Mary Ann Davies | Integrative Studies: Teaching for the Twenty-first Century | The History Teacher, 34.4

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Integrative Studies: Teaching for the Twenty-first Century

Mary Ann Davies
University of North Carolina at Wilmington

THE INTEGRATIVE STUDIES MODEL for classroom activities that I propose and illustrate in this article combines the chronological focus of traditional disciplines with the thematic orientation of an interdisciplinary approach. A theme or pattern acts as the vehicle for organization. Students are presented with a variety of information about this theme, such as excerpts from government documents or newspapers, letters or bits of diaries, statistical information, poems, music, pictures, cartoons, works of art, common objects or archeological artifacts. The materials chosen should require different modes of perception in a rich multi-sensory context. Depending on the theme of the lesson, this information should not all come from one time or from one place. Some of it might even be current rather than from the past. The idea is to have the class develop an integrative paradigm that highlights the development over time of relationships between data. Rather than isolating specific bits of information and hoping that patterns of meaning will emerge, this model helps students recognize the interrelationships that shape their world. These patterns (themes) provide a context for understanding history and linking it relevantly to today. Thus, history will be remembered because students perceive it as meaningful and useful.

Each mode of perception offers different insights into understanding the theme. Mathematics and the natural sciences offer literal, precise representations of content where logical consistency gives meaning (Eisner, 1992). The social sciences study content using a sequential, analytical approach. Language arts provide a forum for communicating ideas. The fine arts use emotive, visual-spatial imagery and provide insights that enrich humanity and touch our inner selves (Fowler, 1989; Godfrey, 1992). All combined modes of perception enrich understanding, allow for exploring complex interrelationships, and more closely resemble life. The model requires that teachers become connection experts not just subject experts.

Theme selected and materials assembled, the teacher should use a four-tiered questioning strategy to assist students in identifying inter-connections. If well done, students should discover interrelationships through time or across distance by examining data from the different perceptual and expressive modes.

1. Understand each piece of material. Questions should be asked to be sure the material is understood. They should focus on knowledge and comprehension. For example, what does the poem mean?

2. Explore the inter-relatedness of materials. Questions should be asked that examine the inter-relatedness of materials and connect them to students' prior experiences. Analysis forms the crux of this level of questioning. For example, have you ever experienced feelings similar to those expressed in the poem? Or how are the events in the poem similar to or different from those identified in the timeline?

3. Explore how the material might be expressed through other perceptual modes. Questions should guide students in expressing data through a different mode of perception. This requires mental flexibility, a key component of creative production. For example, translate the events of the timeline into a poem.

4. Examine the relationship of chronology to the various materials. Ask, could such a poem have been written fifty years ago? Why or why not? This stage incorporates critical and analytical thinking.

A continual reinforcement of interrelationships as they develop over time comprises the integrative model. This approach acknowledges that the different modes of perception each contribute to the whole pattern. "Every experience actually contains within it the seeds of many, and possibly all disciplines" (Caine & Caine, 1991, p. 119).

The Model Applied

Sample lessons from a unit entitled "Quests for Freedom" demonstrate the model. This unit examines the theme of quests for freedom using a variety of historical and contemporary individuals. The selected lessons focus particularly on Harriet Tubman's quest.

Quests For Freedom - Harriet Tubman

Objectives:

Compare and evaluate approaches to seeking freedom.

Understand the milieu in which Harriet Tubman's quest took place and the impact of various forces on her quest.

Compare historical, contemporary and individual quests for freedom.

Procedures:

1. Discuss: What does abolitionist mean? Did all abolitionists advocate the same approaches? Distribute the "Quests for Freedom" decision making handout (Attachment 1). Students individually rank the approaches to seeking freedom in terms of perceived effectiveness and then re-rank them in groups using consensus strategies. (Understand the material).

a. Discuss: The abolitionists were all on quests for freedom. What is a quest? Can you think of any quests for freedom today? How are they similar to or different from the abolitionists' quests? (Explore the relationship of chronology to this material).

b. Have you ever been on a quest? What did it require of you? How is/was your quest similar to or different from the abolitionists' quests? (Explore the inter-relatedness of artifacts).

