applying cognitive learning approaches in history teaching an experiment in a worldhistory course
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Society for History Education
Applying Cognitive Learning Approaches in History Teaching: An Experiment in a WorldHistory CourseAuthor(s): Montserrat Martí Miller and Peter N. StearnsReviewed work(s):Source: The History Teacher, Vol. 28, No. 2 (Feb., 1995), pp. 183-204Published by: Society for History Education
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ApplyingCognitive earningpproachesnHistoryTeaching:AnExperimentn aWorldHistoryCourse
MontserratMartiMiller
TexasA&MUniversity, orpusChristi
PeterN. Stearns
CarnegieMellonUniversity
AT A MEETING DISCUSSING ISSUES and possibilities in highschool historycurriculaa few yearsago, a colleague commented on the
paucityof seriousstudies of the history learningprocess,on the basis ofwhich new or alternative eachingapproachesmightbe empiricallyde-
signed and weighed. The comment was intriguing.It was, one discov-
ered, slightly exaggerated, houghmore valid thanany historyeducatorwould wish. Exciting recent work has probedcertainaspects of historylearning,for example the ways students(in contrast to more advanced
professionals)deal with documentaryevidence. Samuel Winebergandhis various colleagues are clearly interestedin using examinations ofconcretelearningsituations o advanceteachingmethodsthatwill movefrom rote memorizationto significanthistoricalanalysis.' Work at theLRDC at the Universityof Pittsburghhas also focused on methods of
presentationf primary ata hatwill improve tudents'analytical apacity.It remains rue,however,thathistory earninghas beenvastlyless well
servedby cognitiveresearch han earningnmathematics,hesciences andeven foreign languages.At thepre-college evel, teachersarestill imbued
The HistoryTeacher Volume 28 Number2 February1995 ?Society forHistoryEducation
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184 MontserratMartiMiller/PeterN. Stearns
with the cognitive map providedby Bloom's taxonomy.Becauseit stipu-
latessome lockstepstudentdevelopmental apacities,beginningwith con-crete operationalhought, t has reified traditional pproacheso historyteachingemphasizingmemorization.2he fact thatthe Piagetianresearchbase of Bloom's taxonomy has been pretty thoroughlydiscreditedbydevelopmentalists,3 who find muchgreater arlycapacityandmuchgreatervariety hanBloom hasposited, s unduly gnored.Whether eliefin student
inabilityo movebeyondconcreteoperationalhinking ntilcollege(atbest)causes the addiction o factualpresentations ndtests, or whether t's theotherway around,s sometimesunclear.But the mutualreinforcement asbeen
powerfulin
confirminga
largely descriptive eachingapproachand
dates-and-namesxaminations.Even the promising earningresearch, ndocument nterpretationmostparticularly,emains o be widely dissemi-natedand tendsto focus on only a portionof the analytical askshistorycoursesmay legitimately eek. It is importantopressmuchfarther, othin
studyinghow students earnsome of history'sdistinctiveanalytical apaci-ties andintranslatingesearch nto successful earning trategies.4
This is the generalcontextin whicha very specific set of innovationshas been attempted n an analyticallyambitiousWorldhistorycourse at
CarnegieMellon
University.The
experiments
ongoing.As will become
obvious, it needs more extensive evaluations hat would include some ofthe cognitive researchthe field demands,researchthat could feed intoother learningprocedures n additionto those we have developed. To
date, cognitive researchinput for the projecthas come in the form ofadvice andgeneralextrapolationsrommore extensive learning nnova-tions in science courses, and this is inadequatefor the longer haul.5Nevertheless,presentationof what we have accomplished-for our re-sults have been positive insofar as we can determinethem-may beusefulto other
historyteachersand
maystimulateadditional eedbackfor
our own work. The paucityof focused initiativesin teachinghistorical
analysiscompared orexamplewiththe largernumberof effortsthroughmultimediaresources,role playingand so on, designedto create livelier
historyclassrooms, ustifies some interimreporting.The settingfor our work in Worldhistoryinvolved two components.
CarnegieMellonhad ongmaintained centerdevoted outilizingcognitivepsychology(andwhererelevant,computer-basednstruction).The center
(nowcalledthe Center or InnovativeLearning)had focused almostexclu-
sively on physics,biologyand to anextent,mathematics.t claimedsome
importantesults. t seemeddesirablentermsof institutionalalance,quiteapartfrom some of the special teachingneeds in history,to see if the
initiative ouldextend onon-quantitativereasas well.Thesecondcompo-nent was a well-establishedWorldhistorycourse,offered as partof the
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Applying Cognitive LearningApproachesn HistoryTeaching 185
University's generaleducationprogramand required n several college
sectors, reachingabout 400 undergraduatesach semester.The course,pilotedover a decadeagoand ntroduceds a generaleducation omponentin 1983,coversmajoraspectsof Worldhistory rom theclassicalciviliza-tionsof China,Indiaandthe Mediterraneannward, hroughive explicitlydefinedperiods(classical1000 B.C.E.-450C.E.,post-classical450-1450,
earlymodem1450-1750,19thcentury1750-1920 ndcontemporary).even
majorcivilization raditions re treated inaddition o EastandSouthAsia,these comprisethe Middle East, WesternEurope,EasternEurope,sub-SaharanAfrica,andLatinAmerica),alongwith consistentattention o the
interplaybetweenparticularraditions nd argernternationalorces(trade,technologicaldiffusion, ulture ontact,disease)andparallelisms. husboth
majorapproacheso Worldhistory,as a collectionof civilizationsandas a
studyof global nterchanges,reembraced ndcombined,with theresultingtensionsdeliberately ddressed.The course s taughtna lectureanddiscus-sion section formatwith a short extanddocumentary ndanalytical ead-
ings deliberatelydevelopedfor a one-semesterofferingthat must not beconsumedby textbookreadingalone.
