Conclusions
– Synthesis of responses,
using student work as evidence,
to questions 1-5 in “Lesson
Study – Analyzing Student
Work” (May, 2005)
1. Taking
the lesson study and the final
piece of writing as a whole….
By focusing
on Korematsu’s trial
as a vehicle to explore the
issues around Japanese internment
during WWII, the students
were able to take the abstract
issues of the era and realize
the implications in daily
life terms. In their final
writings, many revealed a
solid understanding of Korematsu’s
resistance to internment.
“appropriate quote here”.
They could also explain the
US reasons for proposing internment,
even if they did not agree
with it. “another quote”.
The focus on
an individual seemed to lend
an additional empathy to the
impact internment had on Japanese
families, tough not a broader
analysis of the impact on
the Japanese community as
a whole. “….”
By reenacting the trial, some
students were more impacted
by the stage presence and
verbal delivery of information,
even if not accurate factually,
which negatively affected
their content acquisition.
“,…..” Overall,
a wide range of viewpoints
were articulated in the final
writing, which is a reflection
of the breadth of information
presented as well as the open
engagement with the material.
2. In terms
of the reading, writing, and
historical thinking, what can
the students do well and in
what areas are they struggling?
It was difficult
for the students to discern
the difference between a strong
and a weak argument, especially
when presented live. It seemed
that if a position were stated,
that verbalization validated
it, and it was weighed in
on equal merit with other
statements even if its true
significance was minimal.
This is an ongoing concern
about message and media in
general. Critical thinking
and questioning skills need
to be strengthened continually.
The other recurring
problem was self-paced study.
Many students are unskilled
in their ability to manage
their own individual and group
time. Hence their ability
to internalize, interpret
and present information to
others is shallow. For those
who are conceptually and verbally
competent, many lack the overt
writing skills to turn their
knowledge into the written
word.
3. What can
you say about the possibilities
and challenges of using biography
as a focus in your teaching
of history?
One of the
challenges about using a biography
as a focus in teaching history
is that it necessitates, for
the teacher, an extensive
understanding of both the
individual person and also
the time period, so that specific
occurrences in the person’s
life can be amplified to illustrate
a historical dynamic. When
this happens, it is a strength
of using biography as a tool
to understand history, for
it imbeds the perspective
that every person both reflects
and influences the era in
which he or she is alive.
4. What intrigues
you about the work students
produced? What is worth further
investigation?
It was very
striking how engaged all of
the students were, even when
they were not “on stage”.
This engagement appeared to
make them more vividly retain
information, or at least interest,
in the subject matter. Though
it was a re-enactment of a
trial for which they already
knew the outcome, that did
not detract from their grappling
with the issues raised.
5. What issues
and questions emerged that you
did not anticipate?
A recurring
problem was self-paced study.
Many students are unskilled
in their ability to manage
their own individual and group
time. Hence their ability
to internalize, interpret
and present information to
others is shallow. For those
who are conceptually and verbally
competent, many lack the overt
writing skills to turn their
knowledge into the written
word.
What students
understood:
1. Korematsu’s
story
2. The reasoning for internment
3. The impact on the individuals
that were interned.
4. The attitude towards Japanese
Americans and Japanese.
What students
had difficulty with:
1. Difficulty
translating good ideas into
written form (arguments from
the trial to arguments in
their essays)
