Chapter six of our Social Studies in the 21st century textbook explains three different teaching strategies that are intended to create higher thinking skills among students. These three strategies are perspectives, mystery, and controversy. A perspectives strategy entails learning history through different lenses or views. An example of this could be learning about the Cold War from the view of a Russian citizen or military officer. This strategy stood out to me as the most beneficial because it allows students to see things differently, and allows them to understand how history can be interpreted differently based on background. This shows that there is no right answer, but that their research can discover history. This strategy can be bolstered by technology by allowing for easier research across multiple sources. This strategy also benefits from the idea of teachers being actors that is mentioned in chapter seven. This concept states that teachers should be actors and practice drama to engage students. This is important to my teaching philosophy and my own personal style. By using the perspectives strategy you could create a scenario from a different historical perspective that is introduced like a story, and the teacher and students could act out the parts. Another strategy mentioned in the text is the mystery strategy, which consists of the teacher providing clues and background information that the students use to solve the historical question. This strategy does promote higher order thinking by allowing the students to create their own story, but can be difficult with a class that may be unmotivated.
Encouraging higher-level thinking among your students is absolutely necessary for the classroom. To do this, I agree that looking at events from different perspectives is crucial. Looking at a situation differently and in a new way can make the students develop a better understanding of the realities of history. History definitely does not have a right/wrong answer so viewing areas from different lenses provide a more well-rounded image. Making this a priority as a teacher will not only benefit your classroom but also the students and their long-term ability to reason. Utilize this!
It is so important to encourage higher-level thinking in a classroom. I think that having multiple perspectives is so important. I think it allows students to think for themselves and come to conclusions that are well thought out. I think this perspective can cause them to looker deeper into things and connect them to more current issues.
I think the perspectives strategy is so essential to implement in the classroom. It allows students to understand a topic from different sides and thus gain a broader understanding of what is being taught. Beyond the classroom, this strategy can also encourage students to look at different perspectives of things in everyday life, such as when they go to vote or when they engage in a conversation with a friend. Teachers are sometimes tempted to stick with the one-sided view of history (usually the most popular one). This strategy benefits the student and teacher in becoming more open-minded and asking questions about why things are told from specific perspectives more than others.