Implementation of ‘Sharing is caring: Let your migration story be heard'(SOI-RO-254)
The implementation context
I have chosen this Learning Scenario because the problem of migration is a great challenge for so many nations and the refugees’ number is increasing now with the war-stricken exodus of the population from Ukraine. This theme gives students the opportunity to discover other aspects of this issue starting with interesting life stories. The project-based learning technique give students the possibility to be directly involved in the learning process, develop empathy and make classes both efficient and attractive.
The LS “Sharing is caring: Let your migration story be heard” was created by Konstantina Eirini Koufou and was implemented in a History Course with 32 students. It was applied for over 3 hours and each class lasted 50 minutes. The class was held face to face. The students worked individually, some work tasks were solved at home, some others in teams in the classroom. The method followed the practical application of scientific knowledge on the topic of Contemporary Migration in the History Curriculum, 11th grade. It was challenging for them to discover other digital resources and objects which belonged to people who had left their native country and the story behind these objects. The discovery of objects that belonged to people who migrated awakened deep emotions, finding that these belonged to grandparents or parents and had a special emotional value.
Integration in the curriculum
The application of the learning scenario was made during History classes, in March 2022. The main goal for students was to think about the question “What is the story behind these objects?”
At the beginning of the lesson, I used a movie about Ukrainian refugees’ crisis. The first-class activity was based on the students’ observations about the people presented in the Movie, about their feelings and difficulties. Finally, they filled a Menti expressing their feelings (Code 84930080). The students answered the question: How does it feel to be a refugee?
First step was to define the necessary terms along the way such as: migrants, refugees, internally displaced persons, asylum seekers. In our modern times, it is necessary to understand what a migrant or an asylum seeker is because of all misunderstandings around those terms. After discussing the terms, the students wrote their own definitions of the terms using personal ideas in IdeaBordz.
The next activity which held with students was research of stories about migration from different cities (Explore migration stories from events in these cities) and after reading them, they answered some questions using worksheets specially designed for each team. They were divided into six teams, and they read, critically analyzed and discovered the stories behind the objects: The carpet, Claudia` s story, My grand uncle`s cycling medal, My father` s typewriter, A memory from Chernivtsi before the exodus to Romania in the years of the Second World War. Six stories were chosen, one for each team, and after they finished the team’s work, the results were presented to their classmates in front of the classroom. A very interesting discussion followed, and students gave feedback to their classmates. In the end, they drew the conclusion that the daily life of people from different cultures would mark them with the common characteristics overlapped with the specific ones.
Then, each member of the class had to imagine that they are going to study abroad for a few years. The students were divided into six groups and were invited to share online their story on immigration for study purposes through a single object. The students described an object which belonged to them in this period of time when the studied abroad and then created a real or imaginary story using their personal or their family’s experience. The students familiarized themselves with the way of online posting the chosen object picked from Europeana. Students worked in groups to write the stories. In the end, they presented their work and a debate session.
Final thoughts
The aims of the lesson were fully achieved and I was delighted to see the results of the group work. Students had learned how to use Europeana platform and other sources and to find information by paying attention to copyright. As a teacher I organized the learning process, the students became authors of their own training. This learning activities stimulated experiential learning and engaged in discussion.
They improved their digital skills, critical thinking and online research abilities. The engaging classroom teaching-learning process based on previous knowledge and skills has been complemented by the provision of valuable resources by the Europeana collections. The wealth of resources (images, video and audio materials, documents) offered to both teachers and all students facilitates the learning process focused on the formation of competences. The participants said that they liked to be briefly small “archivists” and discover fragments of history little known. After implementing the learning scenario, the students gave feedback on Sli Do.
Outcomes
The outcomes were uploaded to the Google Classroom platform used to upload work topics and materials needed for the lesson. The outcomes were uploaded to the Google Classroom platform used to upload work topics and materials needed for the lesson.Google Slides can be viewed here here and also Padlet-Migration
Did you find this story of implementation interesting? Why don’t you read about the related learning scenario?
Sharing is caring: Let your migration story be heard by Konstantina Eirini Koufou
Did you find this story of implementation interesting? You might also like:
- Our Story, Our History after Immigration by Yildiz Erdogmus
- Migration Memories in Europe by M. Isabel Vila
- Migration and Cultural Diversity by Zehra Gulenis
Do you want to discover more stories of implementation? Click here
Public Domain Mark 1.0: the featured image used to illustrate this article has been found on Europeana and has been provided by the Nordic Museum Foundation.