Andrew Eschle

10h Grade Advanced Placement U.S. History

Part of Unit 6; Day One: After the Exam

Lesson: Allegories as historical interpretive tools

Central Questions:
How can popular culture help us interpret historical events?

Learner Outcomes:
Students will be able to:

1. Understand the controversy surrounding historical interpretation
2. Understand how allegories can apply to history
3. Develop skills working in small groups
4. Create a comprehensive presentation

Materials needed:
Classroom space; computer lab with internet access; library materials; visual aids

Developmental Sequence:
Anticipatory Set:
Instructor asks students to recall specific characters from the movie The Wizard of Oz. Instructor guides discussion about allegorical connection to populism.

Body of the Lesson:
1. Instructor describes project to students
a. A rubric will be provided which includes
i. Clear expectations for student involvement in groups
ii. Clear expectations for quality of educational product
2. Instructor divides students into groups of five
a. Groups are given a choice of historical eras in which to analyze
1. Colonial history
2. American Revolution
3. Young Republic (1800-1825)
4. Jackson and Expansion
5. Crisis of Civil War
6. Reconstruction
7. The West
8. Rise of Big Business
9. American Imperialism
10. Progressive Era
11. 20th Century Foreign Policy
12. 20s and 30s
13. Cold War
14. 50s & Civil Rights
15. 60s & Vietnam
3. Students draw from popular culture to brainstorm possible connections
a. Students may choose any cultural product from visual or audio media
4. With instructor feedback, students pare down list and arrive at a consensus
5. Students begin work on construction of project

Assessment:
1. Teacher assesses student understanding throughout lesson.
2. Eventually, students will deliver presentation to the rest of the class.

Dear Parent and/or Guardian,

I would like to take this opportunity to tell you about a key component to your student's learning experience. In this class, U.S. History, we often use popular culture as a baseline for understanding historical issues in society, the economy, politics, and diplomacy. While we certainly use traditional methods of content delivery, we intend to include samples from both historical and contemporary movies, television, music, the web, and the like. Part of our approach is to make as many connections as possible to your child's life outside the classroom.

We'll seek to explore this relationship in many different ways. Your child may be asked to view historical examples of popular culture. Examples may include patriotic music throughout or country's history compared to today. Popular culture reflected in music may be a great opportunity to discuss the controversies each period of study contains. Another way in which we integrate popular culture into our class is making judgment on what our society values. Popular culture may act as a backdrop to discuss the accuracy and fairness of issues such as race, class, and gender.

You may do your part at home to reinforce continual learning. Take every possible opportunity to ask questions about what judgments your child is exposed to in the various things they see and hear as part of their daily experience. Between fun and a healthy appreciation for critical analysis is a chance for growth.

Yours in education,
Andrew Eschle

Sex, Drugs, and the Honor Roll?

As a digital native, I also have a personal connection with computer-generated teaching agents. I remember well learning along with Garry Kasparov in Gambit, a chess simulation from the early 1990s. Kasparov would chime in with feedback depending on the moves the user would make. A far cry from the CPAs described in the interaction article, the feedback would come in the form of a black and white video clip of a few seconds. Kasparov's comments ranged from admonishment to exultation at the moves of a chess novice. I did react with self-satisfaction when Kasparov gave me real-time postive responses to my improvement. Accordingly, I remember at times yelling at the computer screen or worse if the response was disparaging. Certainly, I expressed myself differently than I would have if a human chess tutor was providing instant reinforcement.

Despite my hunch of how students would react to CPAs, the article on interaction with computer teaching agents was fascinating for the reader. Not surprising was that there was abuse--surprising was its prevalence. That 35% of the interactions were off-task is troubling. What's more, that 40% of those were sexually explicit is shocking! (Veletsianos et al, 297) Certainly, these results tell us much about what may be on the mind of students at any given time over two class periods. Now, it's human nature to look at the world as tests of power and domination, so that students would test the knowledge and shrewdness of the agent is expected. Though the CPA is intended as an aid to the student, many use the interaction as an opportunity to treat "her" as a sex object.

As a teacher in his fifth year, a couple major things bother me about the article. Teaching high school is often about setting appropriate boundaries for students. Physically and emotionally, adolescents are still developing the skill of making wise decisions and separating school from the outside. Instead of humoring students about killing being wrong, respect, or sexual relations (298), why doesn't the program simply ignore the students' absurd input? Each response from the agent begs another inappropriate salvo. Couldn't the instructor be alerted of any of this misbehavior? Secondly, why must anonymity be preserved for a lesson about urban geography? Any student misusing the computer can be redirected immediately. In fact, transcripts of student/expert interactions should be a requirement for any teacher looking to improve instruction for the future.

This, of course, brings us to the implications of both the use of CPAs and these specific results for the educator. If a transcript is made available, the teacher can look for key trends in student questions and adjust instruction/expectations for future lessons. Students may be unwilling or unable to present these questions directly to the classroom teacher. By anticipating where and when students may run aground, both the agent and the instructor can better facilitate student learning. Perhaps there is also a psychological or sociological application for the CPA as well. Besides a lesson on Urban Geography, could students appropriately explore issues and ask questions they may be reluctant to ask an adult face-to-face?

Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Start

The three articles regarding Video Gaming stirred great memories. As a gamer in my youth and now an educator, I can see common ground between the two. Those of my generation growing up in Minnesota may think of Oregon Trail, Odell Lake, or Number Munchers with great nostalgia. As a student, I remember how "Computer Lab Day" was seen as a break from the grind of the usual class schedule. Even though games such as these were rooted in content, the ability to manipulate characters made the experience enjoyable and memorable. Outside of school, as a youth of the Nintendo generation I explored many computer-generated worlds. Games such as The Legend of Zelda, Deja Vu, and Super Mario Bros. required me to take risks and solve problems. Contemporary games obviously have countless more layers. Presumably, today's gamers enjoy more sophistication and overall depth, but what is required of the user has largely remained the same. Over time, video games have demanded players to manipulate their environment, confront their own actions, and make moral choices in order to achieve the objective.

These themes have interesting implications for educators. Both the games themselves and the issues they raise can aid student understanding.

First, lessons and curricula may be repackaged in a video game format. As stated, I look back fondly on days spent in the computer lab. Most importantly, games such as The Oregon Trail are rooted in content--at the same time they require the player to make logical decisions and they are reactive to those actions. A contemporary game, Making History, updates these challenges and has players consider social, political, economic, and diplomatic implications of each action. Now, even if educators don't have access to these specific resources, they may borrow important lessons from the video game genre. For example, educators could repackage historical controversies. The lesson would be created so as to react to the actions of the students. What decisions and actions led to United States involvement in World War One? Students act as "players," where their movements affect the actions of other characters and manipulate their environments.



Second, video games, like any element of popular culture, are up for a discussion of societal standards. As implied in the Genderplay article, video games offer a wealth of controversies. Many and varied discussions could be derived from the gaming world. Obviously, gender issues as a reflection of overall popular culture could be explored. Today's games may offer to the classroom interesting investigations of heroism and redemption, as in Max Payne. The Grand Theft Auto series also deals with issues such as gender roles, but also begs questions regarding racism, loyalty, and moral quandaries. What better way to engage students on weighty issues such as these? Educators constantly look for ways to connect beyond the classroom--video games connect learning directly to the student's television or computer monitor.