Ourdiscussionswith theinnovativeearningunitdidnotresult romany
particularrisis n the Worldhistory ourse.The coursehas beenreasonablysuccessful hroughts life todate,as measured ystudent eedbackncludingthat providedby non-liberalarts studentsplus its impacton subsequentmajors n history.Andit hasusuallybeenenjoyable o teachasa format or
movingfirst-year ollege students ntogreatergraspnot simplyof World
historybutof someof thethinking rocesses hathistory eachingof anysort
ought to encourage.At the same time, some studentsdid not make the
progress n the coursethat hey,or their nstructors,mightdesire,giventheworktheyapparentlyutin.Weeklydiscussionsectionsdidnotprovide he
kind of personal guidancethat would best facilitatelearningfor somestudents ccustomedo thesmaller lassesofasecondarychool and mbuedalso with the idea thathistoryand memorizationgo hand in hand.Anoverheardomment romabout ixyearsagowasrevealing: This s aprettygoodcourse,butI keepwaiting or themto get to thehistory, nsteadof allthisanalysis."Whentheopportunityrose o consider omemore magina-tive learning trategies,herewasamplereason o takeadvantage f it.
Thepreconditionor collaborationnvolved mutual dentification y thehistoriansand the "learningexperts"of the course's primaryanalytical
goals.One of thereasons he
projectwas
acceptedbythe
earningenterwas
theclaritywithwhichthesegoalscouldbe definedand ustified.Thecoursewas deliberatelyand not simply implicitlydevoted to advancingseveralkinds of historical hinking,beyondacquaintancewith selective facts of
Worldhistory. ndeed he one semester ormat,hougha constraintn many
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186 MontserratMartiMiller/PeterN. Stearns
ways,had ongsince shieldedus from hemostobvious emptationfWorld
history eaching,oenlarge hescopeof treasured ata romasingleciviliza-tion to the wholeglobe,making hefactualmaterial enuinely nternationalbut moreburdensomehaneverby its sheerexpanse.Weknew we had o be
ruthlessly electivein coverage,and we hadbeenfromthe outset.Periodsand civilizationswereimportant, ut the descriptivematerialused to fleshthemoutwas comparativelyestrained nddeliberately imedat feedinga
conceptualappetite.So when askedwhat the leadinggoals were (coveragenot includedby
eitherpartynthediscussion),he answers amereadily:1)Thecourseseeksto promotestudentabilityto comparevarioussocieties, identifyingkeysimilaritiesand differences,and using these, to explainmajorhistorical
patterns n into thecontemporaryeriod;2) Itworksto engagestudentsnan explicitanalysisof change(in terms,of course,of majoralterationsnworld context or within individualcivilizations),among otherthings to
distinguishbetweenfundamental ew directionsandmereshiftswithinan
ongoingframework; ) It asks students o consider ssues of causation n
dealingwithchangeandcontinuity,withsomeparticularttentionotheroleof basic belief systems(cultures)nexplainingpersistence r newdevelop-ment. And finally,4) it tries to stretchstudentcapacityto assess largertheoriesin history,such as the world economy approach, echnologicaldeterminism r modernizationheory,usingrelevantdataalongwith con-
ceptualapproachesuch as comparative nalysisandcausationanalysis osortouttheutilityanddrawbacks f sweepingstatements.Thesefourgoalsarepresented omewhat equentially:omparative nalysisbeginsearlyinthe course,andby the end is on the wholeassumed;specificattentiono
changeandcontinuity ndtocausation urfacesn the secondquarter f thecourseand servesasa consistent ocusthereafterforexample, ncallingon
previousanalysisof this sortto probetheplaceof the twentieth entury n
Worldhistoryperiodization); theoryesting"beginsonlyinthesecondhalfof the course.The bulk of the final examinationderivesfrom analyticalreviewquestions hatin turnprobetheseareasexplicitly, callingfor (andhappilyofteneliciting) airlyhighlevel analytical kills.
The four major analyticalgoals of our Worldhistorycourse must be
supplemented,o be sure. The goals themselvespresume hat studentsareable to writeanddevelopan argument.While notclaimingheroicwritingabilitiesfor ourstudents,we havegenerally oundadequacy,with specialproblems eferredoappropriatepecialist entersoncampus.Theability o
develop an argument s moredemanding, houghof course it relatestotrainingn goodwriting. nstructorsnthe Worldhistorycoursemustspendno smallamountof timewithsome studentspromoting capacityodevelopan argumentand a consciousness of doing so. They must be taughtto
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ApplyingCognitiveLearningApproaches n HistoryTeaching 187
distinguishthis from laying out descriptivedata, textbookfashion, and
assumingthat somehowa question s therebyanswered a bad habitthatsometimesreflectsnotsimplyfuzzythinkingbut someill-informed xperi-ences in certain econdary-schoolistorycourses).But we decided o buildourfledgling"innovativeearning" xerciseson the analyticalgoals more
explicitlyattached o the Worldhistorycourse,assuming hatthey wouldfacilitateourongoingeffortto develop argument-buildingithoutboggingdown on this moregeneralized kill.
Indevelopingnew learning xercises,we focused on comparisonasthefirst target,as it is in the course itself) and on assessment of change.
Improvementsn these two areasinevitablyspill over into our other twogoals, thoughwe intend o worktowardmore focusedtrainingn these aswell. The comparisonand changetandem not only covers two different
phasesof thecourse,butalso intermeshes hem.Aspectsof the assessmentof change nvolvecomparingwopoints ntime,and animproved apacityto evaluatechange leads to an ability to compare processesof changebetweenoramongtwoormoresocieties.
