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Teaching the Voices of History Through Primary Sources and Historical Fiction: a Case Study of Teacher and Librarian Roles

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Teaching the Voices of History Through Primary Sources and Historical Fiction: a Case Study of Teacher and Librarian Roles Syracuse University SURFACE School of Information Studies - Dissertations School of Information Studies (iSchool) 2011 Teaching the Voices of History Through Primary Sources and Historical Fiction: A Case Study of Teacher and Librarian Roles Barbara K. Stripling Syracuse University Follow this and additional works at: https://surface.syr.edu/it_etd Recommended Citation Stripling, Barbara K., "Teaching the Voices of History Through Primary Sources and Historical Fiction: A Case Study of Teacher and Librarian Roles" (2011). School of Information Studies - Dissertations. 66. https://surface.syr.edu/it_etd/66 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Information Studies (iSchool) at SURFACE. It has been accepted for inclusion in School of Information Studies - Dissertations by an authorized administrator of SURFACE. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ABSTRACT The ability to analyze alternative points of view and to empathize (understand the beliefs, attitudes and actions of another from the other’s perspective rather than from one’s own) are essential building blocks for learning in the 21 st century. Empathy for the human participants of historical times has been deemed by a number of educators as important for the development of historical understanding. The classroom teacher and the school librarian both have a prominent stake in creating educational experiences that foster the development of perspective, empathy, and understanding. This case study was designed to investigate the idea that teaching with primary sources and historical novels during historical inquiry enhances students’ development of cognitive and emotive empathy. The study was framed around two research questions: How do classroom teachers and school librarians design and teach historical inquiry using historical novels and primary sources? What is the impact of teaching with historical novels and primary sources on the development of historical empathy? The case study was conducted in an English/history humanities block and the school library in a New York City secondary school. Data were collected through classroom observations, interviews with the classroom teachers and librarian, and samples of student work. On the use of primary sources and historical novels, the study found that primary sources must be surrounded by context to be useful to students in their learning, that secondary sources were necessary for providing that context, and that historical fiction provides social context, but its use must be scaffolded to help students distinguish fiction from fact. In addition, the study found that unless library linkages to primary sources are embedded in classroom instruction, they are not used by students or teachers. In answer to the second research question, the study found that primary sources have a strong impact on the development of historical empathy if their use is mediated by a teacher or librarian and that cognitive empathy must be developed before emotive empathy. Finally, this case study showed that a school librarian’s effectiveness is diminished by fulfilling a resource-provider role with no integration into classroom instruction. TEACHING THE VOICES OF HISTORY THROUGH PRIMARY SOURCES AND HISTORICAL FICTION: A CASE STUDY OF TEACHER AND LIBRARIAN ROLES By Barbara Kay Stripling B.A. Stanford University, 1968 M.A. University of Colorado, 1973 M.Ed. University of Arkansas, 1981 Ed.S. University of Arkansas, 2003 DOCTORAL THESIS Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Professional Studies in Information Management in the Graduate School of Syracuse University May 2011 Copyright 2011 Barbara Kay Stripling All rights Reserved Table of Contents ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................................... I LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES ....................................................................................... VIII PREFACE ........................................................................................................................... IX CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................... 1 Statement of The Problem ........................................................................................... 1 Theoretical Perspective ................................................................................................ 4 Research Questions ...................................................................................................... 6 Purpose of the Study .................................................................................................... 7 Significance of the Study .............................................................................................. 8 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................ 11 Part I: Environments .................................................................................................. 13 Educational Environment ....................................................................................... 13 Defining School Libraries and the School Librarian Role for the 21 st Century ....... 21 Inquiry-Based Learning ........................................................................................... 29 Implications of the Digital Environment for Inquiry-Based Learning ..................... 36 Part II: History as Disciplinary Inquiry ........................................................................ 42 The Discipline of History ......................................................................................... 42 Historical Inquiry..................................................................................................... 46 Historical Inquiry Skills ............................................................................................ 49 Part III: Historical Empathy / Perspective Taking ...................................................... 69 Part IV: Use of Resources for Historical Inquiry and Development of Empathy ....... 81 Use of Secondary and Primary Sources .................................................................. 82 Use of Historical Fiction .......................................................................................... 95 Connections Between Primary Sources and Historical Empathy ......................... 101 CHAPTER THREE: METHODS ........................................................................................ 105 Framing the Study .................................................................................................... 105 Personal Biases ..................................................................................................... 105 Research Design ....................................................................................................... 107 Qualitative Research............................................................................................. 107 Case Study Methodology ...................................................................................... 109 Selection of Case-Study Site ................................................................................. 110 Research Questions and Propositions .................................................................. 112 Unit of Analysis ..................................................................................................... 115 Data Collection and Analysis .................................................................................... 116 Data Collection Process ........................................................................................ 116 Analysis and Interpretation .................................................................................. 121 Validity and Reliability / Trustworthiness ................................................................ 125 Procedures – The Researcher’s Role ........................................................................ 127 Materials ................................................................................................................... 129 Summary of Methods ............................................................................................... 129 CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS ............................................................................................ 131 Research Questions and Thematic Framework ........................................................ 132 Research Design ....................................................................................................... 133 Description of the Site and Participants ................................................................... 134 Data Collection ......................................................................................................... 142 Data Collection Protocols ......................................................................................... 146 Observations – Recordings and Field Notes ......................................................... 146 Interviews ............................................................................................................. 148 Lesson Plans .......................................................................................................... 150 Student Work.......................................................................................................
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