Digital Stories and the Pedagogy of Possibility

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Digital Stories and the Pedagogy of Possibility

• Presented by Tracey Weis
• BMCC Title III Institute
• Tuesday, June 4, 2002

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My starting point
Implicit in the design of my course is the
notion that there is a relationship between
historical research and historical interpretation
and that the intermediate ground between the
process (research) and the product
(interpretation) is historical narration (writing
or representing in a way that both describes and
explains). from 9/19/01 VKP research progress re
port
Question v1.0 How can I make the
process of narrative construction more visible,
for myself and for my student writers?
10/3/01 seminar presentation
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The Initial Plan (Fall 2001)
I designed a new introductory unit for my African
American History I course, "Telling Stories about
Race and Slavery Learning from America's
Historic Sites. Based in large measure on Jim
Horton's visit to Lancaster, this four-week unit
invited students to prepare PowerPoint
presentations that incorporated various
historical resources and that demonstrated
historical thinking skills. This assignment was
somewhat of an improvisation--conceived in the
heat of planning for the NEH Research Seminar on
the Free at Last exhibition scheduled for Sept.
6th and influenced by Rina Benmayors
presentations at Millersville the week of Sept.
9th.
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The Assignment Recommended format 1. Five exce
rpts from selected websites (i.e., Colonial
Williamsburg, Mt. Vernon, Monticello, and
selected National Park Service sites)
2. Three references from Jim Hortons "On-Site
Learning The Power of Historic Places" (brief
online essay published by NPS)
3. Five references to the Free at Last
travelling exhibition guide 4. Three references
to recent scholarship identified through online
periodical index (America History and Life)
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Example 1 Race Slavery at Mt. Vernon
Historic Site

• George Washington Hero or Hypocrite?
• http//muweb.millersville.edu/ugrr/mtvernon/index
  .htm
  
• George Washington
• Pioneer and Farmer
• Politician and Educator
• President
• Mt. Vernon
• Slave Plantation (Before)
• Tourist Attraction (After)

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Observations Questions about Student Learning

• How does preparation and presentation in
  PowerPoint format shape students abilities to
  see the component pieces of historical
  interpretation and understand the relationships
  between component pieces?
• How does a simple multimedia format (text
  image) encourage students to effectively organize
  and layer understandings?

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Questions v2.0 Redesign

• How do students interpret (or make meaning of)
  the visual evidence presented in historical
  narratives?
  
• How do students use visual evidence to construct
  complex historical interpretations?

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The New Plan (Spring 2002)

• I designed a new introductory unit for my African
  American History II course, Writing the History
  of African Americans A Case Study of the Life of
  Ella Baker. This introductory four-week unit
  invited students to prepare PowerPoint
  presentations that incorporated various
  historical resources and that demonstrated
  historical thinking skills. More emphasis was
  placed on use of visual evidence.

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The Assignment Recommended format 1. Three exc
erpts from Ella Baker Freedom Bound
2. Three references from documents in Chapter 1
Writing African American History of Major
Problems in African American History
3. Three references from essays in Chapter 1 of
Major Problems in African American History
4. Three references from documents in Chapter 8
Origins of the Civil Rights Movement of Major
Problems in African American History
5. Three references from essays in Chapter 8 of
Major Problems in African American History
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Example 2
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Observations Questions about Student Learning

• What is the relationship between the production
  of PowerPoint presentations and essays?
  
• What sequences did students purse--PPT and then
  essay? Essay and then PPT? Concurrent development
  of PPT and essay?
  
• In which formats were student understandings (and
  misunderstandings) visible--to the instructor, to
  the producing group, to other students?