We dealt with comparison irst because we have drilled and trainedstudents ince the coursebeganonbasicapproachesocomparisonromthe
juxtaposition f classicalChineseandIndian ocieties week2 ofthecourse)onward.We havealsoexpectedstudents o beableto handle airlysweepingcomparative uestionsby the time of the firstassignedpaper week 4) andthe hourexamination week 6). Questionshave involvedcomparing wosocieties aroundtopics for which ample data has been presented n the
readingsand in class presentationsbut for which specific comparativeexerciseshave not beenconducted.Examplesof suchquestionsare:"Grant-
ing that social protestwas not advocatedby officials eitherin ConfucianChina orIslam,whichideology(IslamorConfucianism)wasmostopentouse in lower-class
protest?"a papertopic);or
"Compareow two of the
classical civilizationsarranged ndjustifiedsocial inequalities,and whymanylower class groupsin each case oftenacceptedthe systems"(hourexam);or,"Comparehe reasons orandeffects of thedifferences ndegreesof isolation rom nternationalontacts or Chinaand he MiddleEast, ntheclassicalandpostclassical eriods"hourexam).Thesequestionsworked, nthe senseof elicitinga rangeof studentperformancencludingessaysat theA level. We hadearlyon identified ome characteristicroblemsstudentshave facedin dealingwithbig comparisonswhereno explicitcomparative
guidancehadbeen
provided.Manystudents
uxtaposeddescriptionsf the
two societies,one after heother,ratherhancomparingdirectly-they thusturnedthe questioninto a simplerfactualrecall effort.6Some students,whethercomparing rnot,have had troublepickingout relevant xamples,whichsuggesteddifficultynhighlightingheirreadingand npullingmajor
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188 Montserrat artiMiller/Peter . Stearns
materialsout of the contextpresentedand intoa new, topicallygenerated
context.Putting he samepointanotherway,students ftenputaccuratebutirrelevantdatainto theircomparisonbecausethey did not understand p-propriateprinciplesof selection. And of course too many studentshavetendedto simplifycomparisono mean differencesalone(or,morerarely,similarities),atherhanachievinghe moresubtlebalanceusuallycalledfor,in whichsome blendmustbe established.We had over theyears ncreasedthe time spent in class dealing explicitly with some of these issues in
achieving comparativeanalysisand in offering examplesof how goodcomparisonworks.
Thefact remainedhat,bythecompletion f the first hirdof thecourse,alargenumberof fairlygood studentsdid notreallyunderstandhe mecha-nisms of comparative nalysis.By theendof the coursetheydid,however,andonly a smallgroupof students,usually ll-preparedn termsof factualretention ndso unable oengage nanyanalysiswithsuccess,didnot knowhow to set up at least a binarycomparisonprettywell. Ourproblem, hen,was not thatstudents ould not learnthe analytical kill we sought.Some
grasped t withoutmuchexplicit guidance.Otherscaughton, withat leastfairconsistency,bytheend of asemester,whichwasalwaysquitegratifying.
But thepaceof masterywas slow, and this notonly producedworseearlycourseresults haneitherwe orthe studentsdesired,butalsogreatly ompli-catedourattemptn thesecondtwo thirdsof the course o moveonto more
complexanalytical cenariosn which thecomparativeechnique ould beassumed.So we wantedsome exercisesthatwouldaccelerate uccess andwould deal with some of the specific problemsgood but not intuitivelybrilliant tudents eemed oencounterndealingwithunfamiliaromparisons.
The approach rgedon us by thecognitive earninggroupattheCenterfor InnovativeLearning mphasized reaking owntasks ntosmaller,more
manageable omponents.A specificdiscussionsectionwas designatedorthedesignandimplementationf supplementaryssignmentswhichcould
developthe capacitieswe hadassumed n ourlargercomparativeweeps.The first additional xercises nvolvedteachingstudentshow to selectandsortdatafrom the textbook ntoa classification cheme which wouldlaterfacilitatecomparisonsbetweenpolitical,economic,socialor cultural ea-turesof two different ivilizations.We had foundthatsome studentshad adifficult imedistinguishing mong hesefeaturesascategoriesoranalysis.This contributedn turn o aneverything-but-the-kitcheninkapproacho
comparison:f it's aboutChina,and hequestionnvolvescomparingChina,it mustbe relevant.Theinitialclassification ssignmenthadthefurther,tillmoreprosaicmeritofhelping tudents ighlightnformationnthetextbook,
decidingwhat addedup to significant eaturesof a societyand what was
merely illustrative.
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Applying CognitiveLearningApproaches n HistoryTeaching 189
The firsttask, hen,wasessentiallya labelingeffort.Studentsweregiven
a handout see AppendixA) listingsome of the subdivisionsof political,economic,culturaland social features,with areasof overlap deliberatelyallowing or the indistinct oundariesmong hesefeatures.Political ulture,thus,wouldappear oth nthepoliticaland he cultural ection.Thismaterialservedasthebasisfor an nitialclass discussion dealingwithMesopotamiancivilization),and then a blank sheet was distributedo be filled in for the
followingclass, in whicha textbookchapteron classical Chinawouldbedistilled nto notes located n each of the majorcategories.Eachsheetwasreturnedquicklyaftersubmission,with comments.And indeed most stu-
dentsmanaged o fill in the blanks airlywell,withappropriatellustrationsthatshowednot only an abilityto categorizebut a capacity o reorganizetextbookmaterialso fitadifferent et of demands.Thiskindofclassificationexercisewasrepeated ecurrentlyhroughhesemester,particularlysmajornew civilizationswereintroduced,okeepthebasicskillsactiveandto con-tinue heprocessoftranslatingnformationntoanalyticallyelevant chema.
