I chose to research the Underground Railroad on iTunes U because it is a crucial aspect of any American History class. There is an abundant amount of podcasts available about the Underground Railroad for teachers to use in their classrooms. However, as learning moves towards more student centered instruction, podcasts alone will not suffice in an effective classroom. The podcasts that I found could be used as excellent supplements to a lesson on the Underground Railroad, but never as the main lesson. If I were currently teaching a lesson on the Underground Railroad, I would start with asking my students what they know about it. In fact, I would probably have them compose a KWL chart (what they know, what they want to know, and, eventually, what they learned). Then I might play a podcast about it (mostly I found video podcasts on iTunes U, which are better than regular podcasts). I would then proceed to assign my students this activity: http://www.teachervision.fen.com/slavery-us/activity/4167.html?detoured=1. Students will follow a simulation of the Underground Railroad to help them understand what the runaway slaves experienced; the worksheet that accompanies the simulation tests the students' understanding of what they have just completed.
Students can also use the internet to research the Underground Railroad, as demonstrated in this lesson: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/17/g35/quilts.html. This lesson pertains more to geography, because the students have to understand the dangers that the various terrains posed to the runaway slaves. The internet is also helpful in promoting inquiry learning for the students, which is crucial in any social studies classroom.
Students really need to understand the emotional and physical hazards that both the runaway slaves and people who helped the runaway slaves experienced. Simply listening to a teacher lecture or watching podcasts does not allow such comprehension; students need to use critical thinking to assess all aspects of the Underground Railroad.
I think it's a great idea to incorporate all these different sources on a lesson about the Underground Railroad. You could even bring in songs slaves used to sing to express their pain and suffering. It would be a good lesson in history or geography as you could bring in elements of both. I, too, think it is very important to teach students about the emotional aspects and implications of the Underground Railroad.
ReplyDeleteI agree that lectures and podcasts alone do little to capture the attention of the 21st century learner. Instead, as Louisa mentioned in her blog post, us teachers should incorporate other mediums to properly convey the ideas we hope our students get from our lessons. That simulation is cool because it actively involves the student in the material at hand (I really enjoyed the slave songs!). Simply reading about the Underground Railroad would be an injustice to the people who risked their lives to help people gain freedom. The old way of teaching is outdated and leaves students bored and unable to subscribe the material to their lives. Good job!
ReplyDeleteLouisa-I said some of the similar stuff in my blog. Pod casts are a great tool when used appropriately, but they can also be used as a glorified form of lecture. The last thing as teachers we want to do is bore our students to death. I thought to remedy this issue it is vital only to use particular and short segments of each podcast, and then using other strategies to maintain interest. If we concentrate solely on lecture, we are concentrating more on us, and LESS on them!
ReplyDeleteI'm really glad you made sure to mention that the podcast alone cannot be the main lesson, that it is actually just one of many sources a teacher should pull from in order to have an effective lesson. I feel like too many teachers just focus on one source when they have a variety of sources at their fingertips. I also like how your lesson may be geography specific, but that you can break it down and relate it more on a historical aspect as well. I also like how you want your students to understand the hardships that many people endured by being involved in the Underground Railroad. You can even try to tie this in with other ideas of the oppression of minority groups and their fight for survival. It brings the entire world into focus and students will have a variety of perspectives.
ReplyDelete