Implementation of ‘Shall we meet at the harbour?’  (SoI-HR-448)

Summary

I am a geography teacher in Rijeka, a city located on the coast of the northern part of the Adriatic Sea. Rijeka has a rich history that could be studied for years, but I am particularly fascinated by the fact that it was one of the important departure ports for the migration of Central European populations to America. This serves as a perfect backdrop for a story about one of the most dispersed nations in the world. On the Europeana platform, I found numerous scenarios and other materials related to migrations, but none of them specifically focused on ports as departure points for migrations. Therefore, I decided to implement the scenario Shall we meet at the harbor? (LS-GR-19) created by Angeliki Kougiourouki. Angeliki focused her scenario on the development of a coastal city and the role and significance it holds for its inhabitants, while migrations, in general, are indicated in accompanying activities. My intention was to refine that scenario with the details mentioned above.

In the Croatian educational system, outcomes related to migrations (students explaining the concept, types, causes, and consequences of migrations, as well as natural and spatial population movements) are achieved in the sixth grade of geography. In the seventh grade, outcomes are related to Europe: students explain the change in population numbers from the 17th century until today, compare the characteristics and distribution of Croatian emigration, explain human adaptation to life in the Mediterranean karst, and describe the specificities of the Mediterranean cultural and civilizational circle. Hence, my scenario is perfect for implementation with seventh-grade students (13 years old) as they already possess specific knowledge that they can now apply to the European context.

I carried out the scenario with seventh-grade students from all three seventh-grade classes in my school. I adapted the original scenario, which originated within the eTwinning project taking place in a secure online environment, to the age, knowledge, and skills of my students, as well as to face-to-face teaching. Additionally, most of the Europeana sources in the original scenario were not available at this moment, so I used resources based on my own research. In the implementation, I occasionally combined digital tools for three reasons: to save time, diversify methods, and maintain motivation.

The implementation was carried out during 4 teaching hours (4×45′).

First part

In this scenario, I connected ports with migrations. Therefore, I dedicated the first part of the scenario to ports with a detailed focus on the port of Rijeka. I implemented the first part of the scenario through two teaching sessions (2×45’).

Reveal the picture!

In the introductory part, I divided the students into pairs. Each pair received an envelope with parts of a single photograph (puzzle).

Picture 1. Students in pairs are assembling photographs of the Rijeka port.

I obtained the photographs from the Europeana platform. I selected eight photographs of the city of Rijeka showing the Rijeka port in various developmental periods. The list and sources of the photographs are at the end of the presentation (https://sway.office.com/Scfg16kbUbQuYeD9?ref=Link ). I asked the pairs to assemble the picture from the parts and then paste it onto a sturdy paper.

Picture 2. The assembled photographs will later be used by students for a task about the heritage of our city.

When the students assembled the photographs, we viewed them all together using the presentation projected on the smartboard. Through questioning, I guided the students towards the connection among the assembled photographs. At this point, I didn’t expect or require the students to recognize Rijeka in all the photographs, but rather wanted them to notice that all the photographs depicted a port.

The questions I asked were:

• What do you see in the photographs?
• Do any of the photographs have similarities (the same parts)?
• What do all the photographs have in common?
• What do we call the space you are describing?
• Do the photographs depict present-day time?

I introduced the students to the source of the photographs they assembled and emphasized the importance of the Europeana platform (https://www.europeana.eu/hr) in preserving heritage. Through the presentation, we briefly went through the development of the first ports so that we could collectively define the concept of a port. Additionally, based on the presentation, we observed the advantage of the Croatian coastline for port development. Through this introductory part, I signaled to the students our topic through a motivating activity.

In the original scenario, students, in groups, explore the roles of ports through discussion and grouping photographs from a specific (currently unavailable) gallery on the Europeana platform. I decided to investigate the roles of ports through the following activities.

Passenger or freight transport?

After defining ports and delving into the topic of ports in Croatia, I divided the students into four groups. Each group had a different name and a different task. The groups worked independently, and the results of their work were plotted on a blank map of Croatia projected onto the smartboard. In this way, although each group worked on different tasks, each contributed to the conclusion and a clear visualization for the task.

