Mark Byers
Western Alamance (NC) High School
Social Studies 

I primarily teach ninth grade World History, but have also taught Civics

and Economics, World Religions, Military History, U.S. History, and World

Cultures.  I entered teaching as a second career through lateral-entry

certification after two decades teaching youth and adults as an ordained

full-time youth pastor.

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Finding ways to keep history interesting: Students make cardboard shields and act-out ancient Greek phalanx warfare

INSPIRATION

A researcher brings much to a project.  In recent years, I have witnessed/experienced a (seemingly) endless bombardment of anti-lecture rhetoric from administrators and so-called-experts who are no longer in an active teaching environment.  For some time, I have called my own practice “directed-discussion” – a kind of politically-correct cousin to lecture. 

Rather than a “monotonous monotone monologue by a moron,” directed-discussion includes: pre-class student reading, frequently posed dilemmas for student verbal response in “real-time,” multiple forms of input (student-drawn maps, charts, tables, visual images), and my own colorful/ humorous/ energetic content-delivery.

STUDENT POPULATION FOR THIS STUDY

It is important to know the basic profile of the student subjects.  This was a second-semester ninth grade class, so the students had largely acclimated to the High School environment with its increased demands and expectations (contra Middle School).  The class was a World History class, so assessments and expectations were teacher-developed rather than state-mandated.  It was an Honors-level class, so there was an atmosphere of preparation for college by the students (expectations, homework load, higher-level thinking, etc.) and by myself (format, expectation of initiative and study skills, etc.).  The actual research-event was fairly deep into the semester, so the students had become comfortable with my delivery and my in-class academic expectations.

STUDY QUESTIONS

1. How does pre-class preparatory textual reading impact in-class note-taking during directed-discussion?
2. How does a student’s in-class verbal participation impact his/her note-taking during directed-discussion?
3. How do pre-class preparatory textual reading and in-class note-taking in a directed-discussion format impact performance on teacher-developed assessments?
4. How do a student’s in-class verbal participation and in-class note-taking in a directed-discussion format impact performance on teacher-developed assessments?

FOCUS RESEARCH QUESTION

How do students learn from directed-discussion as evidenced by their note-taking efforts, self-reflection on their learning, and preparedness for teacher-developed assessments?

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