3AVideoAnalysis


 * Video Analysis**
 * Please note, times are based on a full length version of this lesson. To see the highlighted sections please click here.**

When selecting a lesson to videotape I was pressed to complete the assignment prior to leaving my A placement. I felt I would have the most information to analyze from a class of outspoken fourth graders. Looking back I believe I made the correct decision with my lesson plan and the discussion topic. The lesson was social studies based and focused on influential explorers such as Sir Francis Drake, Juan Ponce de Leon and Christopher Columbus. The goal of the lesson was for students to research their assigned explorers, recording numerous aspects of their travels including their goals, their years of exploration and interactions with the native people. Students worked in groups and then reported their findings to the class [not found on video tape - camera error]. I saw an opportunity to dive into the topic of interactions with the native people and focused the class discussion around Christopher Columbus’ treatment of the individuals he came into contact with. // [Note: The open classroom situation makes some student’s comments hard to hear during the introduction to the lesson.] //

After watching, re-watching and further analyzing the explorer lesson I found areas where I could have improved my own language. The first, critical error I made came within the ** first 7 seconds ** of the lesson. In my efforts to regroup the class and grab their attention, I said “…Everyone’s eyes and everyone is sitting Indian style…” I know that there are at least four other ways to ask students to sit correctly on the rug, criss-cross applesauce, pretzel legs, all different ways, but I choose the one phrase that is demeaning and politically incorrect to begin my lesson. However, I do not believe that the students caught my comment and for that I am thankful. While introducing the activity ** around the 3:10 mark ** I was explaining an example [Christopher Columbus] to the class. We were reviewing key vocabulary present on the worksheet to ensure that students would understand the information to look for when researching. ‘Interaction with the Native People’ was the next section on the chart and I was looking for the students to tell me what interaction meant. After looking back on this part of the lesson I feel the flow and point could have been reached much faster if I had a definition for interaction and was able to redirect after two students missed the mark as opposed to continuing to call on students to share their ideas. Thus, moving the entire introduction along, giving the students more time to research.

In my opinion I feel that the best part of this lesson was the discussion that came the following day, after the students researched their explorers and presented their information to the class. ** Around the 11:15-12:00 ** mark I was very surprised by the reaction I received to my opening question “By a show of hands who believes it was // acceptable // for Columbus to have spread small pox to the Native Americans?” As you will see, after asking the question a few more times, many hands were raised. I thought there might have been a misunderstanding with my wording, and after asking a few students they seemed confused by my question. So, I checked for understanding by asking the class what acceptable meant. Mia was able to tell me [ ** around 11:45] ** that acceptable means “its okay, like he didn’t mean to and you’ll still be accepted.” ** Around 12:20-13:13 ** is when we hear, again from Mia, why she agrees that it was acceptable for Columbus to have spread small pox. Within her explanation was a questionable gem I wanted to highlight; ** around 13:05 ** Mia states “it was fine that they got a little wiped out, there are still Native American cultures that still go on now.” This statement leads me to believe she feels it was acceptable for Columbus to spread small pox because it was an accident and Native American culture is not extinct. ** Around the 13:25-14:00 ** mark the opposing view was expressed by Mitchell, he explained that he thought “they probably pre-knew that there was a chance that it [small pox] could be there [on the blankets].” Hearing this view shows that some responsibility could be places on Columbus, but when clarifying, I asked Mitchell “So you thought that Columbus knew there were small pox on the blankets?” he replied “I think he might have known there was a chance.” Looking further at Mitchell’s wording I believe that he felt that Columbus was somewhat responsible for the spread of small pox, but not entirely; thus shifting the blame somewhere else.

As the discussion continues other questions are posed to help the students consider different perspectives such as how the Native Americans and the Europeans felt about the spread of small pox [ ** see ~18:00-23:10 ** ]. Another interesting gem came from Mia as she explained how Columbus might have felt as he watched the Native Americans getting small pox. ** Around 20:15 ** Mia states that “the Native Americans might have thought that the small pox were a curse because they believed in spirits and Columbus might have looked at it more scientifically and thought that their [the Native Americans] surroundings were causing them to get sick.” Hearing this type of comment highlights the fact that Native Americans and other non-European cultures are often portrayed as unintelligent and savage beings; where historically Europeans are portrayed as level headed, intelligent, educated individuals. Perhaps this is due to the common opinion of most textbooks and curriculum planners.

The most important gem from the class discussion started around the ** 22:55 mark **. The highlighted gems are in response to my statement “What if I told you have the blankets that Columbus gave to the Native Americans came from a small pox hospital.” At ** 23:22 ** you see the initial response to my statement by the pure shock from Nathan [glasses, bottom left in shot] “HE WHAT! EEE WHAT! Repeat that.” ** Around the 23:41 ** mark, we hear Mia, who was so adamant about Columbus’ actions being a mistake at the beginning of the video explain her // new // opinion “Well, then I change my answer!” She referenced the Time of Columbus text used in the lesson by saying that “The text said that Columbus just died a frustrated man because he didn’t find any money but after all the Native Americans died from those blankets, it [land, food, goods] all just became theirs [the Europeans].” After hearing so many students explain their changes in opinion I am confident that the class now understand the importance of multiple perspectives. This was the response I was hoping for, the candid, yet poignant disapproval of Columbus’ actions, as well as the realization that there is always another side of the story.

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