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Talking Pictures: the power of visual sources to create curiosity

and teach historical thinking

Tom Mortontmorton@bcheritagefairs.ca

www.bcheritagefairs.ca www.historicalthinking.ca/

LearningIntentions

Ihaveabetter understanding of• thepotential ofvisual primary sourcesfor

teaching andlearning history• thechallengestousing visual sources• ways tousethem toteach historical thinking

Teaching Approches

• Questioning• Think aloud• Student generated questions• Sequencing/Timelines

HommagetoCharlieHou

BenjaminWest,Death ofWolfe,1770.WikiCommons publicdomain.

Why usevisual primary sources?

• Accessibility topeopleofthepast who haveoftenbeenonthemargins

• Entrypointforstudents:“warmthemup”(BartonandLevstik)

• Engagement:emotional impact,curiosity• Potential forcitizenship:“We areuptoour necks

inmessagestelling uswhat todoandthink.Without theability tointerrogate these messages,we aredestined tosleep walk through our world”(SamWineburg)

Challenges

• Easy access:“Accessis notsynonymous withlearning.What turns access into learning istimeandstrategic patience.”(JenniferRoberts,“ThePowerofPatience”)

• Readingbeyondfacevalue:Bothadultsandstudentstendtoreadhistoricalphotographsasaclearwindowintothepastandtoseethemasinherentlytruthful.Theyarenot.

StéphaneLévesque.“HowTechnology is Changing thewaywe Teach History.”Presentation at Canada’s History Forum2013.

Low history literacy reader

Low history literacy reader

StéphaneLévesque.“HowTechnology is Changing thewaywe Teach History.”Presentation at Canada’s History Forum2013.

Highhistoricalliteracyreader

StéphaneLévesque.“HowTechnology is Changing thewaywe Teach History.”Presentation at Canada’s History Forum2013.

Formoreonthisresearch:Lévesque,S.,Ng-A-Fook,N.,&Corrigan,J.(2014).What does theeye see?Readingonlineprimarysourcephotographsinhistory.

When you think oftheBritishColumbiaGoldRush,what imagecomes toyourmind?

Typeafewwords aboutthepeopleyou imagineandwhat they aredoing?

Dothey looklike this?

Prospecting forAlluvialGoldinBritishColumbia,1864,WilliamHind,ImagePDP02612courtesy oftheRoyalBCMuseumandArchives. WilliamBarkerofBarkerville,186- ,ImageA-

01144 courtesy oftheRoyalBCMuseumandArchives.

Orlike this?

Nlaka’pumxorSto:lo goldminers at theconfluenceoftheFraserandThompsonRivers,ca1890,imageD-06815courtesy oftheRoyalBCMuseumandArchives.

TheCariboo AmateurDramatic Association,1872, ImageI-68892courtesy oftheRoyalBCMuseumandArchives.

ChineseGoldWashersontheFraserRiver,BC,WilliamHind,ca.1864,McCord

MuseumM609.

Inquiry:Beyond BillyBarker

What GoldRushstoriesareworth telling?Howcan photographs helpustellthem?

SuggestionsforPlanning• Decideonwhathistoricalthinkingconcepts

youwanttodevelop• Chooseanimagewithcare(engaging,relevant

tocurriculumandtothedisciplinaryconcept,andhighresolution)

• Researchtheimage• Craftstimulatingquestions (bothquestions

focussedonthetaskofinterpretationandbroadinquiryquestions)

Elements ofConceptofEvidenceHistory is intepretationbased oninferences.Asking goodquestions aboutasourcecan turn itinto evidence.Interpretation also involves sourcing:inferring thepurpose andworldview ofasource’s creator.Asourceshould be analyzed inrelationtoitscontext.Inferences should always be corroborated.

(Seixas andMorton,TheBigSixHistoricalThinkingConcepts)

Inferences

SuggestionsforTeaching• Guidestudentstoobserveclosely• Connecttocontext(butmaybeonlyalittleatfirst)• Cultivatecuriosity• Considerthephotographer’spurpose• Generateorposequestion(s)• Havestudentswritehypotheses• Digdeeper,corroborate• Revisittheimageandrevisehypotheses• Reflectontheprocess

MenPosedOnFlume,William'sCreek;T.R.Pattullo StandingInCentre.Photographer: FrederickDally,ca.1868.ImageF-08564courtesy of theRoyalBCMuseumandArchives.

