Digital Storytelling: Exploring Immigration Through Personal Experiences

November 12, 2009 Lindsay Bellino

Proposed Solutions

Making connections to their own experiences will help empower students to become more confident, capable

learners.

Teaching the history of immigration in the U.S. to educate students about the challenges they may be facing has

historically created a safe, comfortable learning environment.

Challenges

ESL/Lower Level Learners

Immigration Controversies

American Culture Parents

Current Read 180 Curriculum

Standardized Test Scores Underperform

Increased Performance

Teach standards/skills using generative topics that allow students to connect with curriculum.

76% Hispanic Student Demographic, 46% ESL

Title 1 School

Generative Topic

Students will come to understand how the history of immigration to the U.S. and how the current issues surrounding immigration policy relate to their own personal experiences. Using reading strategies for finding main ideas and details, students will analyze primary and secondary resources about immigrants from the past and present and make connections with their own experiences. Students will apply the elements of good writing and storytelling by creating a multimedia presentation about their understanding of immigration to share with their local community.

A. Students learn how to read, write and communicate effectively and are able to demonstrate these skills through standardized tests and other performances of understanding.

B. Students will understand causal relationships and events.

D. Students will learn how to collaborate and contribute to the global and local community using 21st century communications technology.

Throughlines

C. By connecting curriculum to their own experiences students will come to understand the importance of education as it relates to their own lives.

Throughlines, Generative Topic and Targets of Difficulty

Targets of Difficulty

a. Identifying and creating purpose for writing and storytelling

b. Making connections between the experiences of other immigrants and their own

c. Understanding causal relationships

d. Establishing connections with the understanding goals throughout the curriculum unit

Dimensions of Understanding

Knowledge Methods Purposes Forms

Understanding Goals

a. Students will understand how to find the main idea and details of a text.b. Students will understand the elements of effective writing and storytelling.c. Students will understand the different reasons people move to the U.S.d. Students will understand how immigration has changed over time.

Students will understand how to critically analyze primary and secondary resources to understand the different interpretations of the historical issues surrounding immigration. Students should be able to identify an author's purpose for writing and think about possible biases that may effect the validity of the source.

Students will understand the effects of immigration on the U.S. and how those effects have changed over time. Students should understand how being a better reader and understanding immigration themes in relation to their own experiences will make them a more capable learner and empower them to take ownership of their own learning goals in the future.

Students will understand how to work independently and collaboratively using new multimedia and communications technologies to present their understanding of immigration and how it relates to their own experiences. Students should be able to use the elements of good writing and storytelling and the target vocabulary words from the lesson to effectively communicate their understanding of immigration to various audiences.

Performances of UnderstandingPerformances of Understanding Ongoing AssessmentOngoing AssessmentIntroducing the Big Question

• Background Videos

• Interactive Ellis Island

• Role Playing Presentation

• Student Self-AssessmentStudents complete a vocabulary self-assessment guide at the beginning and end of the unit to determine how well they know the unit vocabulary words.

• Informal Instructor Check for UnderstandingThe instructor will use the Ellis Island role playing game as a check for understanding to determine how well students understand the Essential Question.

Connecting to the Big Question

• Engage

• Explore

• Explain

• Elaborate

• Evaluate

• Informal Instructor FeedbackThe class wiki will allow the instructor to track the students’ understanding of the unit understanding goals through discussions, prompts/responses and class generated concept maps.

• Informal Peer FeedbackStudents use the Think-Pair-Share model for quick collaborative peer review throughout the unit. Feedback is modeled on a feedback guide to foster constructive collaboration.

• Formal Instructor Ongoing AssessmentUsing a rubric that is co-created by the students, the instructor assesses their individual wiki assignments throughout the unit.

Applying the Big Question

• Role Playing Game

• Multimedia Presentation

• Class Website

• Formal Instructor Final AssessmentThe final instructor assessment is informed by a rubric that is introduced at the beginning of the unit. Students help revise the rubric to meet their expectations of the understanding goals.

• Formal Peer ReviewOne of the tasks in the pre-production process requires the students to write an expository paragraph. Students will review each others paragraphs based on a rubric that is provided to them by the instructor.

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Class Wiki

Target of Difficulty:d. Establishing connections with the understanding goals throughout the curriculum unit

• Used as a hub to document classroom discussions, group activities, student reflections and activity submissions

• “Tasks that require intentional, active, constructive, cooperative, and authentic learning ...will result in more meaningful learning.” (Jonassen 2)

[The New Americans sample class wiki ]

Multimedia Technologies

• “Multimedia technologies allow learners to investigate new ideas and produce knowledge using a range of intelligences.” (Wiske 64)

• The final project will consist of a series of pre-production tasks including brainstorming, storyboarding, drawing, writing, research, image collection and audio recording some of which will require new technologies for student expression.

Targets of Difficulty:a. Identifying and creating purpose for writing and

storytellingb. Making connections between the

experiences of other immigrants and their own

Class Website

• “In CCRD projects, students research information, work collaboratively to create a meaningful product that demonstrates their learning, and contribute that project to a larger learning community.” (Daccord and Reich)

• Students will work in jigsaw teams to create a class website to host their multimedia presentations and a discussion forum addressing kids and immigration.

• Members of their school and local community will be invited to view the students presentation and contribute to an ongoing dialog about U.S. immigration policies, concerns, and stories.

Target of Difficulty: a. Identifying and creating purpose for writing and story telling.

Insights and DilemmasInsightsInsights DilemmasDilemmas

• Curriculum Design and Technology Integrating technology into curriculum

requires content, pedagogy and technology to be developed on parallel timelines.

• Curriculum Connections The importance of connecting the

curriculum to the experiences of the learner.

• Common Language: If we want to establish a common language to foster communication about education, pedagogy and instruction how can we consolidate learning theories into a cohesive set of principles?

• Scalability: How can traditional publishing companies position themselves to effectively integrate the TFU principles in relation to personalized learning.

Thank You!