Overview

This project seeks to make visible the process of students' capacity to engage in critical analysis of primary sources - the essential evidence of past events. Employing course design techniques of backward design and the challenge cycle, this project prompts students to engage in incremental and sequential steps of critical reading, thinking and writing. Further, this research study maps the process by which students learn, practice and "take ownership" of critical analysis, thereby giving them greater capacity to create their own knowledge of history.

Links

Learning Objectives for American Histroy
This presentation makes a connection between the theme of democracy and course design.

Course Context

The subjects for this study are students enrolled in my sections of the American history survey (1620 - 1865). Two reasons guided my decision to select this course: First, it is within the content of this course that students encounter the formative stages of what democracy has come to mean in the United States. Second, this particular course is required for students in the institution''s teacher training program. By including this student cohort for this study adds an important dynamic to the evidence. Not only are these future teachers highly motivated to be successful in the course, but also they are intrinsically interested in the process of student learning. teaching and learning. Though this cohort is only 30% of the students in the course, its members tend to engage more readily in the learning modules a well as be more reflective about their own process of learning.
 
Links

Teacher TRAC
This site provides information on the teacher training program at Cerritos College. Students in this program are included in this research study.

Central Feature: Interconnected Learning Modules

Three related, sequential learning modules provide the means to discover the process of student learning for this research study. Two of the three modules are featured below in the links section.

These learning modules are interconnected by

• A central question,"What does democracy mean in American society?"
• An inclusion of primary sources that express diverse understandings and applications of the principles of democracy.
• A structure that asks students to "make visible" their process of decoding, interpreting, and evaluating the primary source (s)
• A critical analysis of the primary sources and a self-reflection on the learning process.

more...

Links

Activity 1: What Does Democracy Mean?: The Declaration of Independence
This is the first activity of my project.

Activity 2: The Trail Where They Cried: Competing Visions of Democracy
This is the second activity of my research project

About Cerritos College

Of equal importance in this research project... is the fact that it is located in a culturally diverse community college. Large classes (48) populated by a socio-economic and ethnic diverse group of individuals, some of whom need remediation, present unique challenges to one who has decided that her students will encounter and master a close reading of primary sources. Thus far, the challenge has been a roller coaster, with more ups than downs.

Questions About Student Learning

• What skills and knowledge of content do students need before critical analysis can occur?
• Do sequential learning modules that ask for reading of and reflecting on primary sources expand students' capacity for critical analysis?
• How do students display critical analysis? What does their analysis look like?
• How does critical analysis differ among novice, the intermediate and expert learners?

Tools to Interpret Evidence of Student Learning

This project will use a combination of tools to interpret evidence of student learning. Central will be NVivo, a software program that facilitates analysis of qualitative data. The mechanism is coding text. However, since the outcome of the coding process is only as good as selection of coding categories, I will rely on a rubric "Evidence of Student Learniing" and a modification of The Perry Scheme to establish the categories for analysis.

Links

Evidence of Student Learing: A Rubric
This rubric provides a basis to examine and interpret students' process of critical analysis. Developed specifically for this research study, it is used for the written assignments for each of the learning modules.

The Perry Scheme - Modified
This chart is a modfication of the Perry Scheme. It has been developed by Jan Connal, Cerritos College to better reflect the appropriate categories of intellectual development of students in the community college. These categories are fundamental to the interpretation of student learning for my project.

Overview of Perry Scheme
This is a portion of a longer article.