Topic of the Month: Pearl Harbor

U.S.S. Shaw exploding during the Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941(National Archives, Still Picture Branch, 80-G-16871 )

Next weekend on December 7th our nation remembers the devastating attack by Japan on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in 1941. This attack by a fleet of six Japanese aircraft carriers propelled the United States into World War II. My students enjoy a comparison discussion of this event and the US reaction after 9/11 and the reaction of the nation.

Another assignment to teach research skills and to learn about Pearl Harbor is to have students work together in a Wiki to generate a Webliography of sources about Pearl Harbor. Encourage students to break the sources they find into categories such as Naval History, Eye Witness Accounts, Photographs, Japanese Perspective etc…As they post sources they find, require them to also include a summary of the information at the site and any concerns they may have about the integrity of the content.

To Get students started, this day that would “live in infamy” has many wonderful resources available on the web. Here are a few:

For an eye witness account

Many pictures related to the attack

US Naval History Website including eye witness accounts and key basic logistical information

And another US Naval History Website

U-Tube group of pictures about Pearl Harbor

Cool interactive map from National Geographic and numerous other resources

The National Archives Site also has many primary sources such as audio pieces of the Day of Infamy Speech

For some Critical Thinking you might also check out the Library of Congress “Man on the Street” Interviews

For more Critical Thinking consider the Japanese view of this attack. Check out this site to get started

What assignments and activities do you use to teach about this important event?

Thanksgiving

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I like to ask students in a bonus discussion to consider the history behind the holiday that we all enjoy and to share their family traditions. Another option for higher ed is for students to pick an historical figure and explain why they are thankful for that person's actions.

For perspective, I asked my 6 and 4 year olds to blurt out things that they think of with Thanksgiving. Here is the down and dirty list as given by my daughters: Turkey, Pumpkin Pie, Holiday, Mashed Potatoes, Family, Butter Rolls, Green Bean Casserole, Stuffing, Gravy, Cranberry Sauce, Laughter, Celebration, Hugs, Warmth, Pecan Pie, Thankful, Mayflower, Pilgrims, (These two I contribute to the Peanuts Mayflower episode), Table, Indians, Eat, Kisses, Love, Colorful Leaves, Decorations, Cloth Napkins, Table Cloth. This list certainly gives you an idea of what our holiday entails at the Kaemmerling house at least from two apparently hungry children. By taking time to consider this holiday, the students connect with each other and with instructors, as we have certain commonalities that unite us and connect us to the past.

Here are a few web sources you might also share with your students:
Mayflower myths
History of Thanksgiving
Plymouth Plantation
Fun thanksgiving things
Mayflower Society History
Pilgrim Lore
Mayflower history
Presidential Proclamations
Hippocampus Information

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

New History Hippocampus Page

The holidays are fast approaching and I wanted to highlight a new Hippocampus History link on the right of this blog page that will make you feel like a kid in a toy store, at least if you love history resources the way I do. At this site you will find some of my articles from this blog, but you will also find highlighted Hippocampus lessons such as today’s Condition of Slaves.

As you know, I’m a big fan of the history lessons that are available at Hippocampus, and whether you are using these in your courses as a text replacement or content supplement, this new web link is sure to help you become more familiar with the history lessons at Hippocampus. In addition, they have included links to other open resources like OER (Open Educational Resources) and the Hewlett Foundation.

On the top right of the page is also a link to customize and create your own hippocampus interface, so as you find lessons that you want students to use, you can create your own page that highlights those lessons and hides those that are not appropriate for your course at this time.

Enjoy playing with the lessons and features at this new Hippocampus page!

To Test or Not to Test with High Stakes Exams

This week I have been grading all-essay midterms in one course and in another reviewing research paper outlines. I am pondering the value of high stakes exams in a freshmen/sophomore level course. Frankly, I have long been running an internal debate about the value of this kind of assessment, which some universities like the University of California require. I am hoping that you all will join me in this debate and share your ideas, alternatives, and resources.

Some pros for high stakes exams:
1. Prevent online cheating by watching tone of essay assessment versus other assignments.
2. Examine higher levels of thinking with essay exams, particularly the important skill of thinking on your feet, recalling information to make an argument, and then synthesizing all that quickly together in a cohesive way.
3. Students in my courses it seems perform better on the essay exams rather than other formats like multiple-choice and matching. Essentially, they can show off what they know.
4. Gives immediate purpose to students for practice assignments.
5. Gives students practice for exams in upper levels of college that are likely to be all essay, but also exposes students to the real world experience of composing under pressure.

Some cons for high stakes exams:
1. Students are very tempted to plagiarize or cheat to do well on the exam that is a significant portion of their grade.
2. Online courses really are open-book unless students go to a test center, so the exam may not really demonstrate more knowledge than other formative assignments.
3. All-essay exams often test writing ability more than a student’s knowledge of history, which is often reflected with some students not “writing” much and scoring poorly.
4. Online exams can be even more intimidating than face to face exams due to technology concerns, and there is no one to ask a question of once you start.
5. There are many alternatives to one or two big assessments per semester that may evaluate student knowledge of content just as effectively if not better.

With the recent push for exit high school exams and other standardized tests in our nation, many states are reporting negatively about their impact. If you have exams, here is an article with ideas for writing good exams and another about complaints by students about how exams sometimes don't relate to what they study and do in practice.

I want to hear from you! Do you use exams? Are they an effective evaluation of your learning objectives? What alternatives do you use instead of exams?

Election History

I definitely prefer studying social history over political or economic history, but truly the three are so related you cannot focus on one without considering the others. This semester I am offering a bonus discussion about the role of elections and their sometimes unpredictable or historical outcomes and their effect on our lives.

At Hippocampus.org, there are many wonderful pages regarding historical elections. At the hippocampus, use the search box and type the word election and you will get ten pages of results. Here are some examples you might point out to students.

1. Election of 1892 when the Omaha Platform called for secret ballots.

2. Election of 1824 when Jackson beat Adams in the popular vote but did not win the electoral vote.

3. Election of 1948 when Truman had a surprise win over Dewey.

4. Election of 1932 when Roosevelt defeated Hoover to try to bring the nation out of the Great Depression and was the encumbent for several upcoming elections.

5. Election of 1864 when the nation was divided by Civil War.

6. Election of 1968 when Nixon was elected during theVietnam war.

7. Election of 2000 when George W. Bush was elected.

In addition to using the search feature at the Hippocampus site, you might also consider referring to the American Government course offered at the site. One particularly interesting article is on voting demographics.

Another great resource for you and your students is the History Channel web site that includes campaign speeches, video, ads, and their own list of the top five elections. Check out this .gov site as well for some great election information that includes voting statistics, election history, and current events with the 2008 election. All this should help students see the significance of their vote and the impact of citizens' decisions on history today and in our future.

Happy Voting Day!