historical thinking skills in the 21st century
TRANSCRIPT
Historical Thinking Skills in the 21st Century
Tutti Jackson, Project Curator
Ohio Historical Society
Goals
• Learn about Historical Thinking skills
• Differentiate and analyze primary and secondary sources
• Construct a narrative based on evaluation of evidence
• Understand bias and points of view in sources
What is History?
What is History?
• List
• Dates
• Names
• Places
• Facts
Historical Thinking
• Process
• Constructed by People
• Methodology
• Critical Analysis
• Primary and Secondary Sources
• Interpretive Narrative supported by Evidence
Textbook History vs. Historical Thinking
• Referential illusion
• Eliminate “metadiscourse”
• No positionality or stance
• Hides documentary record
• Omniscient third-person
• No visible author
• People are actors
• Situations are changeable
• Position and stance
• Unpacks record
• Multiple perspectives
• Student as historian
But What about the Content?
• Exercise historic thinking skills to support content to improve the quality of history education
The Skills aren’t New
• Historians have been practicing 21st century skills since the 19th century
The Skills aren’t New
• In 1917, Dr. J. Carlton Bell suggested that for most history teachers:
– “I do not care to have my pupils learn dates and events, but I am particularly anxious to have them develop the historic sense.”
• With Dr. David F. McCollum, Bell developed a list of skills called the Five Aspects of the Historic Sense (1917)
Bell, J. C. (1917). The historic sense. The Journal of Educational Psychology, 8(5), 317-318.Bell, J. C., & McCollum, D.F. (1917). A study of the attainments of pupils in United States history. The Journal of Educational Psychology, 8(5), 257-274.
U.S. Standards for HistoricalThinking in Schools
National Center for History in the Schools (NCHS)
http://nchs.ucla.edu/Standards/historical-thinking-standards-1
• Chronological Thinking
• Historical Comprehension
• Historical Analysis and Interpretation
• Historical Research Capabilities
• Historical Issue-Analysis and Decision-Making
What is a Primary Source?
A Primary Source is…
• An artifact of its time
• A first-hand account of an historic event
A Secondary Source is…
• A commentary or analysis of a historical event based on primary sources
Clara Barton, ca. 1860 – 1865
Brady National Photographic Art Gallery
Still Picture Records Section, Special Media
Archives Services Division, National Archives
Examples
Primary Sources• Journal or diary entries• Letters• Newspaper articles• Pamphlets• Photographs• Clothing• Original buildings• Broadsides and posters• Artifacts• Cartoons• Maps
Secondary Sources• Textbook• Book or article about an
event• Wikipedia• Documentaries
Ulysses S. Grant Document Box, 1864 Ohio Historical Society
Activity: Spot AnalysisIs this a Primary Source?
• Work with your group using the observable evidence and your knowledge to determine if your object is a primary source for the U.S. Civil War (1861-1865)
• If not, could it be a primary source for some other topic?
• Use the activity sheet to guide your inquiry
• Report to the class
Long Abraham Lincoln a Little Longer, Frank Bellew
Harper's Weekly, November 26, 1864 HarpWeek.com
Historical Thinking Skills
• Analyzing primary and secondary sources
• Identifying the source of the historical document or narrative
• Establishing temporal order
Activity: Who’s That Lady?Description: Doing the Work of Historians
• Working in your groups
• Consider the phrase “The First Lady”
• Quick, toss out 5 descriptive words and write each word on a card
• Make a sentence using those words
Activity: Who’s that Lady?
• Now we’ll look at some sources
• Come up with 5 new descriptive words based on your evidence and write each word on a card
• Make a sentence using those words
• Share your sentences with the class
CONGRATUATIONS!
You’ve just made history!
What differences did you see between your two sentences?
Why?
Historical Thinking Skills
• Analyzing primary sources
• Drawing upon visual sources
• Reading historical narratives imaginatively
• Obtaining historical data from a variety of sources
• Supporting interpretations with historical evidence
Museums, archives and libraries accept collections from individuals, groups and businesses to preserve for the future and make available to writers, researchers and the public.
Activity: Dateline HistoryAnalyzing and Interpreting Collections
Collections are sets of documents, objects, photographs, etc. that are gathered together.
Collections
• The original recorder of a collection gathers materials together using their own criteria. For example, a corporation may order its records chronologically. An individual may group similar items together.
• The way collections are ordered may provide important contextual information.
Be Aware of Bias!
• Who created the source? Why?
• Was the source meant to inform, or persuade?
• What were the recorder’s interests?
• What’s missing from the record?
Every source is biased in some way, and must be
viewed critically and cross-checked.
John Ford and Gregg Toland, December 7th, 20th Century Fox
Track Down Other LeadsA good journalist (and historian) must be fair
and balanced.
Howard Hawks, His Girl Friday, Columbia Pictures
• Use multiple sources
• Report every side of the story possible
• Approach every subject with objectivity and skepticism
The Story, The Skinny, The Lowdown…
In 1902, Buckeye Malleable Iron and Coupler Company decided to expand to meet the increasing demand for standardized steel parts for railroad cars.
Because of limited (and expensive) real estate in the downtown area, Buckeye decided to build its new plant just south of the Columbus city limits, taking advantage of existing railroad lines, in a neighborhood that would become
known as Steelton.
The company would soon change its name to the
Buckeye Steel Castings Company.
Your Big Assignment!
Alright, Scoop. You’ve just been handed the biggest assignment of your
life…The cover!!! of Harper’s Weekly. Your crack staff has sent you some
research. Look carefully through it in order to write your exposé on Buckeye
Steel Castings.
What’s it like to work there?
What is the impact on the neighborhood and the city?
Your readers want to know!
Wrap Up
• What information is missing from your story?
• What sources are missing from your story?
Historical Thinking Skills
• Appreciating historical perspectives
• Considering multiple perspectives
• Evaluating sources for bias
• Supporting interpretations with historical evidence
• Constructing a narrative
21st Century Skills
Develop the Skills of Historians
– Analyze
– Synthesize
– Support an argument
– Project-based learning
21st Century Skills
Develop the Skills of Historians
– Analyze
– Synthesize
– Support an argument
– Project-based learning
21st Century Learning Skills- Critical Thinking
Exercise sound reasoning
Make complex choices
Understand interconnections
Frame, analyze and solve problems
21st Century Skills
21st Century Skills
21st Century Skills
• Technology and Social Studies
http://coolmaterial.com/roundup/if-historical-events-had-facebook-statuses/
Social Studies 2.0
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History as Conversation
• In January 2008, the Library of Congress launched a pilot program on Flickr
• Not only did people look; but they tag, favorite, share, comment,
• and enhance the Prints and Photographs catalog records with new information!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress
Social Media
• blogs
• flickr
• YouTube
• tumblr
Social Media
• blogs
• flickr
• youtube
Questions?
• Thank you