Example of Strategy

An Example of the Implementation of Some of these Strategies:

In the second week of the course I create a series of experiences designed to help students read secondary sources more successfully. These steps had become so much second nature to me -- as to virtually all professional historians -- that it took an effort to deconstruct a bit of my own discipline to allow me to present the students with the learning tasks below:

The Learning Tasks to be Taught:

Recognizing the point of a view of the author of a secondary work of history
Identifying verbal cues that help the reader distinguish between the author's view of a historical phenomenon and opposing interpretations
Matching bits of evidence in a passage with the interpretation that each supports
Learning how to reproduce the strategies that historians employ to make their interpretations seem credible to their readers

Modeling these Tasks in Class (Week 2):

In class on Tuesday I make a short presentation on how to approach secondary works in history courses. I emphasize that historians can be writing on several different levels and that it is important for them to learn to recognize which level is being used in a particular passage. Specifically I point out that:

Sometimes a historian is presenting the point of view of an individual or individuals in a different historical period.

Sometimes a historian is presenting the view of another historian, with which he/she may or may agree.

Sometimes a historian is presenting his/her own interpretation of a historical period.

Sometimes a historian is presenting his/her own values or world view.

I also discuss the manner in which historians use evidence to support their positions

Letting Students Practice this Learning Task collaboratively:

In class on Tuesday students confront different from the readings and seek to identify the author's point of view and the evidence that supports this interpretation

Giving Students a Chance to Practice the Learning Tasks on their own on the Weekly Web Assignment:

Here is the second question from the assignment for the second week:

2. Turn to the passages in the course reader assigned for this week from Paul Boyer's When Time Shall Be No More. Look for pages 49 and 50 in the original book. [Click here to see the original passage.]

A. Summarize the basic ideas in this passage in one clearly written sentence.

B. In one sentence describe the basic issue that Boyer is dealing with in these paragraphs.

C. In one sentence describe the position Boyer takes on this issue.

D. Give three examples of bits of evidence that Boyer uses to convince his readers that his position is more apt to be true than opposing positions.

Reinforcing the Learning:

Before class on Thursday I can read the students' efforts to complete this exercise, since they have been submitted electronically in advance. In discussion I can demonstrate how a professional historian would be able to distinguish the various positions contained in this passage and to understand the relevance of each piece of evidence. For example, I point out that the phrase "In reality. . ." represents the essential cue that the author is switching from describing a position that he rejects to one that he accepts.

Assessing the Learning:

The exercise itself provides an initial assessment of students' ability to perform this learning task, but it is necessary to present a similar question later in the semester to determine the extent to which the learning has become permanent.