PROF190G Index page

Action Research Reports

PROF 190G

---

BROADENING HORIZONS

An Action Research Report

David Budd, February 1998

Proposal: To increase awareness within the classroom about multiculturalism and the diversity of cultures throughout the globe. To move beyond the traditional celebrations which take place in this predominantly White-Anglo-Saxon community.

The original action research project I had initiated within the school was involving the development of a music program with the grade four/five class. However, this research project evolved in a different direction. During a presentation of the video "Jesus Christ Superstar", a student made a prejudicial remark about one of the characters, calling him a "fag". I immediately told him that the remark was inappropriate and unacceptable. At a later time, I was told a student made a remark about a character being a "dirty Jew", and I was upset I had not been aware of the situation immediately and made an appropriate response. It was at this time I decided it would be beneficial to the students and healthy for me to initiate a unit designed to increase an awareness for different lifestyles, and develop an understanding of the diversity of cultures and religions throughout the world.

Organized ideas:

Autobiography - my autobiography as an example to other students-

The initiation of the autobiography was designed to increase self-esteem and serve as a social studies and language project. It also was designed as a tool of communication for me to express my thoughts on certain issues with the students. To initiate the project, I presented my own autobiography. I presented a detailed account of my family, many experiences from around the globe and others that had influenced my life. The key attribute in doing this project was that I was able to present my personal experiences in dealing with racism and prejudicial behavior. With my father being Jewish, when I moved into a predominantly White-Anglo-Saxon neighbourhood, I was surprised to face a rash of remarks denigrating my dad's religion, and part of my heritage.

It was a very difficult experience for me to deal with, which continued for a number of years. The hurt that came from these remarks is something I felt was important for the students to understand. By describing my feelings to the students and personalizing such situations, I hoped to make the students aware of how prejudicial remarks could be extremely hurtful to those they were directed towards. By the reaction of the students, I believe the message was clearly heard.

The students' autobiographies were a collection of great ideas and from the large majority, an outstanding effort was produced. Students' talked about their interests and family life, and it was fascinating to read about the background of many of these children. One student wrote extensively about his experiences with his younger brother, who was so severely abused as an infant that he was left with an severe case of brain damage and physical disabilities. The presentation was given in such a positive manner, pervading the idea this student realized differences between people do not constitute a reason to treat others' differently. Although religion and culture was generally not a focus with this project, the idea of unique characteristics apparent within the experiences of each person was prevalent. The enthusiasm the students showed in wanting me to learn about their lives, read and view pictures about their history, and the display of pride from having their life stories read to the class was very rewarding to everyone involved.

The interest the students' showed in my personal experiences was also rewarding. Many asked questions concerning my cultural background, countries I had visited, and experiences in my life. Talking to parents of one of the students' during parent/teacher interviews, I was flattered to hear one student's parents describe how their son was talking at home about my experiences around the world and my religious background, and how he wanted to travel and learn about the subjects of my descriptions. Because this student had never mentioned these talks to me personally, I found it rewarding to know I had made a difference in the perception of how this child observed the world.

Library research project on other countries.

The library research project was given as an enrichment project for students who had finished assignments previously allotted.

To begin this train of thought, the students were brought together for a group discussion on any countries or cultures on which the students had any background information. Later that week, working in clusters of two or three, each group chose a country, and recorded information for a presentation to be given to the class. The students researched holiday celebrations and characteristics of the cultures' and countries under study. They organized their ideas and then presented it to the class. After the presentation was completed, the class was given the opportunity to ask questions about the country and culture, and if the students were unable to answer, the teachers' assisted by giving information which could add to the presentation.

This assignment brought forth many questions and increased the curiosity of many students, and me. As students continued to ask questions, I found myself doing additional research and increasing my own awareness. The assignment proved a stimulus for student and teacher alike in inspiring us to learn about other cultures and countries.

In reflection, it would have been beneficial to be able to have extended this assignment, having the students' create posters, and giving tangible examples of their work. The posters would have provided visual aides which the class could have kept to provide as references for research assignments. Time constraints played a role in reducing the amount of class time allotted for this project, but if possible to complete, the posters could have added to the effectiveness of the activity.

