Oral Assessment in Modern History

Empathy Task

Giving Talks -Why is it SO Hard?

• Talking in front of your peers- is it the closest experience to contemplating death?;

• Being marked and ranked by usually two teachers;

• Valuing the importance of oral history• Interpreting two sources related to your topic

The TaskYou are required to select ONE of the key features and issues and select 1 Learn about from the list below. You are required to identify yourself as an individual or group and outline the role you played in the development of this key feature and learn about researched. For example, you may decide you are an American general infantryman and you examine the key feature of strategies and tactics used by the US military during the Tet Offensive in 1968(Learn About). Or You could be a mother of a US soldier and your opposition to the Vietnam War. So your key feature would be nature and consequences of US involvement and your Learn About would be nature and significance of anti-war movements in the USA

Task Continued

• So select one of the key features and issues• Key features and issues: nature and role of nationalism nature and role of communism nature and consequences of US involvement strategies and tactics impact of the war on civilians in Indochina attempts at peacemaking reasons for communist victory

Getting Students to engage with the syllabus through the process.

• The key features and issues are the stems of the HSC questions. By completing this task, it allows them some scope on how to respond to HSC essay questions.

Task RequirementsSelect one of the learn abouts: 1 Indochina after the French

– consequences of the Vietnamese victory against the French – consequences of the Geneva Peace Agreement for the Vietnamese people to 1964 – political, social, economic and military developments within North and South Vietnam

2 The USA and Indochina

– political and social issues in Indochina by 1960 – nature and development of US policy towards Indochina generally and Vietnam in particular – impact of direct US military involvement in Vietnam and the consequences for Vietnam and Cambodia

3 The Second Indochina War

– nature and effectiveness of the strategy and tactics employed by the North Vietnamese Army and the National Liberation Front (NLF), and by the South Vietnamese and the USA

– impact of the 1968 Tet Offensive – impact of the war on civilians in Indochina – impact of the spread of the Vietnam War to Cambodia – nature and significance of anti-war movements in the USA – the defeat of the South Vietnamese forces

4 Pol Pot’s Regime

– rise to power of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia – nature, aims and methods of Pol Pot

Preparation for the Task• Start your speech by saying “I am……; the key feature I will examine is and……the

learn about I have researched is…….

 • You will have 6 minutes to identify the key feature and the learn about topic. You must be

able to show how you have analysed two sources in your speech and give the perspective of the individual or group regarding the event you are researching.

 • If you use a powerpoint, limit the number of slides you have as we would like you to see

how well you have understood your character in the context of the area of research you have done.

 • To successfully complete this task, students are to bring 2 sources of their own choosing

to the class on the day as part of your speech.. Other sources should be referred to in the response 2 sources to be stapled to the back of your typed out speech. Put your name and your class teacher on the cover and put in a plastic sheet protector.

Explicit teaching of what is required in the task

• Much discussion occurs after the task is handed out. • Again being explicit in what is required and getting

feedback from the students with questions is pivotal in getting students to produce a quality speech.

• What might seem straight forward to you may be quite daunting to a student who struggles with interpreting sources or understanding what it means to walk in someone’s shoes with the empathy task.

They will never expect it- glitter

during the flower power speech

Perfect- then I will baffle them

with aliens!!!

Explicit teaching of what is required in the task

• Do I have to dress up? Usually some students use one prop but many choose not to do that.

• Palm cards?• How will I be marked?• How many slides or do I have to use slides?• How do I integrate the sources I use in my

speech? What key terms should I use?

Examples of PERSPECTIVE

Time Gender Power/Authority Partisanship Proximity Social Class Nationality (be careful !!)

Getting the right source

Props and other things

So how are the speeches organised by students?

Sources

Being brave enough to look at a different angle

South Vietnamese Soldier

Personal journeys