Poster #40 - Modeling Time: Students' Construction of Historical Narratives and Simulations

• In Event: 18.060 - MTCC Poster Session Two
  In Poster Session: 18.060-5 - Advanced Technologies for Learning Poster Session

Abstract

We held a two-day workshop where eight 5th-6th graders constructed historical simulations in Unity. We situate the work in the theoretical positions of constructionist history, deliberation, and narratives to argue that students should learn to craft and critique historical models and narratives. We find that students could use Unity to make representations of historical worlds, and reflect on the goals of the construction and the sources they used to make the environments. Students assigned meanings to the digital authoring space while constructing ancient Egypt, the Stone Age, ancient Mali, the future, and Revolutionary War America. Students’ engagement and constructions in ‘Modeling Time’, the constructionist historical modeling course, is a case for the benefits of active construction within history education.

Authors

• Kit Martin, Northwestern University

• Gabriella Anton, Northwestern University