The second supplementaryxercise extended the classificationwork
directlyto comparison. see AppendixB) Studentswere asked to use the
politicalcategorydeveloped or Chinaalongwith the samecategory nde-
pendentlyfilled in for classical India, to generatea brief comparativestatement.Theywerespecificallycalleduponto work bothon similaritiesand on differences,andto distinguishbetweena majorcomparative ener-alizationand the kinds of subsidiarycomparisons hat would build andillustratehelargerwhole.In theprocess,of course, heywere alsoworkingon steps of logical argumentand writing.'Just as classificationpreparedanalysiswhilefirmingup note-taking ndassuring imelyreading, o severalelementsin the presentationf analysiswere addressedn thispointedbutmoredemanding econdassignment.As with the firstassignment, tudent
workwas returnedpromptly,with comments;andsome of the betterre-sponseswere circulated s models.We were very pleased with the results of these first two steps. The
studentswereremarkablyooperative.Theverybest inthegroup, o besure,
grewunderstandablympatientwithrepeated njunctionso fill in thecivili-zationcategories, or this was not a step theyneeded n order o retainand
manipulatedata.But the majorityof studentsseemed to agree that the
approachhelpedthemconvertreadingmaterialsnto activecomponentsn
dealingwithcomparativessues,andtheirperformancesn the course-wide
assignments, otablyhe first
paperand he hourexaminationwhichfocused
oncomparativessues,reflected uperior reparationndanalyticechnique.In preparing similarbreakdown f the habitswe hopedto developin
dealingwith changeover time, ourexperiencewith the comparativeap-proachprovedto be unexpectedlyransferrable.he Worldhistorycourse
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190 MontserratMartiMiller/PeterN. Stearns
had worked on the phenomenonof change for many years. Recurrent
lecturespresentedperiodization s a formal mechanism or dealingwithchange and discussedthe categories o look for in identifyingpoints of
change (shifts in the geographyof civilizations,new kinds of contacts
amongmajor ocieties,parallel hanges n severalotherwisedifferent oci-eties such as thespreadof Worldreligions rom the thirdcenturyonward).An early ecturealsopointedout theneedtobalancechangeandcontinuityeven indealingwithapparentlyadical hifts suchas the rise of Islam n theMiddleEast).But we hadnotpaidasmuchattentionotheanalytical rocessinvolved n dealingwithchangeas we had withcomparison, ndwe risked
havingstudents ee changeprimarilyn termsof factsto be learnedratherthan hehabitsof mindnecessary o handledatasuccessfully.Intruth,discussionswith ourcognitivepsychologyadvisorsat theCenter
plusthesuccessof the firstsetsof exercisesoncomparisonmade tclear hat
importantngredients f a more ocusedapproachoconceptualizing hangewere alreadyavailable.As with comparison, tudentsoftenresponded o
questionsaboutchangewith essentiallydescriptivestatements; nd theyoften facedchange ssueswithanall-or-nothingmentalityhatglossedovernuance(eithereverything hangedor,as oftenin treatments f Chinaover
time,everything emained hesame).Correspondingly,reakingdown thetaskof definingchangecouldusefullyreplicatemanyof theprocedures sedinapproachingomparison. olitical,economic,social andcultural eaturesof majorcivilizationscould againbe identified,but this time with an eyeinitiallyto comparing wo different ime periods.Instead of asking foridentification f greatestdifferencesandgreatest imilarities,tudentswere
pushedto stipulatecategories n whichgreatestchangehad occurredandthose in which substantial ontinuitiesmoreaccuratelydefinedhistorical
processover time.
The third upplementaryxercise(seeAppendixC),then,askedstudentsto dealwithchange none civilizationduringwhatwecallthe"latemodem"
periodof Worldhistory,he extendednineteenthenturyrom1750 to 1914.Aftercategorizingeaturesat thebeginningand attheend of thisperiod none case-Russia, for example,or Latin America-students could thenwritebrief sentencesaboutmajorchange,majorcontinuity, ndsupportingevidence.Wherethey seemed to have problems, hey could be asked tosubmita similarexercisefor another ase. As with earliersupplementaryassignments, rompteedbackwas offeredandseveralof the moresuccess-
ful effortswere distributeds
examples.We expectedstudents o be ableto movebeyondthis exerciseto some-what more complicatedanalysesdealing with change:where the time
periodswere extended(say, from 1750 to the present);wherepatternsof
changehad to be comparedbetween wo major ocieties(a"revolutionary"
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ApplyingCognitive earning pproachesnHistory eaching 191
and a non-revolutionaryase in the twentiethcentury,for example);orwhere issues of causationneeded to be takenup (why did civilization"x"
continue to display symptoms of economic dependencyin the worldeconomy?).These more demandingassignments,however,built on thefundamentalapacity ocompareovertime and herefore nprocedureshatstudentshadexperiencednmarshalingvidenceanddevelopingcategoriesto approachhephenomenon f change.
Theinitial mplementationf thesupplementaryxercises,centeredas itwas in selecteddiscussionsections,was intended o facilitateevaluationofresults.Thisis not aneasyassignment, ndwe hadalready oncluded paceourpsychologistcolleagues) hatdemonstratinguccess was not one of the
strongestfeaturesof the cognitive learningapproachas we had seen itdescribed n mathematics nd science classes. It is next to impossibleto
"prove"that a differentlearning approachgenerates measurablybetter
performances;nd even whenimprovementan be shown as highlyprob-able,it is difficult o determine ausation.The effort o breakdown tasks nhistoricalanalysiscan claimno new prizesfordefinitiveevaluation.Thoseinstructorswho have used the supplementaryxercises in teachingthecourse believe that their studentsdid better than similargroupsof paststudents n fulfillingthe Worldhistorycourse'sanalyticalassignmentson
comparisonand assessmentof change,from the initialpaperto the essayquestionson the final examination. ndividual tudentswhoseearlywork,basedonpastexperience, eemed o predictC orat bestmarginalB work-thetypesof studentswe particularlyxpected o benefitfrom new learningapproaches--did ndeed come throughwith performances t the solid Blevel or slightlyabove. Our most objectivemeasurehas involvedtakingpapersand examinations rom our experimental ections and comparingthem with work from "regular"ections whose students shared similar
demographic rofiles n termsof priorhistorywork,majorareasof interest
and so on. Severalreaders, nd notonlythosewhotaught heexperimentalgroups,have agreedthatthe "experimental"roupsperformed omewhatbetter overall-the evidence being grades given and commentswrittenwhencommonexercisesarereadwithoutattributiono discussionsection.Of course, even this probablesuccess begs the questionof cause. The
experimental tudentsmay have done bettersimplybecausethey gainedmore attention ndhad more ncentive o readcarefullyandpromptly.
