Action Research In The History Classroom The Renaissance

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Jake O'Brien (06551327)
06551327_EDUC40530
Jake O'Brien
Student No: 06551327
Subj Pedagogy: SM Hist(GDEd)
History Methods Assignment
Word Count (exclusive of titles and ITCs): 3,370
One of the ‘How People Learn’ principles is that students will have a better
grasp of knowledge if it is ordered around key concepts of the
discipline.
Taking the key historical concept of ‘evidence’ or the key historical
concept of ‘time’ (and, in conjunction with this if you wish, the concept
of ‘change’), discuss how the concept(s) can be used to improve
student understanding in the teaching of a named topic or topics from
the Junior Certificate History syllabus, and describe and discuss the
outcome of an intervention you designed for this purpose.
Key Historical Concept: Evidence
Named Topic: The Renaissance
Class: First Year History (1RN)

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Selection of an Educational Theory:
In selecting a topic to address through this intervention, I chose
'Evidence'. Indeed, as an Educational Theory in History, it would seem that
it is a subject in need of much attention. Denis Shemilt's study, in
conjunction with Project CHATA's findings, provided a suitable
justification for such a need to bolster evidence based history in the
classroom:
"He found that for some students the questions of how we know about
the past does not arise, whereas others understand that historians used
evidence to produce knowledge about the past. Research conducted
under Project CHATA more than a decade later found very similar
patterns of ideas." (Lee, 2005, p. 56) (Shemilt, 1987).
Furthermore, additional research suggests that while students retain an overt
weakness in their understanding of evidence and how it informs, creates,
ratifies, and reforms history, teachers maintain a belief that their students
understand such theories and concepts. As Joseph notes, "Findings of this
research reveal a general weakness in student understanding of such
concepts as historical evidence... However, teachers believe that their
students understand these concepts." (Joseph, 2012, p. 12). With this in
mind, it becomes strikingly evident that such issues must be addressed
within the classroom. Indeed, Shemilt and Joseph's comments represent a
wide scope through which can be viewed problematic underpinnings in the
formative education of history students. Moreover, such findings are
compounded by further research conducted by Lee et al. (1996).
Given that the chosen topic of the Renaissance is so rich in available
resources and material, the selection of evidence as an educational theory
would thus prove to be the most rewarding. The problematic data outlined
above details a situation that requires a somewhat didactic approach. In
tackling this issue, the Renaissance offered a multi-sensory approach
wherein various learning styles could be catered for: visual, auditory and
kinaesthetic. Such an approach would afford students the opportunity to
engage with the conceptual topic, while simultaneously being stimulated

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across a variety of methods. Furthermore, it enabled me, as a training
teacher, to address the needs of two students within my first year class that
have been diagnosed with Additional Educational Needs (AEN). While
both students have dyslexia, one has been diagnosed with an Autistic
Spectrum Disorder (ASD). In light of this, I needed to utilise a topic that
provided an intense amount of visual resources. The Renaissance thus
seemed to be a logical fit: discussing and analysing the artistic contributions
of historical figures within a highly structured, biographic framework. Such
a framework would thereby fulfil suggestions and requirements outlined by
the syllabus, as the topic should be approached by a "study based on visual
sources and biography." (Department of Education and Skills, 1989, p. 6).
Enabling students to engage with material from the Renaissance
through a biographic methodology would additionally seek to promote the
concept of empathy through evidence. Indeed, by scrutinising the life and
work of various key figures across several artistic disciplines, the students
would be afforded the opportunity to engage in "the reconstruction of past
beliefs and values using historical evidence." (Lee, 2005, p. 47). Lee goes
on to posit the importance of such a concept by suggesting that "[i]n history
we must empathize with ideas we might oppose in the unlikely event that
we came across exactly the same ideas in the present." (Lee, 2005, p. 47).
While an important point, one would suggest that empathy through
evidence in history is not merely important in the "unlikely" event outlined
by Lee, but moreover, it is imperative in affording students the context to
their circumstances, in both a local and global sense. Additionally, the use
of the "5 W's" in class discussions during the intervention's preliminary
lessons would create the opportunity for the students to think critically
(PDST, 2013, p 7). This kind of methodological and research-based
synthesis would promote the formative learning of such an educational
theory as evidence in history, addressing the aforementioned and evident
deficit among students on the topic.

