Like the metacognitive questions, I think my lesson would have been more effective to develop a growth mindset if I had pointed out what they had learned in the process of our activities. I could have pointed out that while they didn't know how the Founding Fathers compromised at the beginning of the lesson, with some reading, analyzing, and working together they learned something new. I think that the arousal level (Yerkes-Dodson Law) was just about right for most students because they seemed engaged. We moved quickly enough that they had to work efficiently to finish each section, but I think I timed each reading just right. Most of the students were engaged and seemed to be learning. There was one class that struggled, but the teacher assured me it's her most difficult class and often takes some differentiation. Between being after lunch and being full of students who are less interested in participating they can be a tough crowd. I'll remember to consider that next time. I'm not sure if they reached a level of flow, but there was some really good discussion among many groups. I think the Expectancy X-Value Theory explains why the students were motivated to participate even though I don't think the activity was particularly exciting-- they felt self-efficacy about what was expected of them. I pointed out that the secondary sources were less than a page each and fairly simple to read. The worksheets were clean, easy to read, and not overwhelming. So, I think all the tools were there to teach and encourage a growth mindset, but it would have been beneficial to point out their progress after the activity.
As mentioned above, I think the students felt motivated because they felt competent. They expected to be successful so they were willing to extend the effort. At first, I thought I maybe needed slightly more challenging secondary sources, but since the objective was focused less on analysis and more on understanding the role of compromise, I think I chose the right sources. One thing I did notice was a few students who weren't participating. Overall I was pleased with the engagement, but in hindsight, I think I would assign group members different roles, like a scribe, reader, discussion leader, etc. or had them initially work in smaller groups. 2-3 students would have been a better number. I'm not sure if those participating were engaged in learned helplessness because of a lack of self-efficacy, but I should have planned for the unavoidable situation of having a few unmotivated students. Accountability to group members might have motivated them to jump in and participate. Or, I could have required that each student fill out their own worksheet instead of doing it as a group. I know that when I teach my own class I'll need to pay attention and get to know students to see if I can determine if learned helplessness and low self-esteem/image is contributing to their lack of motivation.
As for their cognitive development, I relied too much on the worksheets, I think. Although I think the lesson was meaningful and connected prior knowledge with important information, I could have paired some visual aids to help their executive/central function. It would have been really easy to have them draw simple images to depict each compromise. That would have been a helpful strategy for test review. If I were teaching this class in the future, I'd be sure to use distributed practice by reviewing these compromises throughout the next couple of units. Asking students to remember why the south had so much power to keep slavery (additional representation because of 3/5 compromise), how they lost power during reconstruction (no more "extra" representation that favored whites), etc. Emphasizing the importance of those compromises as America grows would be a helpful way to move this information to their long-term memory.
I think asking some essential questions about slavery, how they feel about the decision, how they would have solved it, etc. would have helped them explore some parts of their identity development. Also, I think this would have been a good place to add some conversation about the few people advocating against slavery, particularly women like Abigail Adams. So much of early American history focuses on the accomplishments of white men, but there are some very influential and progressive figures of this time period that are often left out. If I had the chance to do more than one lesson in the unit I would make sure to spend time covering these people. I think it's important for students to learn about historical figures that look like them (figuratively and literally). I think that could help some students with identity vs role confusion, or even identify achievement. I know I learned a lot about myself and what I believed in by reading and learning about other people who had done important work. As a young kid, I realized that civil rights were important to me because I read books about the Freedom Riders and other activists. Reading about people you can identify with can help give a sense of purpose and identity, which can improve self-image and self-esteem.
One thing I thought of after I was done teaching the lesson was that I should have focused on the question of slavery and asked the students to think about what they would have done and asked whether or not the felt the compromise was the best option. "Was there another way?" This could have improved their cognitive development. This applies to the Kohlberg's levels of moral development. That would have really helped make the lesson more relevant in many ways and helped them develop higher level thinking skills. They could have used their reasoning skills, as part of the developing Formal Operation Stage (Piaget). I think I missed a good opportunity here.
I do think this learning theory was an effective strategy for this lesson. I believe that authentic lessons provide the best learning opportunities. I considered whether or not to have the students create their own classroom constitution, but in the end, decided that it might do the students a disservice by providing a false sense of the moral difficulties that the Founding Father's faced. I didn't want them walking away thinking the Constitution was created simply or "for fun." In the future, I'd place more emphasis on the moral issues surrounding the compromises, particularly that of slavery, as I believe that is one of the most profound and important things to understand about the compromises. I think that would help them with their moral development and their identity, two skills that are important long after the facts and details of the Constitutional Convention are forgotten.
I could have used some parts of the social cognitivism theory, particularly modeling the source analysis and worksheet prior to giving it to the students. Some of the students might have learned better through at least one instance of observational learning and I could have used vicarious reinforcement to possibly motivate those that weren't actively participating in the group activity. The one class that wasn't as engaged maybe could have used a tootsie roll or small extrinsic motivator to encourage participation. I do think that the group work helped with the self-efficacy, which is a pedagogic strategy to encourage self-efficacy, as well as collective self-efficacy. Also, I think I could have used some symbolic models by showing them the film "A More Perfect Union" that depicts the hot summer in which the Founding Fathers created the Consitution. That might have helped demonstrate the moral and ethical dilemmas, as well as the conflicts and compromises.
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