Well Here Goes Nothing

In thinking about back to school night, I couldn't help but think of Billy Madison and the scene where Adam Sandler is waiting for the bus singing this song, and how I would feel a similar way on back to school nights growing up. The anticipation of knowing who would be in my classes, which bullies I'd have to avoid, but more importantly learning about my new teachers. While I mostly spaced out during the presentations to the parents, one thing I always remember was the larger goal, the big picture that the teachers wanted the class to walk away with at the end of the year. In crafting my presentation I wanted to make a quick overview of the 21st Century Skills and how I would use them in the class.

By laying out the ideas of the research project and the 21st Century Skills at the same time, and using the major project as an example, the parents can be aware of the overarching themes of the course. As a history teacher I would want to let the parents know that while the students will be learning the major historical concepts needed, they will also become proficient in research and collaboration. In this way, the parent and students are aware that this is not just names and dates and dead people, this is a living, breathing class environment. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMtkiS1SU_c

The Prosecution Podcast

For this Tech Lab we looked at podcasts, and how we could use them effectively in the classroom. As a history teacher, I've thought long and hard about how to make this effective, and I thought of a few methods that seemed to work in other fields as well. Sending out podcasts with paper corrections is something I feel like will definitely be used in my classroom, but I didn't want my example to just be me reading off corrections for a fake paper, or reciting some famous speech or even recording a lecture. I felt that in a history classroom these would only be means to make what students already consider to be boring and force them to encounter that outside of school. Because of these thoughts I took a project I loved doing in high school and brought it into the 21st Century.

The mock trial was one of my favorite projects in AP US History, and the one we did the most. Through the course of the year we ended up doing three mock trials, and each one kept all of us engaged, entertained, and most importantly taught us not only about the eras of our trials and their ramifications, but also about the judicial system and how trials can play out. In a way, we had the opportunity to put on our own historical episode of Law and Order, something that students would love to do.

For the assignment, the class would be divided into prosecution and defense, with an outside jury presiding over the case to avoid jury tampering. The groups would decide amongst themselves who would be lawyers and witness, and with documents and evidence articles given to them by me, they could prepare their case and how they are going to approach it. In  addition to library research days, the students will be told to do their own research into the case, trying to find differing perspectives or analyses to help strengthen their case. In terms of courtroom procedure, in addition to a quick handout of bullet-points to remember, I will record for each side of the case a quick podcast, a short lecture or discussion of some strategies to help prepare the case and to help them anticipate what the other side might try to do. By using the podcast, little class time is lost in terms of covering content or trial preparations, and this can be used when the groups get together outside of school, and something they can listen to without having to deal with the distraction of learning these strategies in class. Not only does it open up the classroom beyond the traditional class time, but it creates a new dynamic between teacher and students, where not everything can be just a paper handout to look over, but a more interactive experience. 

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