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Design Considerations:
In terms of taking these theories forward and constructing an
intervention, I looked to Collingwood's writing on the interrogation of a
source to make the concept succinct. Indeed, he hypothesises an historian
scrutinising a source, the questions that may arise, and the solution that is
reached:
"The question [the historian asks] is...’What does this statement
mean?’..... ‘What light is thrown on the subject in which I am
interested by the fact that this person made this statement....?’ This
might be expressed by saying that the... historian does not treat
statements as statements but as evidence..." (Collingwood, 1994, p.
275).
Collingwood's comments are ratified as Lee distinguishes between 'Relic'
and 'Record'. Indeed, "relics are sources that were not intended to tell us
what happened... that do not depend on what they intend to report but on
what they were a part of", whereas "a record is a source that intends to tell
us... something about some event, process, or state of affairs." (Lee, 2005,
p. 58).
Based on Collingwood (1994) and Lee's (2005) distinction of relic
and record when it comes to the interpretation of evidence, I chose to base
my Classroom Intervention on the Renaissance topic of the First Year
syllabus. The rationale behind this decision finds root in the concept that
works of art from this period in History are simultaneously relics and
records (Lee, 2005 pg. 58). That is to say that an example such as Raphael's
The School of Athens is both a relic of the era and a record of influences
upon the artist and the period as a whole. This conceptual redress of the
topic of evidence formed the foundations of the designed intervention.
From here, it became necessary to ensure that while my methods allowed
for an engaging, and oft entertaining, analysis of the Renaissance and its
evidence, the intervention itself would follow the structures and guidelines

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of the syllabus. Thus, the intention of such an intervention was to enable the
students to confidently interrogate, research, source and present evidence.
With that in mind, research began in Section One of the Syllabus:
'How We Find Out About the Past'. Accordingly, it states that the study of
the Renaissance should be based on "Art, Architecture, Printing and
Learning", and should be approached by a "study based on visual sources
and biography." (Department of Education and Skills, 1989, p. 6). This
outline provided the initial framework upon which the intervention could be
based. However, in finding an entry point on which to build my
intervention, I came into conflict with some of the suggested guidelines.
Indeed, while the Revised Guidelines for Teachers state that "students are
not expected to study abstract, theoretical or philosophical issues (such as
the abstract concept of the Renaissance or humanism)" (Education Online,
1996, p. 9), I felt it necessary to model a form of Constructivism by
allowing my students the opportunity to engage with the philosophical
underpinnings of the Renaissance (Vygotsky, 1978, p. 86). This would
afford the students a sense of context - coming from the Ancient
Civilizations to the Renaissance - in order to create a sense of time and
change. Therefore, to precede the intervention, I elected to spend one forty
minute period establishing the foundations of the Renaissance in a classical
framework, thereby allowing for the logical review of Roman Architecture,
innovation and influence. The design strategy that followed would expose
the students to several biographic studies of Renaissance artists and their
work, ranging from art to architecture; give the students a course on basic
research methodology to distinguish between primary and secondary
sources in evidence; take the students out of the classroom to experience
research and evidence first hand in the computer lab and a Gothic church
respectively; and finally, to collate and present their work on a chosen
subject in groups to facilitate peer-learning and oral presentations skills.

