First People of Wisconsin as a Candidate

¶ … First People of Wisconsin as a Candidate Content for the Kurzweil LearnStation

This paper gives a summary of the Social Studies unit plan The First People of Wisconsin by Dr. Ava McCall and Thelma Ristow in terms of the unit's main objectives and thematic strands. Provisions for modifying the content into the Kurzweil LearnStation, an adaptive technology used for primary classrooms, is also given, including the inclusion of media and the overall integration of classroom activities with the content.

The First People of Wisconsin was conceived by Dr. Ava McCall and Thelma Ristow as a comprehensive and structured lesson plan that would encompass the curriculum requirements of pertaining to the study of Native American Indians. The unit focuses on the anthropological and cultural distinctions that would help students explore the lives of six Native America tribes located in the state: the Oneida, Anishinabe-Ojibwa, Menominiee, Stockbridge-Munsee, Potawatomi and the Ho-Chunk. Included in the anthropological studies of the tribes are the origins of their culture and their current anthropological motivations for the present (McCall & Ristow, n.a.)

McCall and Ristow (n.a.) have six main objectives for the unit, explicitly stating that at the end of the unit, the students will be able to: (1) develop greater knowledge and appreciation of the cultural and anthropological characteristics of the six tribes; (2) create value to Wisconsin Native America culture and history; (3) develop and exercise critical thinking through the analysis of texts and exposure to different perspectives; (4) develop and exercise literacy skills both through verbal and non-verbal means; 5) exercise cooperative learning skills in a social learning environment; and (6) exercise artistic competencies through valuations of the unit done through art expression.

McCall and Ristow (n.a.) also lists down three National Social Studies Thematic Strands that are made clear for every activity in the unit: (1) culture thematic strand, which focuses on the culture and anthropological diversity of the six tribes; (2) time, continuity, and change thematic strand which focuses on the aspect of change and continuity, a comparison of how the lives of these North American tribes have changed in the course of history; and (3) people, places, and environment thematic strand, which focuses on the environmentally-bound lifestyles and culture of the North American tribes being studied in the unit.

Adaptations for the Kurzweil LearnStation

Fuertez et al. (2008) expounds on the idea that a technological approach to curriculum modification for students with special educational needs should consist of two different strategies: (1) providing educators with the tools to adapt content into a technological medium; and (2) provide software developers with a methodology to build such a medium. The Kurzweil LearnStation is an example of an adaptive technology that takes this into account, primarily allowing the easy modification of content for use of students with special learning needs (http://www.kurzweil.edu). The LearnStation not only allows students to use content that are at par with their current grade level, it also allows the introduction of media (i.e. illustrations, diagrams, videos and mp3s) to create a more manageable and optimal learning experience for the children who need it.

The First People of Wisconsin as structured by McCall and Ristow can be easily modified for use in the Kurzweil LearnStation by virtue of the rich text and content that has already been included in it. In this case, aside from the text, teachers who are opting to create other media based on the unit could easily do so. For example, some portions of the text could be recoded into mp3 files so that, aside from adding another medium to the LearnStation, the students could also store the files on their players for later listening. Also, a video presentation could complement some portions of the unit pertaining to lifestyle and culture because it allows a more visual experience and therefore a more relatable mode of learning.

It is also good to note that that adaptation into the LearnStation doesn't dilute the more experiential portion of the Unit. For example, in cases where children are assigned to go on field trips to the reserves, it is certainly not an exclusive activity but a complementary one with respect to the adaptive technology. As it is, the utilization of adaptive technologies does not necessarily exclude other forms of activities (Hasselbring & Glasser, 2000).