Butwe think hemore ormalattention oanalyticalasksand oexercisesthat breakthemdown into initialcategories s payingoff in termsof our
majorgoalsin theWorldhistorycourse.We planto continue o accumulateexperienceand evidence,and also to try a similarmethodology n other
introductoryourses(for example,WesternCiv.) and with other student
populations.n the Worldhistorycourse tself,we intend o pursueseveral
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192 MontserratMartiMiller/PeterN. Stearns
refinementsof the supplementary pproach lreadydeveloped,apart rom
additionalmonitoringof results.A fourthexercise, in the middle of thecourse,mightbe helpful,for it is soon afterthe hourexaminationhat weintroduce ome historicalmodels,like the worldeconomytheory, hatwe
expect studentsto be able to assess. Elaborationof the supplementaryexerciseonchange, o leadforexample nto some assessmentof causation,mightbe possiblewithinthe framework f breakingdownanalyticalasksinto smallercategories.Some attention o excusingthemost ablestudentsfrom exercisestheysoon find tedious(thoughby theirown admissionalso
useful) s desirable,o theextentcompatiblewithclass morale.Wedefinitely
need to work on efficientmeans
of commentingonthe
supplementaryexercises.As we have proceededwith our experiment,we have built in
increasing se of student nteraction.Oncestudents avedemonstratedomecommandof the initialexercise,on categorization,heycan evaluateeachother'swork in subsequent ategorization ssignments ncluding he first
partof theanalysisof changeexercise(exercise#3, AppendixC).We havealsoused small amounts f classtime in the discussion essionsforstudentsto practiceusingthecategorizationharton thechalkboard,as an entr6e o
discussinga new civilizationor majornew periodduring he rest of thesession.Andwe havedividedstudentsnto
groupsn order o evaluateone
another's ortingandclassifyingdecisions,which has the addedbenefitof
elicitingnew formsof studentparticipation.hefactremains,however, hatuse of thesupplementaryxercisesandthe need for feedbackmodestlybut
definitely ncreases he demands ninstructors, hich s no smallconstraintin a largeclass.As we have disseminatedheexercises,we have foundthe
improvedtudent erformanceorth he nvestment,ut he ssueof workloadcannotbe avoided.
This is unquestionablynongoingexperiment.Ourexperiencendicatesthat
explicitattentiono
analytical oalsandto methodsof
translatinghese
goals into phasedexercisespays off in greaterstudent nvolvementand
capacity.The enhancedability o call on reasonablywell-preparedtudentsto activatecertainanalyticalprocedures longside he needto adducerel-evant evidence is a real reward.The formulaswe are using are hardlymiraculous.As soon as they were suggested hrough nteractionwith our
learningexperts hey seemedquitecommonsensical.Butwe aremodestlyexcited aboutthe results. Additional eedback aboutthis categorizationapproachoanalytical oalsinhistoryeaching,particularlyoalsassociatedwith thestudyof changeandcontinuity,will be mostwelcome,evenasthe
approachs adaptedo different pecificcourses.The need for widerdiscus-sionandexperimentationround hegeneraleffortto promote hecapacityto "thinkhistorically"s oftenevoked;we haveshown that t is a need thatcanbe met.
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Applying CognitiveLearningApproachesn HistoryTeaching 193
Notes
Ourthanks o FredReif,Jill LarkinandotherparticipantsnCarnegieMellon's Centerfor InnovativeLearning or theirongoing interest n this project.
1. SamuelWineberg,"On the Readingof HistoricalTexts: Notes on the Breachbetween School and Academy,"American EducationalResearchJournal, 28 (1991),495-519; see also Thomas Holt, ThinkingHistorically: Narrative, Imaginationand
Understanding New York,1990).Forauseful literature eview,SamuelWineberg,"The
Psychologyof LearningandTeachingHistory," orthcomingn BerlinerandCalfee, eds.,Handbookof EducationalPsychology(New York,_).
2. BenjaminS. Bloom, Taxonomyof EducationalObjectives:TheClassificationof Educational Goals (New York, 1956).
3. Robert S. Siegler, "The OtherBinet,"DevelopmentalPsychology, 28 (1992),180-188.
4. PeterN. Steams, Meaningover Memory: Recasting the Teaching of Cultureand History(ChapelHill, NC, 1993).
5. Developingthesupplementaryxercisesflowed fromextensivemeetingsamongthe participatinghistoriansandlearningadvisorsover the bulk of an academicyear.The
meetingsinvolved clarificationof goals, repeatedcastingsof theexperimentalexercises,use of the non-historiansas first participantsn the exercises to determineclarity and
adequacyof instructions,and discussions of results.6. For a useful discussion of how to recognizeanalysisand evidence as separate,
butequallycrucial,componentsof historicalargument, ee JohnPassmore,"Explanation
in EverydayLife, in Science, andin History,"Historyand Theory,2 (1962), 105-123.7. Oncognitiveelements in writing,LindaFlower,ProblemSolvingStrategies or
Writing,2nd ed. (SanDiego, CA, 1985).
Appendix A
First Exercise: Civilization Summary Worksheet
AnalyticalTools:
CivilizationSpheresand CivilizationSummaryGuide
This course, by its very nature,must cover a tremendousamountofhistoricalground: n fourteenweeks' time,we will tracethedevelopment
of seven civilizationsover four worldhistorytime periods.The way wehave chosen to go aboutmakingsuch a large body of historical nforma-tion meaningfuland analytically manageable s to focus on each indi-vidual civilizationin terms of its political,economic, social, and culturalfeatures.
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These analyticalcategoriesdo not have hardandfast boundariesandare best representedn model form as fourspheres:
Political Economic
Social Cultural
Withineach of the spheres here area numberof focus pointsaroundwhichyoucanorganizenformationboutacivilization.From heseyoucanconstructhistorical omparisons f two different ivilizations orthe samecivilizationin two differentWorldhistorytime periods).It is important,however, ounderstandhatwhile some historical nformation an beclassi-fiedas strictlypoliticalorstrictly ocial orstrictly conomic,and so forth,a
greatdealof historical nformation bouta civilization an fall withinmorethan one of these spheres(as represented y the overlapping reasin the
diagram).Forexample, hepredominantabor ystemcharacterizing givencivili-
zation is certainlyan economic featurebutit is also a featureof the socialstructure s well.
Historicalmaterialwhich falls in more than one spherecan also be
comparedacrosscivilizationsand over Worldhistory imeperiods.These
categoriesof analysis,and hespecific ocuspointsaroundwhich hiscourse
is structured,an be representedn matrix orm(see attachedCivilizationSummaryGuide).
