Polling and Data Analysis in Social Studies

 

Stretching the thinking in History education sometimes happens spontaneously. A few years ago I found a resource from the incredible iCivics site related to the role presidents play in government, featuring examples from the early years of the nation, and the first four presidents. It became a great review of the big picture events of these presidents, their roles in building a strong nation, as well as a review of the Three Branches of Government.

Students read the scenarios and decided if the examples represented Stable Finances, Peaceful Politics, or Self-Defense. I decided to extend the learning on the moment and took a poll as to which of the three students felt was most important. The next task was to calculate the percentages and create a pie chart with the poll data. The result was a strong opportunity to strengthen students' learning in a different way.

This year teaching hybrid (teaching students synchronously in-seat and virtually simultaneously) makes planning more mindful, in every way. If everyone was in-seat I could use the "show of hands" method of data collection. If students were all virtual I could use a Zoom poll, show of hands, or chat features, some would be quicker than others, though. I decided to create a poll in Schoology, our LMS platform.

All students were quickly and easily able to answer the question in an update format and I gathered data from each class this way. 

Students were encouraged to use the Canva site (to familiarize themselves with the site since we will use it two more times this year), but others chose Excel or a site that worked best for them. 

Some students wanted to write on paper--they could, but only if they knew how to use a compass and protractor to accurately calculate angles and create a pie chart their math teachers would be proud of! :)

After the graphs were completed we deepened our learning through social science analysis. Students had to explain the data on their graphs, explain why they chose their selection of Stable Finances, Peaceful Politics, or Self-Defense as the best of the Presidential Pillars of government, but then were tasked with justifying the importance of the other two pillars, while refuting those selections and explaining why their choice was superior. Refutation is challenging and confidence building. Students need to acknowledge the worthiness of the other selections, while defending their choice as the best.

Final projects were good and this attempt at refutation, a skill they will need to master in High School Social Studies classes, was encouraging.

Stretching thinking and providing cross-curricular opportunities for learning benefits all.