Engagement
PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING
IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
Excluded!
Inquiry
and
Investigation
Definition
Chinese Immigration to the United States
NAGC Curriculum Award-Winner
April 2013
TEACHER MANUAL
Shelagh A. Gallagher
Resolution
Debriefing
Royal Fireworks Press
Unionville, New York
The units developed for Project P-BLISS (Problem-Based Learning in the Social Sciences) came into being through the hard work of a team of dedicated educators. With
deep gratitude, I would like to thank Brenda Romanoff, William J. Stepien, William
C. Stepien, Rebecca Crossett, Judith Howard, Linda P. Robinson, Vanessa Thornburg,
Rosie Molinary, Jerri Moore, and James J. Gallagher for their contributions to this work.
This book is dedicated to
Bill Stepien
who started my PBL journey.
Funded in part by
Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Program,
United States Department of Education Grant #R206A70003
Project Manager:
Brenda Romanoff
UNC Charlotte
Contributions from:
William J. Stepien
PBL Consultant
Becky Crossett
Newport News/Hampton Roads Schools
Judith Howard
Elon University
Linda P. Robinson
Consultants in Educational Services
Pilot Tested by:
Vanessa Thornburg, Graham High School
Alamance Burlington Schools
Rosie Molinary, Garinger High School
Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools
Jerri Moore, Hunt High School
Wilson County Schools
Project Evaluator:
James J. Gallagher
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Copyright © 2012, Royal Fireworks Publishing Co., Inc.
All rights reserved.
Royal Fireworks Press
First Avenue, PO Box 399
Unionville, NY 10988-0399
(845) 726-4444
fax: (845) 726-3824
email: mail@rfwp.com
website: rfwp.com
ISBN: 978-0-89824-456-4
Printed and bound in the United States of America using vegetable-based inks on acid-free, recycled paper and environmentally
friendly cover coatings by the Royal Fireworks Printing Co. of Unionville, New York.
Table of Contents
Engagement
Inquiry
and
Investigation
Definition
Resolution
Part I: Introduction to Excluded!..................................................... 2
Elements of Problem-Based Learning......................................... 3
Assessment: The Problem Log and Performance Rubrics........... 4
Summary of Unit Activities, Assessments, and Generalizations.6
Alignment of Excluded! with National Curriculum Standards.... 7
Sample Schedules........................................................................ 7
Part II: Preparing for Excluded!...................................................... 9
The Flow of the Problem........................................................... 10
Content Background for Teachers.............................................. 11
Problem Narrative: The Storyline for Excluded!....................... 14
Preparing to Teach the Unit....................................................... 18
Classroom Engagement Rubric.................................................. 20
Part III: Lesson Plans for Excluded!.............................................. 21
Problem Engagement................................................................. 22
Welcome to Congress............................................................ 23
Inquiry and Investigation........................................................... 30
Introduction to Force-Field Analysis.................................... 32
Researching Chinese Immigration........................................ 37
Individuals, Groups, and Institutions in
Chinese Immigration........................................................ 43
Problem Definition..................................................................... 50
Identifying Issues and Constraints........................................ 51
Problem Resolution.................................................................... 57
Resolving the Issue............................................................... 58
Presentation........................................................................... 64
Problem Debriefing.................................................................... 68
Debriefing Discussion Ideas................................................. 69
Appendix A: Kickers....................................................................... 73
Inquiry and Investigation: Kickers!........................................... 74
Appendix B: Internet Resources..................................................... 81
Debriefing
Appendix C: Classroom Guides for Problem-Based Learning... 85
Section 1: How to Be an Effective PBL Teacher....................... 86
Section 2: How to Manage the PBL Classroom........................ 88
Section 3: How to Model and Coach for Deep Questioning..... 93
Section 4: How to Connect Problem Definition
and Problem Resolution........................................................ 97
Section 5: How to Use a Conceptual Theme............................. 99
Section 6: How to Use a Force Field to Study a Problem....... 104
Appendix D: Alignment with National Curriculum Standards.106
Part I:
Introduction to
Excluded!
Excluded! Teacher Manual
2
Elements of Problem-Based Learning
The Ill-Structured Problem
Problem-Based Learning (PBL) is an inquiry-based model of curriculum and instruction that initiates
learning with an ill-structured problem that has been carefully constructed to guide students to a specific
topic in the core curriculum. The ill-structured problem engages students’ natural curiosity by drawing on
the power of storytelling. Intrigued by the problem, students ask questions that lead them into the study
of the core content area. Because the ill-structured problem is designed to encourage students to ask questions about important curricular content, teachers can focus on helping students acquire skills of gathering and analyzing information. When used in a history curriculum, the ill-structured problem presents a
pivotal historic event, allowing students to experience the story that makes history fascinating.