As you proceedthrough his course,we recommend hatyou preparesimilarcomparative hartscontainingdataspecific to each of the sevencivilizationswe will study n each of the Worldhistory imeperiodswe willcover.Thesechartswill serve as thebasisfor the analytical xercisesyouwill be asked ocarryout in thepapersandexamswhicharerequirementsnthis course.
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ApplyingCognitive LearningApproachesn HistoryTeaching 195
First Exercise: Civilization Summary Worksheet
CivilizationSummaryGuide
Political IEconomic Social jCultural
Political *Degreeof political *Levelsof state *Degreeand nature *Ideologicalcentralization control over industry of contact between foundationsof*Extentand natureof andtrade; state andsociety; government;bureaucracy *Responsibilities or *Extentof popular *Targets f loyalty*Levels of autocracy promotingeconomy participation: (local vs. central
governing
authorities);
*Beliefs aboutEconomic *Roleof agriculture *Roleof merchants
technology;in overalleconomy; in society;
*Beliefs about*Role of manufactur- *Labor ystems merchantsand
ing; (slavery, serfdom, trade;
etc.);-Levels of etc.); -Beliefs abouttechnology; *Role of landlords n
*Levels of internal society;
andinternational
trade;
*Nature nd *Extentof cultural
Social complexityof class links between elitesstructure; andmasses;
Potentialoro Natureof cultural
individualandgroup support or socialmobility;
andgender-Functionsof family; hierarchies;
*Roles andpowersoffamily members;*Extentof
urbanization;
*Populationtructureanddensity;
*Dominant
Cultural religiousandphilosophicalsystems;
*Dominantartistic
styles;
*Degree of culturaltoleranceandbeliefs about
foreign cultures;
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First Exercise: CivilizationSummaryWorksheet continued)
CivilizationSummaryWorksheet
Political Economic Social ICultural
Political
Economic
Social
Cultural
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Applying CognitiveLearningApproaches n HistoryTeaching 197
Appendix B
Second Exercise: Comparative Analysis
I. PURPOSE
Thepurposeof this exerciseis twofold.The firstgoal is to improveyour abilityto sort and
classify information from your textbook in a way that will enable you to makecoherenthistoricalcomparisons.The secondgoal is to improveyourabilityto effec-
tively express your analysisin writingby providingyou withspecific instructions orthe constructionof a basic comparativeparagraph.
II. PROCEDURES
A. Sorting and Classifying Information
Read and take notes on pages 29-71 of yourWorldhistorytextbook.As you do so,think about how you would compareclassical Chinese political patternswith the
political patternsof classical India.
Labela blankCivilizationSummaryworksheet or classicalChinesecivilization and ablank Civilization Summaryworksheetfor classical Indiancivilization. Refer to the
CivilizationSummaryGuide as you fill in thetoprowof boxes on both worksheetsbysortingandclassifyingthe historical nformation ontained n yournotesaccording othe following criteria:
1. Foreachcivilization,decidewhich historicaldata,whensummarized,belonginthe fourpolitical categoriesandmakeappropriate otations n thoseboxes;
2. Identify,and make notationson the back of each CivilizationSummaryworksheet,two pieces of historical nformationaboutthepoliticalcharacteris-tics of classical Chinese and classical Indiancivilization whichyou consider tobe too irrelevantor
tangentialo be includedon the chart
(suchas "the first
Chouemperor ook the title Ch'in ShihHuangTi");
3. Look over the remainder f the historical nformation ontained n yournotesand think abouthow it mightor mightnotbelong in the six remaining non-
political)boxes (you need not makenotations n these for the timebeing).
B. Making a Comparison
Observethe similaritiesand differences between the two political patternsas set outon your Civilization Summaryworksheets. On scratchpiece of paper,describe the
majorsimilaritiesandor
differences thatyou see.
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Using a fresh sheetof paper,answerthefollowingquestions:
1. What is the broadestgeneralizationyou could make about the similaritiesanddifferencesthatyou see betweenpolitical patterns n classical China versuspoliticalpatternsn classical India?
2. What two narrowergeneralizationscould you formulatewhich offer additionaldetail butalso supportyourinitialgeneralization?
3. Whatspecificinformation anyoudraw romthe CivilizationSummaryworksheetsto supportyour generalizations?
Read over yourgeneralizationsand the supporting vidence you have identified andask yourself if your analysismakes sense. Makeadjustments nd revisions as neces-
sary.
C. Writing a Comparative Paragraph
Use thequestionsyou answered n B 1, 2 and3 aboveas the outline of yourparagraphcomparingpolitical patterns n classical China with political patterns n classicalIndia.
Writea paragraphwhich includesthefollowingcomponentsarrangednthefollowing
order:
1. A topic sentencewhichexpressesthe idea in yourmaingeneralization;
2. One or two moresentenceswhich communicateyour subsidiarygeneralizations;
3. Two or three sentencespresenting he evidence foryour generalizations;
4. A concludingsentencewhichrestatesyourinitialgeneralization.
Read over your paragrapho see if it makessense;edit to improvethe grammarand
syntax.
D. Getting Credit for this exercise
Turn n the following items:
1. The two CivilizationSummaryworksheetsyou filled in;
2. The separate heetof paperuponwhichyou answered hequestions n sectionB 1,2 and 3 above;
3. Yourcomparativeparagraph.
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ApplyingCognitiveLearningApproachesn HistoryTeaching 199
Appendix C
Third Exercise: Change Analysis
I. PURPOSE
This exercise is designedto give you theopportunityo practiceassessingthe relative
significanceof changesandcontinuitieswithin Worldhistorytime periods.It is also
designedto provideyou withexplicit instructions ormakinga historicalcomparisonof the relativesignificanceof changeversuscontinuity n two separatecivilizations.
Masteringthese analyticalskills is necessaryin orderto evaluate the validityof themodernizationparadigm.