ExcerptofMenPosedOnFlume,William'sCreek;T.R.PattulloStandingInCentre.Photographer:FrederickDally,ca.1868.ImageF-08564courtesy oftheRoyalBCMuseumandArchives.

QuestionsCloseobservation:• What doyou see?Cananyone find…?Inferencing (from simpletoadvanced dependingonstudents):• Wherewasthisphototaken?• Whatarethepeopleinthephotodoing?• WhyisPattullo inthecentre?• Andwhydoyouthinkso?

With some context:• Whatwilltheflumebeusedfor?• Whatelsemighthappenasaresultofbuilding

thisflume?• Whatdoes"Menposedonaflume”suggest

abouthowgoldwasmined?Aboutthelifeofaminer?Abouttheeffectofminingontheenvironment?

• Andwhydoyouthinkso?• Whatdoesthisphotonottellus?

TomMortonandtheRoyalBCMuseum, “ReadingHistorical Photographs:Watch”,http://learning.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/pathways/reading-photographs/watch/.

Asking goodquestions

CQ+PQ>IQ

Steps togenerate questions1(AKA:QFTorBrainstorming)• Ask asmany questionsasyou can.• Donotstoptodiscuss,judge,oranswer the

questions.• Write downevery questionexactly asit is

stated.• Changeany statement into aquestion.

(Rothstein andSantana,Make JustOneChange)

MenPosedOnFlume,William'sCreek;T.R.Pattullo StandingInCentre.Photographer: FrederickDally,ca.1868.BCArchivesF-08564.

Brainstormalist ofat least6questionsaboutthetopic,thetimeperiod orthesource.Possiblequestion-starters:Why…?How…?Howisthisconnectedto…?Whatmighthappenasaresultof…?

QuestionGeneration 2:BrainstormingwithPrompts

Ways toSupportStudents:• Brainstorm questionsbased onguidelines• Supply promptsorquestionstems• Lookat exemplars,e.g.,

www.bcheritagefairs.ca• Integrate diverseknowledge andsources• Give orcreate criteria• Planforfeedbackandrevision• Honour student choice,e.g.,starting pointfor

thenext lesson,inclusionontest

Criteria forGoodInquiry Questions:• Do-able – involve “Goldilocks tasks”,differentiated questions

• Purposeful – pointtobig ideas inhistory• Engaging – spark discussionanddebate;generate newquestions

• Connected – link tothelives ofstudents orpresent day issues

What next?Students• posefirsthypothesis andreflect oncertainty

andpossiblesourcesofevidence• explorefurther evidence• refine hypothesis andso onastimeand

interest permit• present toanaudience• reflect ontheway

Corroboration

Nlaka’pumxorSto:lo goldminers at theconfluenceoftheFraserandThompsonRivers,ca1890,imageD-06815courtesy oftheRoyalBCMuseumandArchives.

TheCariboo AmateurDramatic Association,1872, ImageI-68892courtesy oftheRoyalBCMuseumandArchives.

ChineseGoldWashersontheFraserRiver,BC,WilliamHind,ca.1864,McCord

MuseumM609.

Sourcing

Sourcing is thetouchstone that distinguishesexpertfromnovice….

(SamWineburg andAbbyRiesman,

“DisciplinaryLiteracyinHistory”.)

Sourcing Questions:

MenPosedOnFlume,William'sCreek;T.R.Pattullo StandingInCentre.Photographer:

FrederickDally,ca.1868.BCArchivesF-08564.

• What kind ofaphotois this?(e.g.,snapshot,formalportrait,advertisement,news,documentary…)

• Who would havebeentheaudienceforthis photo?

• Why was it taken?• What leadsyou tothink so?

Sourcing Questions:

MenPosedOnFlume,William'sCreek;T.R.Pattullo StandingInCentre.Photographer:

FrederickDally,ca.1868.BCArchivesF-08564.

• What kind ofaphotois this?(e.g.,snapshot,formalportrait,advertisement,news,documentary…)

• Who would havebeentheaudienceforthis photo?

• Why was it taken?• What leadsyou tothink so?