The opening scenario introduces the ill-structured problem and sets the initial agenda for research.
Teachers who want to add to the story, refocus students, or introduce a new line of questioning can introduce a “kicker,” or twist in the plot, as the unit progresses.
The Stakeholder Role
During PBL, students are asked to consider the problem, as a class, from the perspective of a central
stakeholder. When properly handled, the stakeholder role helps students experience the habits of mind
used by people in different professions or living in different circumstances. In Excluded!, students are
required to think like government officials, using values and priorities that represent concern for the public
good. Teachers play an instrumental role in making the problem come alive by encouraging students to
stay in their role and requiring them to treat the role more seriously than surface play acting. Evidence
suggests that this immersion into learning experiences can enhance academic performance (Langer, 1990).
Teacher as Coach
Becoming an effective PBL coach takes time, support, and practice. This unit has been designed to
provide enough structure for novice PBL teachers to feel comfortable experimenting with PBL and to provide experienced PBL teachers with tools to use according to their classroom needs. Teachers are given a
Content Background for Excluded!, which provides a historical context of the unit, including events that
led to the initial wave of Chinese immigration, the impact Denis Kearney made on the movement, and the
forces that made Chinese exclusion a topic of national legislation. A Problem Narrative is included to help
teachers understand the storyline of the problem from the first day to the final discussion. Lesson plans
are included that will ensure that students think analytically and reflectively. A specific emphasis is placed
on conceptual reasoning. Teachers new to PBL can use these resources as a way to create a scope and
sequence of events and can take comfort knowing that students will have a rich learning experience while
engaging with core content. Teachers who are comfortable with PBL are encouraged to use the resources
as flexible tools rather than as a prescribed course of instruction. Embedded Instruction in Excluded!
The ill-structured problem leads students to content required in the core curriculum. This allows
teachers to use students’ questions as the basis of instruction, empowering the students’ sense of inquiry.
Because the core content emerges naturally through the problem, teachers are free to bring greater depth
and breadth to their study by helping students acquire the tools needed to become self-directed learners.
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Excluded! Teacher Manual
Critical Thinking. The unit incorporates not only traditional critical thinking skills, but also the standards of good critical thinking and the dispositions of a good reasoner. Key question sets are included
as templates to encourage depth in classroom discussion; both the embedded instruction lessons and the
Problem Log exercises require students to use data to make reasonable inferences, discriminate between
important and unimportant information, and ask specific, researchable questions. As always, students
synthesize the information they learn in order to create a specific problem definition.
Conceptual Reasoning. The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) has identified a set of
10 underlying themes that are crucial to understanding social studies. One of these themes, Individuals,
Groups, and Institutions, serves as the undergirding of the unit. Institutions such as schools, churches,
families, government agencies, and courts all play an integral role in our lives. It is important that students
know how institutions are formed, what controls and influences them, how institutions attempt to control
and influence both individuals and groups, and how to judge whether institutions should be maintained
or changed. Similarly, students will learn how groups interact with one another and how cooperation or
competition among different groups is at the heart of much of American history. Finally, students can see
that sometimes an individual (such as Denis Kearney) can have a profound effect on an institution.
Excluded! has a particular focus on many different groups that comprise American society. Students
consider the relationship between different groups affected by their problem, including California citizens, Chinese-Americans, and Chinese immigrants. They compare the status of Chinese-Americans with
other minority groups as they try to determine why Chinese-Americans were singled out in the Chinese
Exclusion Act. They also consider the impact of conspicuous differences such as skin color, accent, and
different cultural practices on assimilation into American society. Activities in Excluded! are organized
around five generalizations: 1. Groups are defined by boundaries that help define who is “in” and who is “out.”
2.Groups in American society have different social status; some groups are the object of prejudice.
3.Conspicuously different groups are perceived as more different than groups whose differences are
more subtle.
4.American democratic ideals support equal treatment of all groups, but putting ideals into action
can be difficult.
5. Charismatic individuals can affect the beliefs of a group.
Assessment:
The Problem Log and Performance Rubrics
A number of assessments are used to gather evidence of students’ understanding, analysis, and reflection about the problem. These are gathered in the Problem Log, a portfolio that shows students’ progress
through the problem. Assignments in the Problem Log take a variety of forms, including:
✦ S
ummaries. Summaries are used to gather knowledge about what students have learned or value
most about the information they are learning. The simple questions “What do you know about the
problem right now?” or “Summarize what we have learned in the problem today” give students a
chance to put diverse pieces of information together and provide a quick impression of whether or
not they are attending to important information.