II. PROCEDURES
A. Sorting and Classifying Information
Read and takenotes fromyourWorldhistorytextbook aboutthe two civilizations in
the latemodemperiod(1750-1914) whichyou have chosen to use foryourthirdessayassignment.As you do so, think aboutthe balance betweenchangeandcontinuity nthehistoricaldevelopmentof each from 1750 to 1914.
Labela blankChangeandContinuityworksheet or each of thetwo civilizationsyouhave chosen. Fill in the boxes on both worksheets by sorting and classifying the
historical nformationcontained n yournotesaccording o the following criteria:
1. For each civilization,decide whichhistoricaldata,when summarized,consti-
tutethebasic political,economic, social, andcultural eaturesat the beginningof the late modemperiod (approximately1750), makingappropriate otations
in these boxes.
2. For each civilization,decide which historicaldata,when summarized,consti-
tutethebasic political,economic, social, and cultural eaturesat the endof the
late modem period (approximately1914), making appropriatenotations inthese boxes.
3. For each civilization,decide whichhistoricaldata,when summarized,consti-tutethekey political,economic, social, andculturalchangesin thelate modern
period,making appropriate otations n these boxes.
4. For each civilization,decide which historicaldata,when summarized,consti-
tute the key political, economic, social, and cultural continuities in the late
modemperiod,making appropriate otations n these boxes.
B. Assessing Change and Continuity
The next stepafterhavingfilled in both worksheets s to furtherdistill the material npreparationo analyzeand write.The best way to do this is to readover both filled-in
worksheets,observingandthinkingaboutthe patternsof change andcontinuity youhave charted it mayalsobe helpfulto use a scratchpiece of paper o take notes on the
principalchangesandcontinuities hatyou see).
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On separatesheetof paper,answerthefollowing questionswithregard o eachof the
two civilizationsyou have chosento study:
1. Decide in whicharea(political,economic, social, or cultural) he changes youhave identifiedare most pronouncedanddescribe,using one or two succinct
but substantive entences,what these key changesconsisted of.
2. Intwo orthreesentences,describesomeof theotherchangesyou see which are
subsidiarybutrelated o the maindirectionof change you identified n question1 above.
3. Decide in which area(political,economic, social, or cultural) he continuities
you have identified are most pronouncedand describe, using one or two
succinctbut substantive entences,what thesekey continuitiesconsisted of.
C. Comparing Change and Continuity
1. Whatis the broadestgeneralizationyou could make abouthow the patternsof
changeandcontinuity hatyou see in the two civilizationsuponwhich you are
focusing comparewith one another?
2. Whattwo narrower eneralizations ouldyou formulatewhich offer additional
detailbutalso supportyourinitialgeneralization?
3. What specific informationcan you draw from your Change and Continuityworksheetsand textbooknotes to supportyourgeneralizations?
Readover yourgeneralizationsandthesupporting videnceyou have identified
andaskyourselfif youranalysismakessense. Makeadjustments nd revisionsas
necessary.
D. Writing a Paragraph which Compares Change and Continuity
Use thequestionsyou answeredn B 1-3andC 1-3as thebasisforyour paragraph
comparingpatterns f changeandcontinuityn twocivilizations rom1750to 1914.
Writea paragraphwhich includesthefollowing componentsarrangedn the
following order:
1. A topic sentencewhichexpressesthe broadestgeneralizationyou have formu-
lated abouthow the patternsof changeandcontinuity n the two civilizations
compareand contrastwith one another.
2. A couple of sentenceswhichrefine,narrow,andqualifythe broadgeneraliza-tion expressed n yourtopic sentence.
3. Severalsentenceswhichofferevidenceforthegeneralizations,both broadandnarrow,whichyou have made.
4. A concludingsentencewhich summarizes he evidence you have offeredand
linksit backto the generalization et forth n yourtopic sentence.
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Applying Cognitive LearningApproachesn HistoryTeaching 201
Third Exercise: Change Analysis (continued)
Balancing Change Against Continuity in Individual Civilizations
Time Period:Civilization:
Basic Features Basic Features Key Changes KeyContinuitiesat Beginning at Endof Periodof Period
Political
Economic
Social
Cultural
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Appendix D
Course Plan: World HistoryTextbooks:
HammondWordMapStearns,WorldHistory:Patternsof Change& Continuity HarperCollins,rev.
ed., 1995).
Cipolla,Guns, Sails,andEmpires:TechnologicalInnovation& EarlyPhases of
EuropeanExpansion,1400-1700.
Stearns,et. al. eds., Documentsof WorldHistory,2 vols. (HarperCollins, 1989).
Course Purposes:
This coursesurveys major eaturesof the principalexistingcivilizations of the world,as
they were originally formed and as they have been alteredduringthe past two to fourcenturiesby the "forces of Modernity."We will tryto define what the major raditionalfeaturesof each civilizationwere, andparticularlyhow culturespersistedand changed,and what the "forces of modernity"have been. We will be dealing with three main
approaches o Worldhistory:1) Asking aboutthe role of culture n individualand social
behavior;2) Comparing he majorcivilizations,as wholes and in key features such as
governmentor economic institutionsas well ascultures;and3) Discussinghow themajorcivilizationschanged, particularly s traditional eaturesencounterednew forces duringthe past few centuries;emphasishere will be on long-time periods in World history,whereby major "new forces" can be defined, in terms of new kinds of internationalcontacts andconnections.
Approach #1: Culturerefers to a systemof ideas about he natureof the worldandhow
people shouldbehavein it that s shared,andshareduniquely, by membersof a commu-
nity. Many issues in our society involve questionsabouthow much behavior a culture
causes,but also whatfactorscan cause a culture o change.A Worldhistorycourse mustdiscuss how culturesform- particularly,arge regionalcultures ike those of Chinaand
Islam; how much historythese culturesexplain;and how and to what extent cultures
change.Worldhistoryis not the only framework or culturalanalysis,but it highlightssome major eatures.In dealingwith leadingcivilizationsover time,one analytical ssuefocuses on culturesquarely: he extentto whicha society holds to particular alues fromits earlyhistoryto thepresent,and so responds o commonchallenges ndistinctiveways.
