Using Templates to Write (and Think) Like a Historian
As a result of my TW, I am using expressive writing as an agent for exploration. The Write-in is a catalyst for this exploration. Ten minutes of sustained writing through expressive prompts that allow students to explore their thoughts and personally connect to the content.
Excellent. Problems solved. Questions answered. My job is done. Wait!
What about discovery?
I believe that learning is a process of exploration and discovery. Writing is not just a means to explore one’s thoughts, but also acts as a path towards deeper understanding and thinking. While the Write-in affords time for students to write to explore, where and when will discovery happen?
Corina’s TW on reflective writing gave me direction. By reflecting on the content, the learner is able to gain new insight or a deeper understanding. As a result, expressive writing (exploration) needed to be coupled with reflective writing (discovery) in order for students to learn.
However, would reflective writing necessarily result in deeper learning? How could I insure that students would not write (or think) in circles, but instead write towards a path of discovery?
A Framework for Thinking
Through the course of my research, I came across the work of Nikki Mandell, an associate professor at UW-Whitewater, who developed the Thinking Like a Historian framework. Mandell developed five themes, or areas of thinking, historians use to organize their understanding and ground their historical inquiries.
- Cause and Effect
- Change and Continuity
- Turning Points
- Using the Past
- Through their Eyes
Initially, I questioned if I should restrict “writing to learn” activities to this framework. These areas of thinking are necessary for historical thought and analysis, and what I look for and evaluate when students write to demonstrate. However, in expressive writing, I wondered if the framework might limit the students’ inner dialogue as they grappled with and explored the content.
After Corina’s TW this past summer, I revisited the framework again. My goal was providing time for students to write to learn and ultimately deepen their understanding and make new discoveries. Yet, could they make these discoveries on their own, or would they need a guide or map to assist them as they reflected on their learning?
In my experience, students often focus on elements such as structure and organization, and pay only slight attention to content or thinking critically. Perhaps Mandell’s framework, with some restructuring on my part, could act as a map or template and provide students the necessary scaffolding to make discoveries. As Mark wrote in a recent post, templates act as a “cognitive apprentice” by guiding students through their thinking. Therefore, reflective writing + template = discovery
Templates for Discovery
So I have been trying it out. Using Mandell’s framework as a guide, I created templates to support historical thinking in hopes of guiding students towards discovery in their writing.
After discussing the impact WWI had on American society and completing a source analysis on the Palmer Raids, I asked the students to write a recipe for fear. I selected the recipe template as it is familiar to the students and demonstrates cause and effect, a historical thinking skill. What did I discover? The template provided the necessary support and afforded students time to grapple with the content and concepts. Some of the students even connected the Red Scare and the Palmer Raids to the culture of fear currently present in our society.
Another writing task required students to think about change and continuity throughout the 1920s. I provided them with a simple sentence frame: “Because of _____________ (event or historical term), ________________ (changed / stayed the same) because __________ (explain).” Discoveries included how installment buying changed the way Americans viewed money and saving and lead to a false sense of wealth, as well as how the Scopes Trial showed the differences and values between rural and urban America. Again, a straightforward template provided necessary support for the students to make connections and deepen their understanding.
Full disclosure, I do experience varying degrees of success. However, I am not giving up. I recognize that there will be stumbling blocks along the way. Still, if I continue to provide time for my students write, both expressively and reflectively, I believe they will write to learn.
Mandell, Nikki. “Thinking Like a Historian: A Framework for Teaching and Learning.” OAH Magazine of History Apr. 2008: 55–59. Northern Arizona University. Organization of American Historians.
