University of New Mexico UNM Digital Repository Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs Education ETDs 6-25-2010 The Enduring Communities Project of Japanese American Experiences in New Mexico during World War II and Beyond: A Teachers Journey in Creating Meaningful Curriculum for the Secondary Social Studies Classroom Diane Ball Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.edu/educ_llss_etds Recommended Citation Ball, Diane. "The Enduring Communities Project of Japanese American Experiences in New Mexico during World War II and Beyond: A Teachers Journey in Creating Meaningful Curriculum for the Secondary Social Studies Classroom.edu/educ_llss_etds/4 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Education ETDs at UNM Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs by an authorized administrator of UNM Digital Repository. For more information, please contact disc@unm.
The Enduring Communities Project of Japanese American Experiences in New Mexico during World War II and Beyond: A Teacher’s Journey in Creating Meaningful Curriculum for the Secondary Social Studies Classroom BY Diane Leslie Ball B., History and Russian Studies, The University of New Mexico, 1984 M., Secondary Education, The University of New Mexico, 2002 DISSERTATION Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Language, Literacy and Sociocultural Studies The University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico May 2010 DEDICATION To Mom, for the gift of history To Allyson, for the opportunity To Lyn, for the journey iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In any endeavor of this size, the journey to create the dissertation was certainly not a singular act. This paper would have never have been written without the members of the Enduring Communities Project both in New Mexico and other participating states. My fellow team members provided me with the opportunity to be part of a rich and exciting experience that broadened my intellectual horizons and introduced me to an understudied piece of American history. Allyson Nakamoto and other members of the Japanese American National Museum provided encouragement and support to tell the story of our project to create meaningful curriculum.
It is from others that we are taught and my own development can only be measured as part of our three-year interaction together. In order to take the Enduring Communities Project from implementation to dissertation, I owe a large debt of gratitude to my dissertation committee. Rosalita Mitchell taught me how to define the role of teacher education within the framework of the classroom and for that experience, I am so very grateful. She has also been a tireless supporter of National Board Certification in our state and I have enjoyed learning from her about the need for reflective teacher practice.
Lucretia Pence brought to the conversation questions about why I was following certain threads within my research. She helped me to think beyond the boundaries of my research framework. Don Zancanella, as my chair, was able to guide my work into a theoretical framework that provided an opportunity for self-study and narrative inquiry. He also introduced me to the value of educational theory in the secondary classroom.
And finally, Dr. Lynette Oshima brought me to the project and guided my research to maximize both the power of iv content and pedagogy. Her commitment to social studies education was demonstrated over and over again as she asked the hard questions about the value of my work and how it was reflected in student outcomes. As a leader, as an educator and as a mentor, I owe her a great deal of thanks for pushing my thinking beyond the immediacy of the classroom.
All the members of my committee gave me the freedom to explore a different kind of research that brought meaning to the journey. In addition to the academic faculty, museum personnel and members of the Enduring Communities project, I want to thank Jean and Dave Oakes who read countless drafts of my paper, looking for the errors both large and small. Their family has been an important support system for me over the last several years. To Monique, my friend and principal, her support has been constant as this project grew beyond the confines of my classroom and she has been an inspiration in showing how leadership fosters learning at all levels.
I have had the good fortune to be surrounded by colleagues, family, and dear friends who encouraged me when I thought the road was too rough, pushed me when I doubted my own abilities and cheered me as the journey came to a close. I am forever indebted to their love and support over the last six years as they provide me with inspiration each and every day. Finally, to the three girls who have given me unconditional love while not really understanding this whole process. I hope they are able to discover the value of their own history and see the impact they might have on the world.
v The Enduring Communities Project of Japanese American Experiences in New Mexico during World War II and Beyond: A Teacher’s Journey in Creating Meaningful Curriculum for the Secondary Social Studies Classroom BY Diane Leslie Ball ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Language, Literacy and Sociocultural Studies The University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico May, 2010 The Enduring Communities Project of Japanese American Experiences in New Mexico during World War II and Beyond: A Teacher’s Journey in Creating Meaningful Curriculum for the Secondary Social Studies Classroom by Diane Leslie Ball B., History and Russian Studies, The University of New Mexico, 1984 M., Secondary Education, The University of New Mexico, 2002 Ph., Language, Literacy and Sociocultural Studies, The University of New Mexico, 2010 ABSTRACT In 2006, the Japanese American National Museum funded a three year curriculum development project entitled Enduring Communities: Japanese Americans in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas and Utah. As a member of the team of teachers from New Mexico, I used this experience to study my process of developing meaningful content and pedagogy about Japanese American internment for U. History and Civics courses at the secondary level. History is full of stories involving characters, actions, events, artifacts and analysis by those within the experience and those studying the experience in an academic setting.