Picture 3. Students are working in small groups on tasks related to the main functions of Croatian ports.

One group researched pan-European transport corridors (https://www.enciklopedija.hr/natuknica.aspx?id=46418 ), another group researched Croatian ports of international significance (https://mmpi.gov.hr/more-86/luke-106/106 ), the third group researched the population of major Croatian islands by counties (https://registar-otoka.gov.hr/ ), the fourth group was a control group monitoring the work of the other groups and the group which was responsible for making and marking the final conclusion on the smartboard.

Picture 4. The collective result of group work on the main functions of Croatian ports.

This activity led the students to conclude that Rijeka and Ploče are today’s main freight ports, while Split and Zadar are the main passenger ports. By working in this manner, the students themselves arrived at the background explanation of the current main functions of individual ports.

Timeline

From the story about Croatian ports and their roles, we moved towards our own, the port of Rijeka. In the next activity, I directed the students to study the development of the Rijeka port.

In the original scenario, students explored the port’s development through various digital and non-digital sources. However, considering the complexity of the development of the Rijeka port due to numerous political divisions and events in this area, I opted for a different approach that I thought would engage them more actively in the topic.

I adapted the text about the development of the Rijeka port and meaningfully divided it into as many parts as there were students in the class. The plan was for each student to receive their part of the text and then line up in a “living” timeline.Unfortunately, at the time when I was conducting the scenario, there was a flu epidemic, and almost half of the students were absent in each class. Therefore, I had to improvise because not every student could receive one part of the text about the port’s development as I had planned. Because of this, we went to the school’s hallway and mixed parts of the texts, then assembled them into a timeline on the hallway floor.

Picture 5. Students are creating a “living” timeline using parts of texts about the development of the Rijeka port.

Given this task, they were supposed to study their part of the text as well as the texts of all the other students to collectively piece together a coherent story. When they were finished, we watched a video clip I had made from the textual excerpts (see presentation) and corrected any mistakes in their timeline.As a basis for the video clip, I used material from the Europeana platform (https://www.europeana.eu/item/07101/K_1978_a_b ).

After that, I asked the students to consider whether their part of the text(s) referred to development or stagnation/regression in the port’s development and to remain standing if they believed their part referred to development, while squatting if they believed their part referred to stagnation or regression. The aim of this short activity was for them to visually observe the ups and downs in the port’s development.

Our heritage

As a conclusion to this part, but also as a link to the second part of the scenario, I asked the students to complete a homework assignment by the next week when we have geography class again. I directed them once again to the photographs they had assembled in pairs in the introductory part. I confirmed that these were indeed photographs of Rijeka and asked them to study their photograph calmly, to look for examples of Rijeka’s heritage on it, and to create a poster about that heritage example by the next class.Each photograph depicts at least one easily recognizable and well-known example of our heritage. I chose the photographs in a way that avoids repetition of heritage examples, showing different instances so that ultimately, we would have posters with various heritage examples (such as the Torpedo factory, Hotel Europa, Naval Academy/current Clinical Hospital Center, administrative building of the Sugar Refinery, Trsat Castle, city tower/clock tower, and others). I directed them to a specific website (https://rijekaheritage.org/ ), ensuring access to a comprehensive overview of digitized Rijeka heritage.

Picture 6. Students have created posters on the topic of Rijeka’s heritage that they observed in the assembled photographs. The best works were placed in a Wakelet collection.

Through this activity, based on the assembled images, we drew a parallel to spatial landmarks composed of Rijeka’s heritage. In the original scenario, students searched the platform and created an exhibition of maps and artistic images of ports. We utilized the assembled images from the Europeana platform, which the students used to find heritage examples, and their best posters to create a digital exhibition (https://wakelet.com/wake/2tuCJaybyEje0OUvgl79K ).

Second part

The second part of the scenario I dedicated to migrations with a more detailed focus on emigration from the port of Rijeka and implemented it through two class sessions (2×45’).