✦ C
ritical Thinking Activities in Context. Students read and analyze court decisions, interpret
political cartoons, create a specific definition of the problem, and judge the usefulness of solutions
as they investigate their problem.
Excluded! Teacher Manual
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✦ F
orce-Field Analysis. Throughout the unit, a Force-Field Analysis is used as a graphic organizer
to help students consider the impact of issues they discover. Students prioritize issues in their force
field, clarifying their relative importance.
✦ C
onceptual Organizers. Students learn to use symbolic icons to help demonstrate their understanding of the relationships among individuals, groups, and institutions in the problem.
✦ R
eflective Moments. Students’ growing awareness of the nature of the problem, their skills as
problem solvers, and their ability to remain flexible as the problem shifts and changes are all assessed through “Reflective Moments,” quick writing prompts that encourage students to contemplate the nature of their learning during PBL. Choices are provided in the Reflective Moments to
allow for individualization.
Performance Rubrics
Rubrics are valuable tools, but they are most helpful when used conservatively. Ideally, rubrics introduce students to meaningful criteria for quality work. As students and teachers work with rubrics,
students begin to internalize the criteria, which should ultimately make the rubric obsolete. Overuse of
rubrics makes students dependent rather than independent.
Self-directed learning is integral to PBL. Assessment of written work is not adequate to capture the
development of this essential life skill, yet it is sometimes hard to communicate to students expectations
for behaviors associated with self-directed learning. The Classroom Engagement Rubric (p. 20) is a tool
designed to: (1) communicate expectations to students, (2) help students set their own goals for classroom
performance, and (3) assess students’ progress toward some dimensions of self-directed learning. The
Research Rubric (p. 42) helps define the expectations for making the most of time spent persuing learning
issues. The Developing Perspectives Rubric (p. 55) helps ensure that students acknowledge and consider
the views of an array of individuals involved with the problem. The Exploring/Evaluating Solutions Rubric (p. 62) assists students as they work through the decision-making process. The Presentation Rubric
(p. 67) guides students toward a successful presentation of the solution to their problem.
Unit Summary
The Summary of Unit Activities, Assessments, and Generalizations on the following page provides
a synthesis of the activities, assessments, and conceptual generalizations in each lesson of the unit. The
Activities column shows whether students are building their knowledge base by actively working with
information, analyzing information using in-context activities or graphic organizers, extending their understanding by drawing conclusions about the situation they are facing, or making inferences about what
might work to solve their problem. The Assessments column indicates the level and type of thinking required of different assessment assignments. The Generalizations column indicates which generalization(s)
are the focus of each lesson. Frequently, key questions for the lessons will lead directly to discussion of
the generalization(s).
Langer, E. J. (1990). Mindfulness. Reading, PA: DaCapo Books.
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Excluded! Teacher Manual
Extending
Understanding
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Research/
Summaries
Analysis
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Generalizations
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Reflective
Moment
Student Assessments
Thinking
in
Context
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Performance
Rubrics
Summary of Unit Activities, Assessments, and Generalizations
Active
Analysis
Class Activities
Building
Knowledge
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Researching Chinese
Immigration
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Identifying Issues and
Constraints
Presentation
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Debriefing Discussion Ideas
Resolving the Issue
Kickers
Individuals, Groups, & Institutions in Chinese Immigration
Introduction to Force-Field
Analysis
Problem
Welcome to Congress
Engagement
Inquiry and
Investigation
Problem
Definition
Problem
Resolution
Problem
Debriefing
Groups are defined by boundaries that help define who is “in” and who is “out.”
Groups in American society have different social status; some groups are the object of prejudice.
Conspicuously different groups are perceived as more different than groups whose differences are more subtle.
American democratic ideals support equal treatment of all groups, but putting ideals into action can be difficult.
Charismatic individuals can affect the beliefs of a group.
Generalizations:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
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Excluded! Teacher Manual
Alignment of Excluded!
with National Curriculum Standards
This PBL unit was designed for high school and was pilot tested in several high schools in North
Carolina. The unit was developed to meet regional and national high school history objectives. Charts
in Appendix D show the alignment with the National Standards for History, the National Standards for
Social Studies, and selected objectives from the Common Core State Standards for Literacy in History/
Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects.
Excluded! can easily incorporate Common Core standards for middle school or high school language
arts. Language arts standards are covered as students read primary documents, compare differing perspectives on the problem, discuss issues with each other, and write a description of their model.
