Embedded Files
Problem
In my classes, I noticed an increased disengagement with the material being presented to them. Students seemed to be tired of analyzing texts that had no significance in their own personal lives. I was hoping to implement sustained inquiry around the text, The Kite Runner and this question, “How do our cultural beliefs influence our own understanding of sexuality, gender, and class?” I wanted students to feel encouraged to share their own opinions about the characters, about their own cultures, and to really think deeply about the influences that power and privilege have on how we think about gender, class, and sexuality.
Hypothesis
If I am able to provide an essential question for my Kite Runner unit that expands past the novel and connects to these ideas of culture, media bias, internalized oppression, feminism, etc in the world, then students should be able to reflect/develop/critique their thoughts surrounding said topics.
Target group
I chose these classes, Band F and Band C, as my target groups because I’ve noticed the students in these classes seem to be confused about expectations/directions more often than my other sections. In comparison to my other classes, my Band F and Band C classes have the lowest attendance rates. I want to help students in those classes understand the purpose of the units/class/content in a way that is more meaningful to them.
Planning & resources
I used sources in connection project based learning to think about framing my sustained inquiry / driving question. Throughout this inquiry cycle, I worked with my co-teachers (Jvon and Keron) in thinking about ways to engage students who may feel uncomfortable or triggered by the topics. We made sure to provide content warnings when reading/watching. I also worked closely with Pri in connection to materials/readings being presented to students as I wanted to make sure I provided multiple entry points into the conversation. We also wanted to make sure that students did not walk away with the perception that this was the only representation of Afghan culture, so we made sure to also provide texts that explored these topics in connection to American culture too.
Teacher Made Materials
Unit 2: Silent Seminar (BAND B) Unit 2: Silent Seminar (BAND C) Unit 2: Silent Seminar (BAND D) Unit 2: Silent Seminar (BAND F) Data collection
Data collection
Baseline data
I started the unit with a anticipation guide that uses controversial statements (in connection to these previous themes) to see how students feel. They’ll be asked to state if they strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, strongly disagree and give a few sentences to justify their opinions.
Measuring success
In the middle of the unit, we conducted a silent / socratic seminar in which some of these statements from the anticipation guide were addressed. Through this, I was able to gauge how students were interacting with these ideas around sexuality, class, priviledge, and power. Through scaffolds, students were able to define, explain, and connect to these ideas in various ways.
Overall findings & impact
I was successful to an extent in solving my problem to bring more sustained inquiry around a topic or series of topics. I was able to get students who may be hesitant to read / discuss to join in through different modalities (writing, drawing, recording, shared docs) and then have them demonstrate their ways of knowing with each other. It was pretty amazing to see (even with time restraints) students who hardly ever speak, record a podcast and discuss the novel and driving question with their peers. If I were to adjust this practice, I’d make sure to revisit the driving question daily – throughout the unit, I found that we only addressed the driving question for 2/4 of the lessons in a week.
Actionable steps
If you want to use this strategy in your classroom, I recommend …
Create a culturally relevant + critical driving question that will span the entirety of your unit
Use the driving question to create anticipation guide and statements / questions that may be addressed within the unit
Measures are qualitative: use seminars, revisits to the driving question, and the anticipation guide to measure if student thought is changing / reflective of the aforementioned topics / statements
Destinee Anderson | destinee.anderson@uamaker.nyc
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