In the original scenario, students listened to a song related to migrations and discussed ports as meeting places for migrants, sharing their thoughts digitally with other eTwinning project partners. I selected several activities through which I guided students from associations with travel, through the port of Rijeka as a destination and origin for transoceanic migrants, to empathizing with migrant experiences and reflecting on migrations.

What does a suitcase represent to you?

I projected a photograph of a suitcase (https://www.europeana.eu/item/401/item_4YF47J7LBNTKXOKNJ6P2AVSDTIQZQOUM ) on the smartboard and invited the students to allow themselves associations related to the suitcase. Then I asked them, individually, to write on sticky notes what the concept of a suitcase represents to them. We stuck the notes on the board, studied them, and discussed their thoughts. With this activity, I encouraged them to reflect on travel and laid the foundation for comparing their own journeys with migrations to the New World.

Picture 7. Students are studying post-it notes with associations to a suitcase.

The questions I asked were:

• What is travel?
• What types of travel exist?
• Have you travelled? How, where, and why did you travel?
• How do you feel when traveling?
• What are the good and not-so-good aspects of travel?
• What do you remember most about traveling?
• How did you feel before and after traveling?

Afterwards, we used a presentation to remind ourselves of what migrations are and what types they can be, focusing specifically on transoceanic migration by defining it according to its type.

In the original scenario, the port was mentioned as a meeting point for people, cultures, trade, or migration, as well as an important landmark of Cultural Heritage. I used this fundamental idea to develop further activities.

The students were introduced to the most important migration ports through an interactive image that I created using the Genial.ly tool and materials from the Europeana platform (https://view.genial.ly/6585be08bcd11b001329d02a/interactive-image-ishodnisne-luke-prema-americi ). The list of used photographs is located at the end of the presentation.

Rijeka as a destination and departure point to the New World

Through interactive images, we ‘returned’ to the port of Rijeka. Via the presentation, we familiarized ourselves with the beginnings of emigration from the port of Rijeka. To make the significance of the port as a destination and departure point for emigration more accessible to students, we watched a video from the Europeana platform (https://www.europeana.eu/en/exhibitions/leaving-europe/the-homeland-of-migrating-groups ).

I divided the students into groups and asked them to think and represent in the form of a mind map what would need to be provided in the port to be able to receive and dispatch such a large quantity of emigrants. This way, I encouraged them to think about our port at that time, compare it with today’s port, and reflect on all the necessary functions for a specific purpose.

Picture 8. Students’ mind maps on the functions of ports as migration points.

The Story of the Hotel

We presented the students’ mind maps and initiated a discussion. We highlighted common elements. At this point, I hadn’t yet confirmed or refuted the students’ thoughts presented through the mind maps.

Keeping in mind the content visualized in the mind maps, we proceeded to the fieldwork. Near our school, there is the former Emigrants Hotel, which was purposefully built to serve as a destination and departure point for emigrants of that time. Although it is no longer a hotel today, I wanted the students to learn about it first-hand.

Picture 9. Field trip – visit to the former Hotel Emigranti.

For this occasion, I attached a QR code to the facade of the former hotel. When we arrived at the former hotel, I asked the students to scan the QR code. The QR code contained the story of the hotel (https://read.bookcreator.com/VBrcgZOPoXUxWcbX8pqZ1zPBBUl1/XOmoOQLdSWWD1u_s28zwrw ), which I created using the digital tool Book Creator.

We toured the building, looked for traces of the former hotel, compared them with the descriptions, and imagined ourselves traveling through time to the era of the greatest migrations. At the end of the presentation, I included a task for the students in which I asked them to envision themselves as migrants of that era and to post their farewell message to those they leave behind on Padlet (https://padlet.com/marinic_ana/hotel-emigranti-g2copp1w8whgh77z ). With this task, I wanted to ascertain if they managed to empathize with the issues faced by people of that time.

Picture 10. Displaying greeting messages to students (in the role of migrants in the port of Rijeka) on the digital tool Padlet.