2. Listen to the song "Harriet Tubman" (Attachment 2) and watch the accompanying slide presentation depicting paintings of slavery. (Understand the material). What are possible limitations to relying solely on songs for information? Discuss how songs create and convey feelings. How does this song make you feel? What does this tell you about the songwriter's view of Harriet Tubman? Do you think he saw her as courageous? Support your view. In what ways was Harriet like Moses? How were the fugitive slaves like pilgrims? What images of Harriet are portrayed in the slides?

(Explore the inter-relatedness of materials). Would the songwriter agree with these slide portrayals?

(Explore how data might be expressed through other perceptual modes.) What kinds of music would you select to portray the other abolitionists studied? To illustrate a quest today? Your quest?

3. Discuss the Compromise of 1850 and the historical context for Congress passing a stricter Fugitive Slave Law. Direct students to read Section 7 (Attachment 3) of Public Law 31 (Fugitive Slave Law). According to Section 7, what actions were punishable? What were the punishment options? (Understand the material)

(Explore the inter-relatedness of materials.) How do you think the abolitionists reacted to the Fugitive Slave Law? Do you think it affected their determination to aid slaves' quests for freedom? If so, in what ways? As an escaped slave herself, Harriet Tubman made nineteen trips into slave territory, assisting many to freedom. She bragged, "I never lost a passenger." What risks did Harriet face as she helped slaves escape on the Underground Railroad? How do you think she reacted to the Fugitive Slave Law?

(Explore how data might be expressed through other perceptual modes. What lyrics might the songwriter create about this law? Write a letter to your Congressman expressing your views on this law from the point of view of a former slave, an abolitionist or a plantation owner.

(Explore the relationship of chronology to this material.) Do you think it is ever acceptable to break the law? Explain your position. Can you think of any contemporary examples where individuals chose to break the law because it violated their beliefs? Were they on quests? The original Fugitive Slave Law was passed in 1793. How do you think people reacted to the law then? What factors might account for differences in reactions between the original and the amended (and supplemented) law? Could such a law pass today? Why or why not?

4. Direct students to read the poem "Runagate, Runagate" (Attachment 4) by Robert Hayden. Ask, what does the term "runagate" mean? Explain what the poet meant by "caves of the wish." Why would the poet describe the Midnight Special as being on a "saber track?" Who were Garrison, Alcott, Emerson, Garret, Douglas, Thoreau and John Brown? Interpret the line "means to be free." How does the author feel about Harriet Tubman? (Understand the material.)

(Relate it to other materials.) Do you think the poet views Harriet as courageous? How does the poem make you feel? Compare this to feelings evoked by the song. What might account for these differences? Would the songwriter agree with the poet's description of traveling on the Underground Railroad? Do you think other abolitionists would have agreed with Harriet's use of a pistol to keep the fugitive slaves going? If the poet were in Congress debating passage of the Fugitive Slave Law, how do you think he would have voted? What might he have said to Congress during the debate before passage of Public Law 31?

(Relationship to chronology.) What would you change in the poem to make it reflect a current quest for freedom?

(Change the mode of expression.) Create a timeline depicting major events/individuals mentioned in the poem. Make a map illustrating the Underground Railroad routes.

5. Read this poem "Refugee in America" by Langston Hughes.

There are words like Freedom
Sweet and wonderful to say.
On my heart-strings freedom sings
All day everyday.
There are words like Liberty
That almost make me cry.
If you had known what I knew
You would know why.

(Understand the material.) Why does the word "Liberty" almost make the author cry? Who are the "refugees" referred to in the poem's title? Why did Langston Hughes label them refugees?

(Relate to other materials.) Would Harriet Tubman agree with this description? The songwriter? Hayden? Other abolitionists? The Congressmen who passed the Fugitive Slave Law?

(Change the mode of expression.) Create a timeline depicting events in U.S. history that blocked freedom for African Americans.

(Relationship to chronology.) The poem refers to what time period in U.S. history? Could this poem have been written prior to the Civil War?