 

Booklet handout -- Assignment paper.

This assignment focused on developing language, research, geography and visual art skills. The students worked individually, focusing on one specific holiday celebration, from one country described in a booklet I had made for the class. Each example in the booklet gave the name of the country and celebration, and a synopsis of the celebration in a paragraph. The students completed a form which asked the students to tell when during the year the celebration took place, and to describe three special events that took place during that particular celebration. On the bottom third of the page, the students were given a space in which to draw a picture of the country's flag. The challenge was to find resources which would include a picture of the country's flag, such as an atlas. The booklet was originally going to be given to each student as a resource. However, because of material limitations, the booklet was shared by students in groups.

I chose this activity to give all students in the class the opportunity to do some researching, in additional to the library assignment which was developed as an enrichment project. The reading material was a little difficult for two of the students' who read far below grade level, but with assistance the students were able to complete the assignment. If I was to redo this lesson, I would most likely include the flags (they were not included in the booklet), or have a class set of atlas' available for each student to use separately. Having a low number of atlas' presented a small amount of difficulty and delayed some students' in completing the task, although it was a good exercise in developing group communication. Overall, the assignment was effective in its desired goal.

 

Video: Jesus Christ Superstar

--explanation and discussion --

The viewing of the video Jesus Christ Superstar gave an opportunity to present a storyline based on an interpretation from the Bible story of Jesus Christ's last seven days of mortal existence. I found it to be a good educator in presenting an introduction to the historical figures during that sequence of events. The situation allowed an opportunity to discuss ideas coming from the video and to lightly scope the emotions involved with each character. Questions I asked the students, and which spurned from their curiosity, covered topics including a discussion about how Jesus may have felt about sacrificing his life for a purpose he believed in, how Peter (who fails to support his friend, Jesus) and Judas (who betrays Jesus) may have been feeling or the possible reasons for their actions in those situations, and how others involved, like Mary and the disciples may have felt.

Although some of the material involved with the video was mature in its nature, discussing situations and events on a level appropriate for the grade four/five class made the video an effective learning tool. Additionally, the students enjoyed the musical aspect of the presentation, and my personal involvement with the production in a Kingston version of the musical made it more entertaining for the students to watch and ask questions about the characters.

 

MUSIC and singing

In the music class which the students had almost every day for twenty minutes, I chose songs from a number of cultural backgrounds in deciding the repertoire to learn in class. We learned a Japanese Carol, The Huron Carol, which provided an interesting story within the lyrics (which the class discussed before singing) and a few other songs representative of other cultures. It was a nice way bring up differences in celebrations, to which many of the students showed a keen interest in learning. It was fun to try learning new songs, and also singing the traditional tunes which are custom to Christmas and the holiday season.

If resources permitted, I would have enjoyed bringing in a guest speaker to perform, or talk about celebrations from countries or cultures not commonly found in Kingston. I would have also liked to have taken in an instrument native to Africa (called a numba) but did not have an opportunity to bring it to Kingston. Giving the students an opportunity to experience something completely outside their normal interactions is something I hope to accomplish when another opportunity like this arises.

 

REFLECTIVE THOUGHTS

I was pleased with the results from my efforts to increase the awareness of the students and develop activities geared towards the representation of a multi-cultural society. During the last week of my practicum, several students made gifts for me which focused on my Jewish heritage. One student made me a large Star of David; another made a very nice tree ornament to put on my "Hanukkah bush." In another incident, a student, in talking to his father, said "Mr. Budd's Jewish, and his Christmas is called Hanukkah". I corrected the well-meaning student, and I appreciated his efforts to understand the complexities about different religions.

Whether the students understood the intricacies of religious traditions was not a requirement for my action research project to be successful. However, many students in the class did understand what Hanukkah represented and had learned a number of facts about different cultures. The most important goal I had set out to accomplish was to create an awareness of the different cultures and people who occupy the same world as the grade four/five class in the school where I was teaching. I believe that goal was attained.