Jason L. Endacott

Negotiating the Process of Historical Empathy

Abstract Historical empathy scholarship has evolved to the point where further progress necessitates empirical examinations from a variety of perspectives. Prior studies on historical empathy have largely focused on teachers’ pedagogical approach and student outcomes. This qualitative study focuses on students as they engage in the process of historical empathy to deepen our understanding of how they reach desired curricular and dispositional outcomes. Using an updated theoretical and instructional model for historical empathy as a cognitive-affective construct, a group of high school students engaged in historical empathy to better understand Harry Trumans decision to deploy the atomic bombs at the end of World War II. Results suggest that students are greatly influenced by identification, modern perspectives, shared human experience, and affective connections when engaging in historical empathy. The findings hold implications for developing historical understanding and dispositional appreciation for the past.

Slaves, Women, and War! Engaging Middle School Students in Historical Empathy for Enduring Understanding

Research has demonstrated the benefits of using historical empathy in history classrooms to encourage historical inquiry and understanding. This article chronicles the experiences of one middle school teacher as she integrates an updated theoretical and practical model of historical empathy into an existing instructional unit on Ancient Athens to help her students develop enduring understandings of social control. Students investigate primary sources, take part in group activities, and engage in Socratic dialogue to unpack the historical context, perspectives, and affective considerations of Athenian citizens who faced propositions revolving around slavery, the rights of women, and the prospect of war with Sparta. The culmination of their efforts is a simulated debate in the Athenian Assembly in which students display their newfound understanding of Ancient Athens and the human phenomena of social control gained through historical empathy.

Robots Teaching Other Little Robots: Neoliberalism, CCSS, and Teacher Professionalism

The publication of A Nation at Risk (ANAR) in 1983 tilted an already shifting paradigm regarding the purpose of a public education in the United States toward one that is based on a line of reasoning that assumes: (1) education should serve the primarily economic function of preparing students for the workforce; (2) public schools in the United States are failing to produce the educational success that is imperative for national economic success; and (3) schools must be held solely accountable for producing academic outcomes as measured by externally administered tests (Mehta 2013a). A national narrative that echoes these assumptions has opened the door to modern education reforms that seek to inculcate neoliberal ideology and its attendant corporate cultural values of commercialization, privatization and deregulation into the public school system (Sloan 2008). Meanwhile, federal educational policy under No Child Left Behind (NCLB), which had already arguably eliminated the traditional American loosely coupled school system (Fuhrman 1999, 2001; Rowan 2006), has further stabilized a fertile market for private interests with Race to the Top (RTTT) by ensuring continued demand for products related to high stakes accountability. The implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) by forty-four states has further tightened the bonds between educational policy makers at the highest levels with practitioners in the classroom by establishing a common set of standards through which the aforementioned federal mandates can be operationalized (Endacott and Goering 2014, 89–92). Unlike many earlier policy reform efforts, the proponents of this market-based and economically focused vision of schooling have managed to dramatically change the technical The Review of Education, Pedagogy, and Cultural Studies, 37:414–437, 2015 Copyright # Taylor & Francis Group, LLC ISSN: 1071-4413 print=1556-3022 online DOI: 10.1080/10714413.2015.1091258

Teachers' Views of the Common Core State Standards and Its Implementation.

Common Core State Standards are embroiled in controversy and politics. The need to continue to study the many facets of educational changes remains critical, especially from the perspective of the teachers experiencing such changes firsthand. Existing surveys of teacher perceptions regarding the Common Core State Standards have focused primarily on teacher awareness, preparedness and opinions regarding the quality of the Common Core State Standards and curricular alignment. This survey study addressed teachers’ views and support towards the Common Core State Standards and its implementation, their anticipated effects, and how its operation has affected their teaching, their anticipated effects, and their thoughts to leave the profession prematurely. Comparisons were made between teacher groups based on grade-level taught and years of experience. Overall, teachers had a positive attitude towards the Common Core State Standards and its implementation. Attitudes tended to be more negative as grade-level taught increased and were significantly less favorable for those with thoughts of leaving the profession early; responses varied among teachers with differing lengths of experience.

Using Video-Stimulated Recall to Enhance Preservice-Teacher Reflection

ABSTRACT Teacher-education programs are under increasing pressure to demonstrate the effectiveness of their graduates at a time in which many states have adopted a new generation of formal teacher-evaluation systems. Despite the current emphasis on the evaluation of teacher proficiency, the opportunity to reflect upon practice remains a vital aspect of teacher education. This exploratory study investigates the potential that video-stimulated recall (VSR) holds for promoting preservice-teacher reflection in conjunction with a state-mandated evaluation instrument. Results indicate that VSR holds promise for improving specific and growth-oriented reflection though there is potential for more.

Using Socratic Circles to Engage English Language Learners in Historical Inquiry and Discussion

This chapter describes how Socratic circles, a dialogic tool that is shown to increase learning talk, can engage English learners (ELs) in historical discussion following inquiry methods of learning in the social studies. Drawing on the related literature, we provide educators with a background about cultural competency and positionalities, historical inquiry, and Socratic circles. Evidence-based examples and strategies are then provided for using historical inquiry and Socratic circles in the social studies classroom to teach important yet difficult concepts (e.g., democracy, liberty) and connect them to content-based curricula. We conclude by connecting dialogue to the C3 frameworks to foster ELs’ civic participation, involvement, and agency and discuss implications and applications for teacher education.

On the frontline of CCSS implementation: A national study of factors influencing teachers’ perceptions of teaching conditions and job satisfaction

Abstract The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) represent an unprecedented change in American education. As an increasingly integral part of the school accountability movement under No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top, responsibility for implementing CCSS rests largely with school leadership. One important factor in the success or failure of these efforts is the perceptions and experiences of the teachers who will ultimately employ CCSS in the classroom. This survey study examined teachers’ views of CCSS implementation, teaching conditions, collaboration, and job satisfaction. Factor analysis revealed that the openness and activeness of school leadership had a significant effect on teachers’ perceptions of implementation, suggesting that attention to these aspects of leadership is an important consideration during transition to CCSS.