By developing the scenario in this way, the students had already begun to think like migrants heading into uncertainty and without the guarantee of return.

Every story hides a message

As the final task I assigned to the students, I used the gallery on the Europeana platform (https://www.europeana.eu/en/migration/explore-migration-stories-from-events-in-these-cities ). I directed the students to the gallery, explaining that it contains documented testimonies of migrations. I wanted them to contemplate stories, to discern the essence and the course that emerges from them, and to complete the whole narrative by reflecting on the fates of various migrants. So I asked them to explore the gallery, choose a story that resonated with them the most, and try to find the message within the story by selecting specific words from the text to convey the implicit message (an example is provided in the presentation). I guided the students to do this task in English if they feel confident enough, if they choose a story originally written in English. This way, I established correlation with the first foreign language.

This task is highly creative and requires careful reading and critical thinking. I did not expect all students to successfully complete the task, but I wanted to encourage them to try.

Picture 11. Examples of crafted messages based on selected words from the stories.

Trafic light (evaluation)

For the conclusion of our work on this topic, I planned an evaluation in the form of a traffic light (yes, not sure, no).

I created the evaluation using the digital tool Google Forms. I provided the students with eight statements related to the outcomes of this scenario and the option to choose the appropriate response for each statement. The statements were: I can define a port, understand the role of Croatian ports, observe the dynamics of the development of the port of Rijeka, distinguish between travel and migration, recognize the role of the port of Rijeka in transoceanic migrations, identify the functional elements of a port, empathize with the feelings of emigrants, and recognize the heritage of Rijeka.

These were the results of the evaluation: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Hj-ry3tEP-TWO0LdQ7Z5WfF1iZOZLvnzp0X–Lv0itQ/viewanalytics

Picture 12. Results of evaluation in the digital tool Google Forms.

The results show that the majority of students responded positively to the statements. Some responses are indefinite (neither yes nor no), but this can be explained by the fact that due to the flu epidemic, they did not attend all the classes during which the scenario was conducted. Not a single student responded negatively to any statement, which I consider an exceptional success.

Outcomes

Outcomes for students

By implementing the scenario, students:

• learned about demographic peculiarities of central and southern Europe,
• explain basic motives of migration, as well as the positive and negative aspects of migration (immigration and emigration),
• immerse themselves in the role of a migrant,
• analyze the influence of natural and social peculiarities on the formation of the Mediterranean cultural and civilization circle,
• raise awareness about the role of the port in the life of the local inhabitants as a meeting point of people, cultures, trade, or migration, as well as an important part of Cultural Heritage,
• developed digital and communication skills,
• practiced independent work, pair work and group work,
• practiced creativity and critical thinking, and developed vocabulary,
• collect, process, and analyze collected data,
• practice the research process, the use of online content and the importance of respecting copyright,
• got acquainted with the Europeana platform and became aware of its importance for education and humanity.

Usefulness of Europeana platform for educators

For me as a teacher, the Europeana platform is an inexhaustible source of (photo, audio, video, and textual) materials, as well as learning scenarios, which I can use in my work with students. I am a great enthusiast of both material and immaterial heritage, and the Europeana platform goes hand in hand with my classroom work.

During the first two (out of four) years of teaching geography (fifth and sixth grade), I guide students through Europeana’s content and prepare them for independent use in higher grades. I often use sources from Europeana in individual activities but also in the development of entire teaching scenarios. Alongside the Europeana platform, various activities organized by Europeana serve as a significant source of ideas for me – each one usually contains at least one potential idea that I can incorporate into my work.

Project-Based Learning (PBL) is my favorite method of work, and I frequently implement it because I believe that continuously developing a particular topic and taking an interdisciplinary approach to it best cultivates the skills necessary for the successful future of our children and students

Link to the learning scenario implemented: Shall we meet at the harbour? (LS-GR-19) – Teaching With Europeana (eun.org)

Do you want to discover more stories of implementation? Click here.

CC BY 4.0: the featured image used to illustrate this article has been found on Europeana and has been provided by the Historické muzeum.