Fielding discusses the issue of student participation in secondary history classes and attempts to explain why many of them disliked the courses they were taught. He states that most students remember history classes as an endless list of names and dates but it is the way we are taught that can either inspire or extinguish the imagination. Fielding states that students must be active in order to learn. He believes that by using hands on tasks and avoiding long narratives the students can retain upto 90% of what they do and say. Fielding uses three heading of teaching strategies: interesting but not effective, interesting and sometimes effective and lastly interesting, imaginative and effective. Role-playing, re-enactments, tableaux and simulations, are one strategy Fielding makes reference to. By assigning roles to students the teacher engages them in their subject. They can then identify with their subject and educate other members of their groups on their historical figure. This type of strategy can then be used in a variety of ways such as a mock conference or trial. It places the emphasis on student learning and peer teaching and incorporates the teacher as a facilitator of the class.
However, he does warn that these strategies can go wrong and that the teacher must be prepared to fail once in a while. His ideas should be incorporated into the classroom and teachers should not be afraid to fail if the payoff is to engage more students for more of the time.
Monday, November 2, 2009
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I read this article too so I'm just going to latch onto this post.
John Fieldings article is a brief discussion of his own personal experience as a youth getting exposed to history and social studies, and what he has found in his career to be the most beneficial types of activities to ignite the same passion.
He divides the activities into 3 categories - interesting but not effective, interesting and sometimes effective, and interesting, imaginative and effective. He argues the most beneficial activities are ones which make it active, make it relevant, make use of student imagination, and engage students with an interesting narrative.
However, he warns that these 'good activities' are not the be all and end all to running a great history course. He states that without the proper instruction and structure in the classroom they are likely to fail miserably as educational endeavors. In the end no amount activities, good or bad, will get the material across unless a teacher provides an environment where students feel comfortable enough to engage in more complex activities.
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