YEAR 8 HISTORY
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RATIONALE
The module above draws from SCSA curriculum material and focuses on medieval history – particularly the role of the Church and the crusade campaigns. From prior learning, students should be generally familiar with ancient Christianity, feudalism, and life in the Middle Ages. In Lesson 1, students inquire into the role of the Roman Catholic Church in the medieval period. Lesson 2 looks particularly at the causes and goals of the crusades, and Lesson 3 has students consider the campaigns themselves – their outcomes and lasting effects.
Both strands of the Australian Curriculum are covered by the content in this unit. ‘Knowledge and understanding’ is achieved via the content material as students investigate the way of life, and significant developments, in medieval Europe. ‘Humanities and social sciences skills’ is addressed as students use various ICT tools to research, analyse, evaluate, and communicate information related to the module content.
To strengthen their knowledge of curriculum content, students are required to use a variety of ICT resources – most notably, MindMup, Google Docs, and iMovie. MindMup is a simple mind-mapping tool which helps students connect ideas. In Lesson 1, students draw from their textbook and online sources to research, identify, and summarise different ways in which the Church impacted medieval Europe, using MindMup to draw connections and observe the scope of Christian influence. In the next lesson, students apply module content, regarding the causes of the crusades, by using Google Docs to collaborate with other students and communicate reasons for joining a crusade in a persuasive speech format. This module’s final assignment requires students to use the content in their MindMup and Google Docs script to create an iMovie video advertising a chosen crusade. This gives students the opportunity to creatively engage with, and develop a deeper understanding of, the lesson content.
These tools and activities are underpinned by a learning theory called ‘social constructivism,’ which emphasises the social nature of learning. According to this theory, students learn more effectively when new class content can be related to prior knowledge (particularly of social and cultural experiences). Instructional models based on social constructivism highlight the need for collaboration among learners (Kim, 2001), which is demonstrated in this module’s use of collaborative tasks and ICT tools. Students are given numerous social formative assessments, as well as a final summative group-project assessment, throughout the course of this module.
The teacher of this unit regularly utilises videos and audio clips (alongside Bitmoji avatars) to deliver the lesson content. According to Kounin’s theory of classroom management, it is important for a class to achieve good “lesson movement” (1970). This is helped if a lesson keeps students engaged and accountable, avoiding confusion and satiation. Videos are effective at keeping visual learners engaged and concisely communicating key content points. Audio clips deliver content and indicate lesson advancement, effectively reducing satiation by allowing students a sense of progress. Quizzes and Padlet submissions help hold students accountable, encouraging them to inquire more deeply.
Beyond ICT and social capability, many general capabilities are incorporated into this module. Literacy is addressed as students brainstorm and summarise content material. Intercultural understanding is facilitated as students consider medieval cultures. Critical and creative thinking is developed as students are assigned research and creative tasks, and personal capability is supposed and developed as students complete individual work in this self-guided module.
REFERENCES
Kim, B. (2001). Social constructivism. Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology, 1(1), 16.
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Kounin, J. S. (1970). Discipline and group management in classrooms. New York Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
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Weebly. (n.d.). Defining Social Constructivism. Exploring Social Constructivism. https://socialconstructivismnda.weebly.com/resources-social-constructivism.html