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Implementation and Evaluation:
Illustrating Evidence - Visualising the Past
The wide scope of the material to be covered within the topic
conflicted somewhat with the brevity afforded to the intervention over ten
lesson plans. With that in mind, I focused primarily on the Art, Architecture
and Writing that evolved from the Renaissance. This required a redress of
the textbook's often confusing timeline of the Renaissance (McCarthy,
2013, pp. 132 - 172); electing instead to select artists from da Vinci to
Caravaggio (see Appendices 1.1 to 1.3.1), writers such as Machiavelli (see
Appendix 1.4) and architects such as Brunelleschi (see Appendix 1.7). This
structure allowed me to focus primarily on visual sources and biographic
material. Beginning with da Vinci and Michelangelo, I combined primary
sources of artistic work and biographic worksheets to be filled in by the
students across the relevant lessons. The rationale behind this design for the
first two lesson plans was to break up the students' perceived tedium of
taking notes, and adapt it into a different format (see Appendix 1.1.2 and
1.2.2). Moreover, with sections requiring the analysis of two specific works
by each artist, the students would simultaneously discuss the artwork in a
clinical, discursive and evaluative sense, while also drawing out the
relevance of the image as a primary source. Additionally, such an emphasis
on visual evidence was to promote learning through differentiation; taking
into account two students present in the class, one of whom struggled with
great social anxiety as a result of having being diagnosed with ASD and
dyslexia. Furthermore, group work throughout later lessons addressed the
need to raise the self-esteem/confidence of all students, with specific regard
to the aforementioned students with AEN.
On reflection and evaluation, the opening lessons of the intervention
outlined provided an excellent entry point into the specific study of
evidence for the students. Close readings of extracts from da Vinci's diary
made for an invigorating change for the students. Moreover, it was the

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change in note-taking that had the greatest effect upon the students'
learning. That is to say that the design and provision of highly structured
worksheets enabled them to take a degree of independence and thus pride in
their work. An illustration of trust from myself as the teacher, combined
with specifically highlighted points for noting created an excellent scaffold
upon which the students could model their independent learning. Such a
simple, yet formative exercise, provided a structured methodology for the
students, while simultaneously relinquishing me from the inherent problem
of providing too much 'teacher-talk'. Moreover, the focus upon evidence in
analysing two pieces of art by each artist in the first two lessons (see
Appendix 1.1.2 and 1.2.2) provided those students with AEN an
opportunity to feel safe within the demarcated structure of such a plan. The
lessons designed around Petrarch and Machiavelli (see Appendix 1.4) and
Brunelleschi (see Appendix 1.7) allowed me to make use of visible primary
sources. As noted in the reflections attached to said lesson plans, the use of
hardcopies of De Architectura and The Prince excellently served to
foreground the students' analysis of primary versus secondary sources. That
being said, on evaluation, I feel that while these samples provided a
wonderful scope for the majority of the students, two may have felt left out.
Indeed, in future, I would be wrong to place such an emphasis on text heavy
sources. When this is juxtaposed with the preceding emphasis on visual
sources, it is understandable how students with dyslexia may have felt
ostracized.
Getting Their Hands Dirty - Practical Evidence
While the lessons outlined above allowed for the engagement with,
and analysis of various forms of evidence, it was necessary to address the
more practical issues of enabling the students to research and experience
evidence in a more hands-on fashion. In that vein, a Research Methodology
lesson was designed to get the students questioning sources and references.
Comparative visuals of original manuscripts and paintings were discussed
alongside more complicated secondary source covers and publication pages

