introduction) ?

• At the beginning?• As an illustration?

• In the closure?

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Another approach

On the same topic- Cultural Revolution:

remote causes

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Lesson C

In teaching the Cultural Revolution, a history teacher

identified the key question to inquire into as

“What was the motivation of Mao in initiating the Cultural Revolution ?”

The issue : “In launching the Cultural Revolution, was Mao attempting to fulfill his vision for China?”

He first asked students to use 1-10 words to describe their impression of Mao Zedong, he then wrote it on the board and left it there throughout the lesson.

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Lesson C – con’t

Based on the inquiry focus and issuestudents in groups of four were to collect information on

Mao’s deeds. At frequent intervals, the teacher discussed with students their progress, what they had found, why they had come to that understanding. He provided useful feedback to them as to what they now needed to find out and where they might refer to. Each group of students was then asked to present their findings to the class. The other classmates, as well as the teacher, raised critical questions and provided constructive comments about their work during the lessons.

Finally, the teacher referred students to the word(s) they previously described Mao and asked whether or not they would change it and why.

For this lesson, is “History is dead ?” justified?18

An analysis of Lesson C1.Start from students’ impression / initial thought of

Mao (from hearsay, literature, drama series, etc)Prior knowledge : internal representation of the views of historical figures/ events

2.Main body of the lesson – students in groups were to inquire into Mao’s deedsLearner activity (new information might / might not challenge students’ prior knowledge) +collaboration ( student can perform at higher levels in a supportive, interactive environment),

3.Students were to refer to the word(s) they used to describe Mao and to consider if they would change the word(s) and whyIn taking into account the new information, students’ prior knowledge might be modified or changed 19

Queries:Q 1. What has this to do with enlivening

history?

Q 2. For the main body of the lesson, if the teacher adopts a worksheet approach,

would it be acceptable?

Q 3. For the main body of the lesson, is group work a must?

Q 4. What is the crucial part of this constructivist approach?

Q 5. For prior knowledge, what if students have never heard of the historical figure/event ? 20

No prior knowledge?• Use picture

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Please use the following link to view picture of Mao zedong.

http://s3.timetoast.com/public/uploads/photos/1565463/mao-zedong.jpg?1304969547

• Use poster

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Please use the following link to view poster of Mao zedong. Designer: unknown 1968, Landsberger collection

http://chineseposters.net/images/e13-856.jpg

Use any images as stimuli for students to express their impression/ view /

interpretation

Revisit it in the lesson closure and let students decide whether they would modify / change their initial thought 23

Lesson C is based on:

• Constructivism (Resnick, 2002) – knowledge is actively constructed by learners

• Social constructivism (Vygotsky, 1978) – children can advance to higher levels with support and mediation from adults or more capable peers, Zone of Proximal Development [ZPD)

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History is dead!

History is dead?

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History is not dead, it is not even past

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Thank You !

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