6. Examine copies of the General Affidavit filed by Harriet Tubman in 1898 and the response of the Fifty-fifth Congress (Attachment 5).

(Understand the material.) Describe the nature of Harriet's claim. How much time had elapsed since the services were rendered? What happened to her original request for compensation? How did Congress respond to her 1898 request? Do you think Harriet was satisfied with this settlement? Explain.

(Relate to other materials.). Do you think she felt like a refugee in America? Do you think this action by Harriet required more or less courage than her work on the Underground Railroad? Had Harriet successfully completed her quest for freedom? Explain your position.

(Change the mode of expression.) Write a poem/song/play or draw a picture expressing Harriet's feelings about filing the affidavit and the Congressional response.

(Relate to chronology.) Are there current individuals/groups seeking compensation from the government for services rendered? How are these similar to or different from Harriet Tubman's affidavit?

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These sample lessons demonstrate the integrative studies model. Exploration of the theme, "quests for freedom," could continue by examining further the lives of other contemporary and historical individuals seeking freedom. The ongoing study of primary and secondary resources related to the theme should be designed to enable students to recognize patterns and connections between individuals as well as times. The object is to have students become connective thinkers.

Bibliography

Caine, Renata N. & Caine, Geoffrey. Making Connections: Teaching and the Human Brain. Alexandria VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1991.

Eisner, Elliot W. "The Misunderstood Role of the Arts in Human Development." Phi Delta Kappan 73 (April 1992): 591-595.

Fowler, Charles. "The Arts Are Essential to Education." Educational Leadership 47 (November 1989): 60-63.

Godfrey, Robert. "Civilization, Education, and the Visual Arts: A Personal Manifesto." Phi Delta Kappan 73 (April 1992): 596-600.

Attachment 1
Quests For Freedom

Descriptions of approaches used by different abolitionists to rid our country of slavery follow. Which strategy do you think was most effective? Place a "1" alongside the most effective, a number "2" alongside the next most effective, and so on. After ranking the effectiveness of these strategies individually, complete the same process in groups.

RANKING

Self Group

______ ______ Sojourner Truth. Born into slavery, Isabella Baumfree ran away from her owners in New York. The following year, 1828, New York outlawed slavery. After a religious experience, she changed her name to Sojourner Truth and became a wandering preacher. She walked and talked along the East coast encouraging the abolition of slavery.

______ ______ Henry Highland Garnet. Garnet studied religion in New York and became a minister. He wrote and spoke against slavery calling for bold action. In 1843, he spoke at the National Negro Convention in Buffalo, New York. Here is part of what he said:

"Brothers, arise, arise! Strike for your lives and your liberty. Now is the hour. Let every slave rise up. Then slavery will end. Your lives cannot be any worse than they are now. It is better to die free than to live as slaves. You have been too patient. You have given in too easily.

Awake, awake. Let our word be resistance. No one has ever become free without fighting. Trust in God. Work for the peace of all people. And remember that there are FOUR MILLION Blacks."

______ ______ Frederick Douglass. Douglass was born a slave in Maryland but escaped to Massachusetts when he was twenty-one. He was a gifted speaker and became recognized as a spokesperson for the abolitionists. In 1847, he started an antislavery newspaper, The North Star: "The object of the North Star will be to attack slavery in all its forms and aspects...and to hasten the day of freedom to our three million enslaved fellow countrymen."

______ ______ Harriet Tubman. Born a slave in Maryland, she was determined to be free. "I had a right to liberty or death. If I could not have the one, I would have the other." After escaping North, she returned nineteen times into slave territory and guided more than 300 men, women and children to freedom. As an Underground Railroad "conductor," she bragged "I never lost a passenger." A $40,000 reward was offered for her capture but no one ever caught Harriet Tubman.

______ ______ Martin Delaney. Delaney believed blacks would never be treated fairly in the United States. He went on an expedition to Africa to find a location for a colony for African Americans. Later he proposed to Abraham Lincoln that a black army be created.

Assume that you are a/an (abolitionist) (plantation owner) (social scientist today). Write a letter to one of these abolitionists explaining your views on slavery.