Sample Schedules
The sample schedules presented on the following page outline two- and three-week plans for Excluded!. First-time PBL teachers are encouraged to select one of these schedules and use it as a guide.
Teachers who have some experience with PBL should feel free to make modifications according to their
students’ needs or to accommodate further self-direction.
The two-week schedule is most practical for teachers who are following a tight pacing schedule. Two
weeks may seem like a long time for many history teachers, but experience has shown that students benefit
from the depth provided in units like Excluded!. Students learn more content and have the added benefit
of increased engagement. The three-week schedule incorporates a little more time for research and analysis and integrates additional facets of the problem by incorporating more perspectives on the problem.
The three-week schedule may be appealing to interdisciplinary programs, homeschool instructors,
and summer or weekend programs. History and language arts teachers could find time for the three-week
schedule by team teaching or sharing responsibilities across the two subject areas. Homeschool instructors tend to have more flexible schedules and should follow the three-week schedule. Excluded! is an ideal
unit for weekend or summer programs, where more time is available for exploring a single topic in depth.
This unit benefits from many primary resources available on the Internet. Guest speakers such as historians or Asian-American immigrants could be invited to class to put a human face on the problem. Motivated students could follow the unit with independent study projects investigating the various branches
of the problem, including the history of Angel Island, Japanese internment during World War II, or the
challenges that faced other immigrant groups when they arrived in America.
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Excluded! Teacher Manual
Sample Two-Week Schedule
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Inquiry and Investigation
Inquiry and
Investigation
Researching Chinese Immigration
(Note: Could be switched with
Introduction to Force-Field Analysis)
Problem
Resolution
Problem
Resolution
Resolving the Issue
Presentation
Individuals, Groups,
and Institutions in
Chinese
Immigration
Thursday
Friday
Problem
Engagement
Inquiry and
Investigation
Welcome to
Congress
Introduction to
Force-Field Analysis
Problem Definition
Problem
Resolution
Identifying Issues
and Constraints
Resolving the Issue
Problem Debriefing
Debriefing
Discussion Ideas
Note: Starting the two-week schedule on a Wednesday or Thursday would allow students the weekend to
work on their solution at the end of the unit.
Sample Three-Week Schedule
Monday
Tuesday
Problem
Engagement
Inquiry and
Investigation
Welcome to
Congress
Introduction to
Force-Field Analysis
Inquiry and
Investigation
Thursday
Inquiry and Investigation
Researching Chinese Immigration
(Note: Could be switched with
Introduction to Force-Field Analysis)
Inquiry and Investigation
Problem Definition
Kickers!
Identifying Issues
and Constraints
Individuals, Groups,
and Institutions in
Chinese
Immigration
Problem Resolution
Resolving the Issue
Excluded! Teacher Manual
Wednesday
Problem
Resolution
Problem
Debriefing
Presentation
Debriefing
Discussion Ideas
8
Friday
Inquiry and
Investigation
Individuals, Groups,
and Institutions in
Chinese
Immigration
Problem
Resolution
Resolving the Issue
Part II:
Preparing for
Excluded!
9
Excluded! Teacher Manual
The Flow of the Problem
Engagement
PBL progresses in phases: Problem Engagement, Inquiry and Investigation (with Problem Definition embedded), Problem Resolution,
and Problem Debriefing.
Problem Engagement. Students “meet” the problem with the presentation of the opening scenario. By the end of their exploration of
the opening scenario, students will have completed the Learning Issues
Board and will be prepared to engage in research.
Inquiry
and
Investigation
Definition
Inquiry and Investigation. Students gather answers to their questions on the Learning Issues Board using a variety of methods and resources. After completing their research, they analyze their data and
make connections between their research and the problem. Most of
the lessons in Inquiry and Investigation have no specific order; use the
materials flexibly based on your students’ readiness.
Problem Definition. Eventually, students will have acquired a
clearer understanding about the real nature of the problem. At this
point, they are ready to prepare a careful definition of their problem,
including both the issues they need to resolve and the constraints that
limit their options.
Resolution
Problem Resolution. Students develop options to solve the problem, or at least improve the situation. Often at this phase, students find
that there are several possible good ideas, but they aren’t all useful.
This helps students make an important transition from seeing solutions
as “right or wrong” to evaluating which are “better or worse” in the
current circumstances.
Problem Debriefing. Once the problem is resolved, students review their pathway through the problem, including the content they
learned and the way they came to think about various issues with the
actual historical situation. As students reflect on what happened, they
reinforce their content knowledge and also identify what practices
helped or hindered their progress.
Debriefing
Excluded! Teacher Manual
10