Strategies
The basic strategies I will use for this unit are rather dull. I have nothing neither new nor profound to add to American pedagogy. But for this unit the strategies are appropriate. I will first try to demonstrate the similarities between my student's lives and those of people within some historical situation. In other words, I will attempt to personalize information to otherwise disinterested students. To do this I always build analogies. The topic of this unit makes this very simple. The adolescents we teach are very skilled in the ways of noncompliance. It is encoded into their DNA. Therefore, asking them if there are rules at school or at home, laws in general society that upset them I am guaranteed that an emotionally charged conversation will soon follow. I find, as most, that these types of conversations are wonderful ways to get students active and then, with the proper coaxing, into more relevant and intellectual dialogue about something of substance; in this case, the nature and application of law.
Next, I will model for my students what an oral presentation should sound like. It is of course well documented in educational research that students respond better to instruction and in turn fulfill the obligation of teacher assignments when they understand exactly what it is they are being asked to accomplish. So once I have introduced the oral presentation project I will spend some time showing my students how they might meet my expectations. There are some important specifics here we must be careful to include. When doing an oral presentation students must project their voices so that they can be heard. They must have constructed clear prose that is intelligible and consumable by their classmates. It would be helpful, of course, if they practiced before they present to the class. They should also be prepared to answer questions from the instructor and their peers. But to be sure, students will be given a grading rubric that displays exactly what criterion they must meet to assure as high a grading mark as possible (appendix A).
Then it will be necessary to inform my students about the theories of social psychology. My plan involves two specific parts. First I will develop a handout that has short definitions of each of the theories discussed above (appendix B). Then I will, by means of a lecture, give examples as I have done in this unit for students to note. Then, to create a sense of ownership of this information, I will ask students to come up with examples of their own. These may be hypothetical or from real life experience. We will of course share and discuss these in class so that we both eliminate confusion and produce clarification.
I should say that although it is not absolutely necessary to do so, it might be advantageous for teachers to, after the first sets of debates, enjoin the class in some conversation about the historical accuracy of the presentations and the possibilities of applying social science to the historical situation in concern. To ensure clarity for all students with regard to the historical facts, I would think that some discussion would follow each debate; however, that will need to be judged on a case by case basis. Also, depending on your group dynamic, it may be of use to check student notes to make sure that the most pertinent information has been gathered. This again, is subject to the type of note taking strategies one employs in the classroom. I normally present students with outlines of information and have them fill in as we move through the material (appendix C). Thus it might be suggested that you ask those students who are taking part in the presentations to create small outlines for their classmates so that they may note appropriate information of general importance.
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