Improving Critical Thinking Skill in History - Carl Savich
Personally, this article could not have covered a better project. This is in my context area, with high school students that are at risk. I have always found it interesting when history is considered "dry" and "dead" when it was actually my favorite subject through grade school. I understand it is not for everyone, but it's based on human lives that have made impacts on the world we know today. I really think allowing students to read one specific subject matter from SEVERAL different texts is a wonderful idea. It forces students to see what is consistently written and what possibly may be unsubstantiated evidence of an event. While this helps students from their own reality of a topic, it also encourages critical reading in looking for similarities and differences between texts, even down to the finest of details. It's obviously important for the teacher to provide direction with a common goal in mind, possibly having students form their own historical timeline of an event, complete with details and footnotes. I also found the immersion approach of learning new material to be very interesting. Presenting students with information that is perhaps more subjective and allowing groups to state their case based on what they've just read, would be a fascinating way for a classroom to learn. While history is certainly very objective, it's also important to understand reasonings and thought processes that have gone into what it is we are learning. While a spirited debate about the American Revolution or Nazi Germany would indeed be beneficial, also having basic background knowledge of people, places, dates and events would be necessary to partake, meaning this is a great way for students to learn material that's also exciting and motivational. I honestly feel as if I was in an inquiry method classroom in high school. We participated in simulations, had many, many group and classroom discussions, were assigned individual research projects, were expected to have a variety of opinions and viewpoints, were given multiple texts and were expected to be able to critically read on our own and in groups. I really hope to set my classroom up in a positive setting - respectful debate, providing material that promotes students to think freely and at a high level all the while fostering an environment that my students look forward to class and are anxious to learn from me and from each other.
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