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Introduction
Building off a constructivist understanding of teaching and learning, I am constantly considering how I can transform my classroom into an environment where the focus is placed on individual cognitive development as opposed to simply content knowledge. As a history teacher, I often find myself in the trap of creating lesson plans centered around the content; so focused on covering the vast amounts of world history information that I often ignore aspects of constructivist education that are important to me. In my brief experience teaching, I have found that developing simulation and role-play activities has returned my focus to developing students’ cognitive abilities as opposed to purely increasing their content knowledge. These activities in the classroom allow students to build off their already developed ‘funds of knowledge’ but also contribute to new ‘schemas’ of understanding so they can truly perceive and analyze the world around them.
My portfolio explores the value of simulation and role-play activities as it relates to the theoretical concepts of historical empathy and imagination. While these theories elucidate the unique skills of experienced academic historians, they also have the potential to be truly embraced at the high school level. I examine how practicing these skills can build students’ interpersonal intelligence and possibly generate a greater commitment to an empathetic, pluralist morality of the modern world.
My established method of analysis for artifacts delves deeply into each of my students’ ability to practice historical empathy and historical imagination. I compare at both the individual and group levels with both quantitative and qualitative approaches [See Method of Analysis]. My artifacts range from student work to mentor observation notes. Ultimately, however, my conclusions about simulation and role-play activities do not focus solely on historical imagination and empathy. For students to practice these skills educators also need to address the interaction of other factors in role-play activities. For example, my analysis considers the value of perceived ‘safety’ of the assignments and the importance creative space. Role-play and simulation activities not only have the potential to build students’ imaginative and empathetic skills, but also their ability to demonstrate critical thinking. However, the context of the classroom and the experiences of individual students should inform any decisions about choosing and implementing methods. My portfolio considers the benefits and pitfalls of using simulation and role-play activities to inspire empathy and imagination in addition to the many factors that an educator should consider for specific classroom contexts.
My portfolio explores the value of simulation and role-play activities as it relates to the theoretical concepts of historical empathy and imagination. While these theories elucidate the unique skills of experienced academic historians, they also have the potential to be truly embraced at the high school level. I examine how practicing these skills can build students’ interpersonal intelligence and possibly generate a greater commitment to an empathetic, pluralist morality of the modern world.
My established method of analysis for artifacts delves deeply into each of my students’ ability to practice historical empathy and historical imagination. I compare at both the individual and group levels with both quantitative and qualitative approaches [See Method of Analysis]. My artifacts range from student work to mentor observation notes. Ultimately, however, my conclusions about simulation and role-play activities do not focus solely on historical imagination and empathy. For students to practice these skills educators also need to address the interaction of other factors in role-play activities. For example, my analysis considers the value of perceived ‘safety’ of the assignments and the importance creative space. Role-play and simulation activities not only have the potential to build students’ imaginative and empathetic skills, but also their ability to demonstrate critical thinking. However, the context of the classroom and the experiences of individual students should inform any decisions about choosing and implementing methods. My portfolio considers the benefits and pitfalls of using simulation and role-play activities to inspire empathy and imagination in addition to the many factors that an educator should consider for specific classroom contexts.