Approach #2: The comparativeapproach s vital in analysis of World history. Eachcivilization can be compared,atmajorstages,to others.We suggest breakingdown eachcivilization into political,cultural,economic, andsocial categories-i.e., how it is gov-erned, how it explains and representsthe world, how it supports itself, and how itstructures ocial groupsandfamilies.
Eachof thesecategories,and also their nterrelationshipsn forminga whole civiliza-
tion, can be comparedacross space-with the othermajorcivilizations. You can even
keep an informalchartof eachcivilization,in its fouraspects,forcomparativepurposes.We will be dealing with seven civilizations: East Asia, India and southernAsia, theMiddleEast,EasternEurope,Westerncivilization,sub-Sahara ndLatin America.
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ApplyingCognitiveLearningApproachesn HistoryTeaching 203
Approach #3: The course will introducethe factor of change over time. We will be
dealing with four majortime periods (afterbrief discussion of the earliest civilzation
phase): A classical period,from about 1000 B.C.E. to about 500 C.E., in which largecivilizations formed in China,Indiaandaround heMediterranean.A "spread f civiliza-
tions"period,500-1400 C.E. in whichchangesoccurred n theclassicalcivilizationsandnew civilizations arose, to the total of seven on-going cases mentionedabove, but inwhich new connectionsamongcivilizations also developed.Next, the"riseof theWest"or "creationof a worldeconomy"period,1400-1900, in which new contacts andvarious
ideological and economic developments broughtsome degreeof changeto each of theseven civilizations we're dealingwith. And finally, the 20th centuryas a new periodinWorldhistory,in which changes buildingin the previous periodturn nto a full-fledgedconfrontationwith the forcesof modernity, n each majorcivilization.
The three mainapproaches
nWorldhistory,
combined,produce
worelatedanalyticaltensions.Thefundamentalssue in currentWorldhistoryscholarshipnvolves thebalance
betweenthe separate ultural raditionsandthesteadily-expandingontactsamong majorcivilizations, in causing majordevelopments.How manyof the featuresof China,or theUnited States, around 1800, can be explained by distinctive patterns n each nation,
includingdistinctive cultural raditions,and how many by involvement with some largerinternational xperiencesand contacts?This is thekind of questionthat can fruitfullybe
appliedto earlieras well as latertimeperiods,andto all areas of the world.This basic tension in interpretingWorld history, between distictive cultures and
interconnections,generatesa morespecificallymodernvariant:as international ontacts
spread n recentcenturies, eadingto moreextensivetechnological,commercial,cultural,even
biologicalconnections
among societies,how have
different traditionalculturesreacted?Are present-day ocieties shapedprimarilyby commonforces, like a desire foreconomicgrowth,orby theheritageof oldercultures?Hereis the centralanalytical ocusfor the secondhalf of this course,after the majorcultural raditionsandearlierkindsofinterconnectionshavebeenexplored.
One otherpointabout hepurposeof thecourse.We will be relyingon anessay-formattextbook for general coverage, with particular ssues and comparisons highlighted inlectures. We will also discuss some more specific readings,to deal with all types ofhistorical evidence andproblemsof conflictinginterpretations two skills areasthat the
study of history inevitably entails when it goes beyond straightmemorization,as weintend to do. There will normallybe two hour ectureseachweek, followed by an hour n
discussion sections on Fridays.
Lecture/Discussion Topics
(Appropriate eadingassignmentsweremadeforeach lectureand for eachdiscussion,butare not given in this abbreviated ppendixwhich is designedto show the structure f the
course.)
Week #1: (L) Introduction:WhyWorldHistory?(L) The Natureof AgriculturalSocieties:Whatis Civilization?
(D) The Organizationof HumanSocieties
Week #2: (L) - holiday(L) - ClassicalCivilizations:China& India
(D) - Indian& ChinesePhilosophy:Concepts& concerns
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Week #3: (L) - UnderstandingChineseCultures:Definitions & theProblemsof Change(L) - Social History& the Classical World
(D) - Womenin Classical India& China, ncludingtheTang/SungPeriod
Week #4: (L) - Theorieson the Rise & Fall of WorldCivilization
(L)- Issues of Heritage:Change,Continuity nd heSpreadofWorldReligions(D) - IslamicPhilosophy& Change
Week #5: (L) - The World Network:New Exchanges(Paperdue, comparingreligions)(L) - ExpandingCivilizationandtheWorldNetwork:JapanandEurope(D) - FeudalismandReligion:the Strugglefor Power
Week #6: (L) - Civilization n Africa andtheAmericas
(L) - Mid-semesterexam(D) - Arms& Expansion
Week #7: (L) - Periodization& WorldTrends,1450 Onward:Comparinghe 15thand20th Centuries
(L) - The Transformationf PopularMentalities n the West
(D) - ColoniesandWorldEconomy
Week #8: (L) - Mid semesterbreak
(L) - The Rise of Russia:Change& Continuity(D) - Aspects of Changein Russia
Week #9: (L) - CategorizingEarlyModernReactions:Asia, AfricaandtheAmericas
(L) - The IndustrialRevolution:The West andtheWorld
(D) - ModernizationTheory& Social Change
Week #10: (L) - Industrialization;Work,FamilyandProgress(L) - Nationalismand TraditionalCultures
(D)-The Problemof LatinAmericanCivilizationandthe "NewNations" ssue
Week#11: (L) - LatecomerModernizations:Russia & Japan
(L)- The UnitedStates andWorld
History(D) - TraditionandChange n Japan
Week#12: (L) - The Problemof the 20thCentury(L) - Patternsof Revolution
(D) - ComparingRevolutions
Week #13: (L) - The ThirdWorld,the WorldEconomy,and EconomicDevelopment(L) - Thanksgivingvacation
Week #14: (L) - ComparingNon-westernCivilization Issues
(L)-
Patternsof Belief in the
ContemporaryWorld
(D) - Directions n 20thCenturyAfrica
Week#15: (L) - Issues of Democracyand Women:UpdatingModernization(L) - Post IndustrialSociety & WorldSocieties,Presentand Future
(D) - Modernization ndWomen:ComparativeStudies
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