Think, feel, care (LS-IT-790)
Lessons’ objective
This learning scenario is aimed at challenging stereotypes and preconceptions through a series of visual history activities based on a wide range of Europeana primary resources that were in depth analysed by the students.
The “Feel, Think, Care” approach
The learning approach was mainly constructed around the Harvard Graduate School of Education Project Zero “Think, Feel, Care”’ s application: this thinking routine asks learners to step inside the role of a character and to imagine how they may think, feel, and what they might care about from that point of view. When engaging in this routine, it is important to learners to push beyond stereotypes and to try to imagine the lived experiences of various people within a specific system. This helps students to take an array of perspectives that different people may hold when they are misaligned within a system.
Social emotional learning
Addressing prejudices, discrimination and bias in the classroom, means encouraging students to realize that their actions have always effects, and that they can make a difference in the others’ lives. The designed activities promote self-examination and consideration of diversity, and give the chance to describe and spot discrimination and hate hidden behind particular images or behaviours. Identity, empathy, and self- and social awareness, that are all hallmarks of Social Emotional Learning, are core hallmarks of this LS, as well.
Activities
The designed exercises are focussed on creativity and collaborative working: students negotiate, discuss, compete, and create to accomplish the assigned tasks. Activities such as “Don’t put people in the boxes” and “Cross –dressing with Victorian paper dolls” are playful and improve classroom relationships and mutual comprehension.
Final remarks
My students have benefitted of a wide range of exercises to improve their communicative skills (see, for example, the video watching and transcript tasks), their self-examination and consideration of the others. The creative learning activities (such as the “cross-dressing competition” or the Mood board creation), have been moments of meaningful learning that pupils liked the most. Implementing this LS has allowed me to learn more about my students’ mind attitudes and this improved the relationship I have with them and the classroom management, as well.
One of the mood board created by the students as closing activity of the LS
Would you like to know more about this learning scenario? You can download it below:
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CC BY 4.0: the featured image used to illustrate this article has been found on Europeana and has been provided by the National Library of Israel.