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(see Appendix 1.5). This was also to be the lesson wherein the students
received their Project Sheet and were divided into groups. To complement
this, we went on a visit to a neighbouring Protestant Church (Zion Parish,
Rathgar) that was built in the Gothic style (see Appendix 1.6). The
presiding Reverend Stephen Farrell was incredibly helpful in
correspondence; aiding in the setting up of a guided tour from him and the
prefacing of structured questions that the students could come up with.
Additionally, the excursion was to serve as an excellent review of the
Romanesque and Gothic architecture that capped the Medieval topic and
preceded the Renaissance.
In evaluation, the implementation of these lessons went well for the
most part. Allowing the students to have a whole class dedicated to the
research and interrogation of evidence was of primary importance to my
vision for this intervention. Indeed, as noted in the Research Methodology
reflection (see Appendix 1.5), it became one of my most successful lessons.
The students benefited from challenges set by comparing different
publication pages from primary and secondary sources. Additionally, this
afforded me the opportunity to review our work on Roman Numerals which
further complemented the framing of the Renaissance within a Roman
rebirth context (see Appendix 1.5.1). From here, the local excursion to Zion
Church allowed for ample reflection (see Appendix 1.6). On evaluation, I
should note that it is imperative to secure adequate professional numbers to
hold an appropriate ratio to the students. That is to say that I left it quite
late, on reflection, to secure an accompanying teacher to help in the control
of the numbers. Additionally, the students engagement with a new authority
figure in the Reverend caused a recession in their engagement. However, by
preparing questions myself to model engagement and enthusiasm for the
students, it was not long until they returned out of their shells. Utilising
local resources of evidence has perhaps been one of the most important
evaluative points to come out of this intervention. As noted by several
history teachers in the school, they had never thought to make use of such
sources from the locality. Moreover, the students were able to engage with
relics of recent history that were simultaneously records of an influential
past.

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Research and Presentation - A Synthesis of Activity
To conclude, a lesson was given over to group work and I arranged a
booking for the school's computer room so as to allow the students practical
experience in researching for themselves (see Appendix 1.8 and 1.9). The
students were to collate their information, interrogate their sources further,
and ask any pertinent questions regarding their oral and visual
presentations. The computer room lesson was to synthesise their group
work research class, while ensuring that "where computer access is
available for students, the introduction to the job of the historian in First
Year can be enlivened by allowing students to locate sources themselves
and learn about some different types of sources." (PDST, 2011, p. 5). A
final lesson to allow the students to present their work would provided a
logical conclusion to the intervention (see Appendices 1.10). In electing to
assess the students based on group project presentations on a Renaissance
figure of their choosing, I sought an assessment that would best serve the
syllabus' guidelines for developing students' research skills. With that in
mind, a group project would fulfil and complement essential skills in
research, writing and presentation; covering the learning objectives as
detailed in the syllabus and expounded upon by the PDST (Syllabus, p. 4)
(PDST, 2011, p. 4). As detailed in the Project Directions Sheet (see
Appendix 2.1), the presentations were a summation of everything the
students had learned and experienced over the course of the intervention,
while simultaneously offering formative opportunity and guidance for peer-
learning and assessment.
The computer room visit and group-work lesson perhaps posed the
largest issue in and on reflection. As detailed in addendums to both lessons'
reflections (see Appendices 1.8 and 1.9), there was a crucial breakdown in
professional communication and a colleague took the room from under my
booking and left a Supervisor in charge, so as to leave my class and I at a
loose end. However, on evaluation, it enabled me to be open and honest
with my class, detailing to them the situation and making reasonable