Heritage Fair students using evidence:

Visualsourcesandother historicalthinking conceptsHistorical SignificanceContinuity andchangeHistorical perspectivetaking

Howtodecide ifanevent,trendorperson is historical significant?

Seixas andMorton,TheBig SixHistoricalThinking Concepts (Nelson,2013)

"WaitformeDaddy"Photographer:C.P.Detloff,VancouverDailyProvinceDate:Oct.1,1940CityofVancouverArchives 371-3183

What storylineis suggested bythis image?

Image:CityofNewWestminster

Why did it become so famous?

What might havebeenthestorybehind thisphotointhemonthsbefore andafter it wastaken?

JapaneseboywithpetatTashme Camp,photograph, [between1940and1949?],JCPC_08_027,JapaneseCanadianResearchCollection,UniversityofBritishColumbiaLibrary,RareBooksandSpecialCollections.

Winterat Tashme internment camp,Sedai:theJapanese CanadianLegacyProject,

Additional sourcestocontinuetheinquiry.

Continuity andChange

“Comeon,Bart.History can be fun.It’s like anamusementpark except instead ofrides,you gettomemorize dates.”

—MargeSimpsonin“Margical History Tour,”anepisodeofTheSimpsons that aired onDecember 22,2004

Chronological Fluency andTimelines“Assoon as(theteacher)putupthetimeline…,astriking phenomenon took place:whenever shementioned adate,inany context,students’headswould swingtoward thetimeline—they wereusing it tofind outwhat thedatemeant, tosee forthemselves howpeopledressed andwhat kind ofmachinesthey had in1910or1940orwhatever.”

(Levstik andBarton,Doing History:investigatingwith children inelementary andmiddleschools)

Timeline suspendedfrom classroom ceiling

Heritage Fairsprojects withvisual timelines

TimeShuffle Card Game.Bamboo Shoots:ChineseLegacies inBC.

Sequencing insmall groups:

• Beginwithevents,thenadddates,peopleandtimeperiods.Askthemhowtheywillrepresentperiodsoreventsthatstretchovertimesuchasresidentialschools.

• Usecards,postersortabardsofvisualimages.• Ifyouhaveonebigtimeline,havestudentsstandina

slightcrescentsoeveryonecanseeeveryoneelse.Astraightlinedoesn’tworkforvisibility.

• Trytwotimelinesfacetofacesostudentscancompare.

SequencingwithaHumanTimeline

Historical PerspectiveTaking

"Anygoodhistorybeginsinstrangeness.Thepastshouldnotbecomfortable.Thepastshouldnotbeafamiliarechoofthepresent...Thepastshouldbesostrangeyouwonderhowyouandthepeopleyouknowandlovecouldcomefromsuchastime...”

RichardWright,RememberingAhanagran

BoyinBaltimore,Maryland, January 1,1898

Idea based onAustin,H.M.andThompson, K.Examining theEvidence:seven strategies forteaching with primarysources.North Mankato,Minnesota:MaupinHouse,2015.

Translation:TheEskimosfromLabradorFromC.Hagenbeck’s AnimalParkinHamburgAfteranoriginalsketchofJ.Bungarz

What were LabradorEskimos(Inuit)doing inaHamburg zoo?

Imagecourtesy ofDr.HansRollmann,MemorialUniversity ofNewfoundland

Muchdepends upon knowledge

Themorestudentsreadonthesametopic,themorelikelytheyaretomovefromnovicetoexpertwaysofthinking.

Alexander,Kulikowich,Schulze.(1994)“TheInfluenceofTopicKnowledge,DomainKnowledge,andInterestonthe

ComprehensionofScientificExposition”

andreflection

We donotlearn fromexperience….We learn fromreflecting onexperience.

JohnDewey

Evensimplethingsareuseful.Whatdidyoudo?Howdiditgo?Ifgiventhechance,whatwouldyouchange?

MonicaMartinezandDennisMcGrath

andpersistence

Expertsdothosethings,butonlybecausetheirmentaltoolboxenablesthemtodoso.Theonlypathtoexpertiseasfarasanyoneknowsinvolveslong,focusedpractice.

DanielWillingham,WhyDon’tStudentsLikeSchool?

Your suggestions,questions,criticalcomments…