Category: Classes-15

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Class 12: Mock Trials

Mug shot of Hazel McGuinness, Sydney Australia, 1929
Mug shot of Hazel McGuinness, Sydney Australia, 1929

I’m a big fan of using mock trials – they embody critical thinking in the classroom. Over the years I wrote a number of cases which proved to be effective tools for improving student analytic skills and Common Core skills. Here’s a few posts from my blog on using them in the classroom and a link to two mock trials and an appeals case that I developed.

CLP-logo_300x300This week we will be visited by Ms. Barbara Rost, program director, Classroom Law Project. She’ll provide resources for law related education. (Be sure to follow that link – loads of lesson plans!)

As a demonstration activity, she will guide us through a mock trial –Vickers v Hearst (443kb PDF) Rules of evidence here.

Barbara graduated with a Bachelor of Science from Portland State University after using the 11-year plan to earn her degree, something she does not advocate for others. Three years later she earned her J.D. from Lewis & Clark Law School. She enjoys combining her interests in law and education in her work at Classroom Law Project. She is married, has two daughters in college and a really cute dog.

Classroom Law Project is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing civics, government and law to Oregon classrooms K-12. Teachers and students know CLP through programs such as mock trial, con team, Law Day conference (for students), Civics Conference for Teachers, court tours, weekly current events, professional development and more. CLP makes civic education fun. Its mission statement: Classroom Law Project is a non-profit organization of individuals, educators, lawyers, and civic leaders building strong communities by teaching students to become active citizens.

 

Assignment: Continue research / design for DBL (iBooks Author lab work on 11/23)

Workflow? See this guide Getting Ready for iBooks Author 57KB pdf

 

Image credit: Mug shot of Hazel McGuinness, Central Police Station, Sydney, 26 July 1929 NSW Police Forensic Photography Archive, Justice and Police Museum, Sydney Living Museums

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Class 11: Role Play

actors on broadway
The goal of this class is to experience the role-play as teaching method. Students will be introduced to (and receive) a hands-on curriculum (from Choices Program) that uses primary sources, case studies, videos, and role-play simulations to engage students in an exploration of the concept of human rights and the challenges of international enforcement. The curriculum also introduces students to various human rights actors, and examines the current debate on U.S. human rights policy. Emphasis is placed on helping students develop the skills and habits needed for active citizenship.

Choices ProgramChoices Program ~ The program’s curriculum units draw upon multiple primary source documents and culminate in a rigorous student-centered role-playing activity. Students will take part in a Choices lesson entitled Human Rights: Competing Visions of Human Rights – Questions for U.S. Policy.

Working cooperatively, students will examine the evolving role that human rights has played in international politics and explore the current debate on U.S. human rights policy.

The lesson was delivered by guest  – Tim Graham. Tim is currently a teacher at Cleveland High School in Portland, OR. He has taught social studies for 12 years in the Portland Public Schools district, working at Roosevelt, Benson, and Franklin high schools in addition to his current placement at Cleveland.

Tim is an excellent role model  – innovative, lifelong learner, veteran educator. We’ll have a chance to pick his brain on the challenges and opportunities for teachers in PPS.

He has attended teaching seminars with the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, National Endowment for the Humanities, and Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University. He is currently a Choices Teaching Fellow. Tim maintains two class blogs – IB 20th Century  and IB HOTA.

Role Playing
Participants in role playing assignments adopt and act out the role of characters in particular situations. They may take on the personalities, motivation, backgrounds, mannerisms, and behaviors of people different from themselves.

Closely related: simulations (which may have a game element) and reenactments (which may employ costumes or other theatrical elements).

When creating role play activities, we are often focused on making the experience memorable. This can lead to lessons that are fun – “we dressed in togas” – but from which students gain little academically.

The most impactful role-playing activities (like Choices, above or Zinn, below) feature debate, decision-making or problem solving from the perspectives of historical figures. 

Good role play activities found here:
From Zinn Education Project Link
From Thinking History (primarily in European history) Link

A document-based lesson can be enhanced by role-playing the documents’ creators or audience. For example, these SHEG lessons could easily be modified to add a role play.

Assignment: Continue research / design for DBL (iBooks Author lab work on 11/23)

Workflow? See this guide Getting Ready for iBooks Author 57KB pdf

Image credit:  Library of Congress: Actors on Broadway Miss Phyllis Gordon

  • Creator(s): Bain News Service, publisher
  • Date Created/Published: [no date recorded on caption card]
  • Reproduction Number: LC-DIG-ggbain-08296 (digital file from original neg.)
  • Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
  • Call Number: LC-B2- 2047-4 [P&P]
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Class 10: The Flipped Lesson

The traditional classroom is filled with a lot of lower-order, information transmission that can be-off loaded to “homework” via content-rich websites and videos. That frees up more classroom time as a center for student interaction, production and reflection.

While some may think flipping is all about watching videos, it’s really about creating more time for in-class student collaboration, inquiry, and interaction.

Designing a flipped lesson begins with thinking about what’s the best use of classroom time.

Flipping content is also a catalyst for transforming the teacher from content transmitter to instructional designer and changing students from passive consumers of information into active learners taking a more collaborative and self-directed role in their learning.

Over the first 9 weeks of this class, I have used video tutorials to pre-teach material using a flipped approach. For example here’s a sample of a TEDed video lesson we used earlier in the course to teach historical thinking skills.

I’ve also used short tutorial screencast to provide specific just in time training for students as needed. This has freed up class time since we haven’t had to teach for example, how to use WordPress.

I’ve sent a link out to students to watch the slide deck in advance of today’s class. So we’ll spend time exploring two options to create content. Students will be asked to design a flipped lesson during this class using one of the following methods.

Use TEDed to host existing YouTube content

Teacher can use existing videos on TEDed and YouTube to create customized lessons. They can use, tweak, or completely redo any lesson featured on TEDed, or create lessons from scratch.  Visit this YouTube Playlist to a few short tutorial videos on using TEDed.

Create your own screencast to share with students

There are many free and easy to use apps for creating screencasts. One option is the free Snagit Chrome extension for screen casting (great for Chromebook schools). For our class activity we’ll be using the  QuickTime Player app built into Macs.  Here’s a how to video tutorial on creating a screencast with QuickTime Player.

Assignment for Class 11

Students will design a lesson using one of the two methods above. They will then write a blog post that showcases their flipped lesson and reaction to designing it. Feel free to generalize on the challenges and opportunities of flipped delivery of course content. See student posts here.

Students that develop a screencast can upload and host the video on Media@UP edMethods Flipped Lessons.

Students that use TEDed for lesson design can include a link to their TEDed lesson in the blog post.