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allowances for it in their planning and assessment. Moreover, it actually
served a better purpose as it would seem that I had made a mistake in the
design of this intervention. The interrogation and promotion of evidence
was actually best served by allowing for a group-work lesson before the
computer room visit. This afforded the students the opportunity to collate
and structure their presentation plan and divide up the work, while I was
able to practice my Teacher Conferencing abilities. Moreover, this
impromptu design enabled me to work on an individual basis with each
group, enacting Rogers and Lawrence's principles of acceptance,
genuineness and empathy (Rogers, 1961) (Lawrence, 2006). Therefore, the
computer room visit proved to be a far more productive lesson than it would
have been under the original intervention design. As outlined in the
reflection (see Appendix 1.8), the students were teaching me when it came
to organising and logically arranging their Prezzis. In terms of evaluation,
this logical ordering of lesson planning must be noted. It provided a far
more desirable outcome in the students learning, as evidenced by their
engagement and understanding given my opportunity to engage with them
before they began their research.
The use of presentation based assessment revealed many formative
learning points on evaluation. Across a reasonable marking scheme (see
Appendix 2.2), the students were assessed on Research and Presentation
skills. Each student in a group had to produce two sources: one primary and
one secondary. On reflection, this may have been a bit much for groups
with larger numbers. Indeed, with the Leaving Certificate's Research Study
only requiring three sources, eight or ten was a significant push that caused
some dissonance in presentation. Furthermore, the ICT preparation
involved was far more than I had anticipated. Critically, and as outlined in
reflection (see Appendix 1.10), students had varying presentation methods
that required available internet and USBs. In evaluating the assessment, it is
evident that perhaps a more rigorous marking criteria would be preferable.
Indeed, while the students scored quite highly, some of their research was
not of the calibre I was hoping for, as several students made use of
untrustworthy internet sources. However, the triumph of the intervention, in
evaluation, was the capability of the majority of students to take questions

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from their peers and walk them through explanations on various sources
and pieces of evidence. Moreover, the student with severe social anxiety, as
a result of having an ASD, improvised her way through an introduction
when her peers lost the file on the computer and had to retrieve it from e-
mail. Conclusively, an informal survey of the students revealed that the vast
majority of them found this form of learning and assessment preferential
given the variety of activities involved in preparation and execution.
Conclusion:
Given the scope and assessment through evaluation of this
intervention in evidence, there are local but imperative conclusions to be
drawn. While the students did not have such an extreme deficit in their
understanding of evidence from the outset, as outlined by Shemilt (1987),
Lee et al. (1996), or Joseph (2012), they certainly required teacher-
facilitated action on the topic. The intervention outlined and discussed in
this paper drew on theory and research, as well as the outlines and
structures dictated by the syllabus and accompanying guidelines, to enable
students to confidently interrogate, research, source and present evidence,
and in that regard, has been shown to be quite successful. By varying the
methods and activities, as well as environment exposed to the students, I
was able to encourage and elicit a passion for historical and authoritative
presentation within the students that was not evident before. The use of
structured biographic worksheets provided an excellent framework through
which to vary the study of history, additionally providing for those with
AEN. The synthesis of activities such as an excursion, research classes and
presentation frameworks, while needing further work in initial design,
provided the students with a stimulating, and ultimately rewarding
experience that witnessed an increase in their competence with regard to
evidence. Furthermore, the independence afforded to the students in the
latter half of this intervention resulted in an externality that addressed what

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Baudrillard refers to as "double-strategy" (Baudrillard, 1994, p. 79). That is
to say that it gave them the freedom to work autonomously, while providing
the necessary structures, resources and guidance that they are dependent
upon. Additionally, the students were excited to produce their work, which
exhibited the intrinsic motivation within this intervention in evidence.
An intervention based around a methodology such as this would have
far reaching implications on the execution of other syllabus topics, as well
as cross-curricular applications. Indeed, in creating and presenting the
biography of an historical personality based on evidence, students should be
given such an opportunity to illustrate their capabilities at every level of the
history curriculum so as to bolster enthusiasm and reward, as well as
guidance for future endeavors. Not only does this kind of intervention set a
solid precedent for future requirements given the Research Study at
Leaving Certificate, but it also provides an awareness and critical capacity
that can be applied in English, Art, and European Languages. That being
said, the implementation and subsequent evaluation of this intervention has
illuminated areas of design and planning (see Appendices 1.8 and 1.9) that
have afforded me the ability to reflect, evaluate and adapt my planning and
teaching for continuing practice. With that in mind, the conclusive findings
of this intervention hold beneficial ramifications for both the students and
my continuing professional development.

