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








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








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









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








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








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.








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









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"








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









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.








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.









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.








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;








196 MontserratMartfMiller/PeterN. Stearns

First Exercise: CivilizationSummaryWorksheet continued)

CivilizationSummaryWorksheet

Political Economic Social ICultural

Political

Economic

Social

Cultural








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.









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.








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).









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.








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









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.








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









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