Unit Design

Overview: Reform movements of the early 19th century manifested into changes and ongoing
transformations in American history. However, reform movements are not static and often
change direction, meaning, or sometimes significance. The students taking American history at
the time of this unit were studying the reform movements of the early 1800s and were to use that
knowledge to transfer understanding to authentic and modern-day issues. The unit is designed
based off the elements of authentic learning and assessment as well as the implementation of
clicker devices, both are meant to engage and develop competencies regarding material.
Specifically, journals of academic research affected the development and execution of this unit.
Beginning with the use of clicker devices to critically think about the assigned reading. The
article, The Clicker-Device Challenge: Using a Reader Response System in the (British) History
Classroom summarized the importance of this technology tool for classroom learning and
assessment. The article was about the use of Audience Response Systems (ARS) or, clickers, in a
British history course for North American students. The author of the piece emphasized the use
of clicker devices beyond reciting and recalling factual information, but rather the use of ARS to
evaluating arguments and engaging in historiography. David Dean, the author article, used
ARS to assess students comprehension, develop perspectives (with open ended questions), and
launch student engagement. With closed ended, comprehension based questions, the author was
able to assess whether the students were understanding (or doing) the reading and whether the
material in the lecture was making sense to the students. Likewise, open ended questions allowed
the instructor to call upon students to make arguments to defend their position based on their
answer. According to the author, clickers allowed for students to consider key issues of
evidence, argument, method and approach, and are useful in developing the craft of a historian
which is to defend an argument.
In regards to authentic learning and assessment, researchers Ashford, Herrington, and Brown
(2014) developed criteria for lessons like that implemented for this lesson. The authors
constructed eight points that each lesson should be developed from:

An authentic assessment should be challenging

The outcome of the authentic assessment should be in the form of a challenge or product
Authentic assessment design should ensure or transfer knowledge
Metacognition as a component of authentic assessment
The importance of a requirement to ensure accuracy in assessment performance
The role of the assessment environment and the tools used to deliver the assessment task
The importance of formally designing in an opportunity to discuss and provide feedback
Value of collaboration

The authors of the study concluded that students responded well to the incorporation of the
aforementioned criteria into the process of learning and instruction (p.220).
The modern reform movements unit transferred the ideas and arguments made by the authors of
these two studies. The unit took place over the course of three to four class periods. The students

were all 11th grade students at Apalachee High School, the total number of students were 27. The
course this unit was designed for was Advanced Placement U.S. History (APUSH). There are no
academic requirements for taking the course.
Process
The students were given an assigned reading from the class textbook (American Pageant 16th
addition). The reading covered reform movements of the early 1800s, which included
abolitionism, temperance, womens rights, and utopian/peace societies.
The students came into the next class period and took a reading assessment on clicker response
devices. The set of questions covered the content and reform movements from the reading.
Questions the students had about the material was discussed there, as well as follow up questions
pertinent to the reading.
After the reading assessment, the students were given the authentic learning assessment, which
addressed modern reform movements. The learners were to use the knowledge they had acquired
to transfer it to contemporary issues. The students went to the media center at the school and
worked on the assignment in groups of two or three (this is because of the limited access of
computers, there were not enough working computers for all the students working on the
assignment at once). A curated list of digital resources and content resources were available via
website link located on the teachers classroom created site. They were given two class periods
to complete the assignment and submit it to the instructors e-mail address. After the assignment
was completed, students completed an in-class discussion about the similarities and differences
between the two reform movements.

Ashford-Rowe, K., Herrington, J., & Brown, C. (2014). Establishing the critical elements that
determine authentic assessment. Assessment & Evaluation In Higher Education, 39(2),
205-222.
Dean, D. (2013). The Clicker Challenge: Using a Reader Response System in the (British)
History Classroom. History Teacher, 46(3), 455-464.