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Bibliography:
Baudrillard, J. (1994). Simulacra and Simulation. U.S.A: University of
Michigan Press.
Collingwood, R.G. (1994) The Idea of History. Revised edition with
Lectures 1926-28. Edited by W.J. van der Dussen. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Cultural and Environmental Education, Professional Development
Service for Teachers (2011). 'Developing Students' Research
Skills'. In C. Begley (Admin.), Subject Support: History. Dublin:
PDST.
Cultural and Environmental Education, Professional Development
Service for Teachers (2013). 'Developing students' critical thinking
skills through the documents based study'. In A. Grogan (Admin.),
Subject Support: History. Dublin: PDST.
Department of Education and Skills (1989). The Junior Certificate:
History Syllabus. Dublin: Department of Education and Skills.
Available at: http://www.curriculumonline.ie/getmedia/ec03a6f7-
5fb3-4bcb-b8bb-5bf3d9f8855b/JCSEC13_History_Syllabus.pdf
[Accessed 28 April 2014].
Education Online (1996). Revised Guidelines for Teachers: History.
Available at: http://www.curriculumonline.ie/getmedia/b354aaa1-
ab8d-4667-88f0-f92592c2d21c/JCSEC13_history_guidelines.pdf
[Accessed 28 April 2014].

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Joseph, S. (2012). 'Differential perceptions of teachers and students about
the teaching and learning of history at the upper secondary school
level'. Caribbean Teaching Scholar, 2:2, 79 - 91.
Lawrence, D. (2006) Enhancing Self-Esteem in the Classroom. London:
Paul Chapman Publishing.
Lee, P. J. (2005). 'Putting Principles into Practice: Understanding History'.
In M. S. Donovan and J. D. Bransford (Eds.), How Students Learn:
History in the Classroom. Washington: The National Academies
Press.
Lee, P. J., Dickinson, A. K., and Ashby, R. (1996). 'Progression in
children's ideas about history'. In M. Hughes (Ed.), Progression in
Learning. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
McCarthy, P. (2013). Junior Certificate History: Footsteps in Time 1,
Revised Edition. Dublin: C. J. Fallon.
Rogers, C. (1961) On Becoming a Person. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Shemilt, D. (1987). 'Adolescent ideas about evidence and methodology in
history'. In C. Portal (Ed.), The History Curriculum for Teachers.
London: Falmer Press.
The Historical Association (2009). 'Information and Evidence in a
Nutshell'. In The Historical Association (Eds.), Teaching History 137.
Available on: Blackboard UCD [Accessed 18 March 2014].

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Vygotsky, L.S. (1978) Mind in Society: the development of higher
psychological processes. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University
Press.

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06551327_EDUC40530
Jake O'Brien
Subj Pedagogy: SM Hist(GDEd)
History Methods Assignment
Appendices:
Appendix 1 - Lesson Plans, Presentations and Worksheets.
 1.1 - Da Vinci Lesson Plan dated 12/03/2014
1.1.1 - Associated Power Point w/ Sources
1.1.2 - Associated Biographic Worksheet
 1.2 - Michelangelo Lesson Plan dated 18/03/2014
1.2.2 - Associated Biographic Worksheet
 1.3 - Raphael and Caravaggio Lesson Plan dated 19/03/2014
 1.4 - Petrarch and Machiavelli Lesson Plan dated 20/03/2014
 1.5 - Research Methodology Lesson Plan dated 26/03/2014
 1.6 - Field Trip to Zion Church Lesson Plan dated 27/03/2014
 1.7 - Renaissance Architects Lesson Plan dated 01/04/2014
 1.8 - Computer Room Research Lesson Plan dated 02/04/2014
 1.9 - Intervention Group-Work Lesson Plan dated 03/04/2014
 1.10 - Presentations Lesson Plan dated 08/04/2014
Appendix 2 - Project Assignment
 2.1 - Project Assignment/Directions Sheet
 2.2 - Project Marking Sheet

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