Attachment 2
Harriet Tubman
By W. Robinson

At night I dreamed I was in slavery About 1850 was the time So rose the only sign Nothing around to ease my mind Out of the night appeared a lady Leading a distant pilgrim band First mate she yelled pointing her hand Take 'em aboard for distant port REFRAIN
	Singing come on up - I got a lifeline Come on up to this train of mine (Repeat) Her name was Harriet Tubman and she Drove for the Underground Railroad, Railroad
Hundreds of miles we traveled onward Gathering slaves from town to town Seeking every lost and found Setting them free that once were bound Somehow my heart was growing weaker Fell by the wayside, sinking sand Firmly did this lady stand She lifted me up and took my hand singing REFRAIN Who are these children dressed in red? They must be the ones that moses lead (Repeat twice) Singing come on up - I got a lifeline Come on up to this train of mine (Repeat six times) Come on up, come on up to this train of mine I got a life line

_________________
Tape available from:
Spring Hill Music
5616 Sunshine Canyon
Boulder, CO 80302
Robbie Gass/On Wings of Song

Attachment 3
Section 7 of Public Law 31 (Fugitive Slave Law)

Attachment 4
Runagate Runagate
By Robert Hayden

I.

Runs falls rises stumbles on from darkness into darkness

and the darkness thicketed with shapes of terror

and the hunters pursuing and the hounds pursuing

and the night cold and the night long and the river

to cross and the jack-muh-laterns beckoning beckoning

and blackness ahead and when shall I reach that somewhere

morning and keep on going and never turn back and keep on going.

Runagate

Runagate

Runagate

Many thousands rise and go

many thousands crossing over

O mythic North

O star-shaped yonder Bible city

Some go weeping and some rejoicing

some in coffins and some in carriages

some in silks and some in shackles

Rise and go fare you well

No more auction block for me

no more driver's lash for me

If you see my pompey, 30 yrs of age,

new breeches, plain stockings, negro shoes;

if you see my Anna, likely young mulatto

branded E on the right cheek, R on the left,

catch them if you can and notify subscriber.

Catch them if you can, but it won't be easy.

They'll dart underground when you try to catch them,

plunge into quicksand, whirlpools, mazes,

turn into scorpions when you try to catch them.

And before I'll be a slave

I'll be buried in my grave

North star and bonanza gold

I'm bound for the freedom, freedom-bound

and oh Susanna don't you cry for me

Runagate

Runagate

II.

Rises from their anguish and their power,

Harriet Tubman,

woman of earth, whipscarred,

a summoning, a shining

Mean to be free

And this was the way of it, brethren, brethren,

way we journeyed from Can't to Can.

Moon so bright and no place to hide,

the cry up and the patterollers riding,

hound dogs belling in bladed air.

And fear starts a-murbling, Never make it,

we'll never make it. Hush that now,

and she turned upon us, leveled pistol

glinting in the moonlight:

Dead folks can't jaybird-talk, she says;

you keep on going now or die, she says.

Wanted Harriet Tubman alias the General

alias Moses Stealer of Slaves

In league with Garrison Alcott Emerson

Garret Douglass Thoreau John Brown

Armed and known to be Dangerous

Wanted Reward Dead or Alive

Tell me, Ezekiel, oh tell me do you see

mailed Jehovah coming to deliver me?

Hoot-owl calling in ghosted air,

five times calling to the hants in the air.

Shadow of a face in the scary leaves,

shadow of a voice in the talking leaves:

Come ride-a my train

Oh that train, ghost-story train

through swamp and savanna movering movering,

over trestles of dew, through caves of the wish,

Midnight Special on a saber track movering movering

first stop Mercy and the last Hallelujah.

come ride-a my train

Mean mean mean to be free.

Attachment 5
General Affidavit and Response of Fifty-fifth Congress

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Integrative Studies: Teaching for the Twenty-first Century

Mary Ann Davies University of North Carolina at Wilmington

The Model Applied

Bibliography

Attachment 1 Quests For Freedom

Attachment 2 Harriet Tubman By W. Robinson

Attachment 3 Section 7 of Public Law 31 (Fugitive Slave Law)