Understanding the past means knowing how what happened was shaped by a multiplicity of factors including the lives of those affected then and now. Developing this kind of historical knowledge was transformative; ideas became more important than facts. For the student, it meant learning to analyze and synthesize information to expand their thinking beyond a single event. Civil liberties for example, vii could be examined through the lens of the Japanese American experience during World War II.
Narrative inquiry provides a methodology to document as well as analyze this personal story of curriculum development. Using Clandinin and Connelley‟s (2000, 2002) three-dimensional narrative inquiry space, the study focused on the context of the experience, the temporality of locating events within a larger framework, story-telling and metaphor as a way to describe the experience, and the inclusion of different voices to explore point-of-view. Data included journal entries, primary sources, video tapes, readings of both historical and pedagogical materials, student work from field tests, and interviews with team members and museum personnel. The conclusions were that (1) teacher-driven curriculum development is an under- utilized process leading to effective instruction in the classroom, (2) teachers voices need to be included and valued within the field of curriculum development, (3) experiences like the Enduring Communities Project are invaluable professional development opportunities for teachers, and (4) the combination of research, pedagogy and time are crucial components of effective teaching.
Future studies should explore the need for teacher-driven curriculum and study the connections between theorists, theory and practice in the secondary social studies classroom. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES. xii LIST OF TABLES. xiv CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION.
1 Statement of the Problem. 2 History, Knowledge, and Teaching. 7 Developing Core Knowledge. 13 Significance of the Study.
15 CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW. 19 Defining Curriculum & Curriculum Development. 20 Developing Meaning in the Classroom. 53 CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY.
55 Defining Narrative Inquiry. 57 The Researcher as Participant. 61 Rationale for Using Narrative Inquiry. 64 Key Components of Narrative Inquiry.
70 ix Story-Telling & Metaphor. 73 Data-Gathering Methods & Strategies. 78 Reflective Experience Journal (REJ). 81 Ethical Consideration/Positionality.
84 CHAPTER IV RESEARCH FINDINGS & ANALYSIS. 86 Rules of the Game. 89 Bats, Balls & Gloves. 101 Our First Away Game.
104 Are we a Team or Not?. 125 Batting Cage Practice. 135 Our Second Away Game. 168 The World Series.
173 The Post-Season All Stars Games. 184 The Post-Season Analysis. 189 My Learning Experience. 190 Historical Knowledge & Context.
193 From Content to Pedagogy. 197 Reflection through Narrative. 200 Implications of the Study. 211 APPENDIX A Internment Theme Basket Annotated Bibliography.
212 APPENDIX B Timeline for Japanese Americans in New Mexico. 214 APPENDIX C Correspondence from Japanese American National Museum. 216 xi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: My representation of the 3-dimensional narrative inquiry space. 62 Figure 2: The Research Journey within the metaphor of a baseball diamond.
88 Figure 3: Picture of the Outside Entrance to the Japanese American National Museum. 107 Figure 4: Former Hongwanji Buddhist Temple connected to the National Center for the Preservation for Democracy. 108 Figure 5: Hand-Outs about Individuals from the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy. 113 Figure 6: Program from “A Special Arkansas Reunion” at STI 06.
117 Figure 7: Lange Photograph of Japanese in San Francisco heading towards Tanforan Assembly Center. 137 Figure 8: Student‟s visualization from Chapter 1, When the Emperor was Divine. 139 Figure 9: STOP #2 & 3: Student Response to Readings & Photographs. 140 Figure 10: Lange Photograph from the Tanforan Assembly Center in San Bruno, California as people wait in line for the single mess hall at noon.
141 Figure 11: Article from the Gallup Independent on October 25, 2003. 143 Figure 12: Poem used as a writing prompt for final assessment. 145 Figure 13: Example of a Special Education Student‟s Response. 146 Figure 14: The Front Gate at Manzanar National Historic Site.
152 Figure 15: The Reconstructed Guard Tower at Manzanar National Historic Site. 154 Figure 16: The Location of the Baseball Field with bases at Manzanar National Historic Site. 156 xii Figure 17: Holes for the Toilets at Manzanar National Historic Site. 157 Figure 18: An Old Barracks at Manazar National Historic Site.
159 Figure 19: Women working the Camouflage Factory at Manzanar National Historic Site. 160 Figure 20: Daybreak near the Buddhist Marker at Manzanar National Historic Site. 161 Figure 21: My rendition of a Place in the Museum: The Suitcase for Fear and the Buddhist Marker for Hope. 165 Figure 22: Day Four Reflective Questions and My Responses.
167 Figure 23: Schedule at a Glance from the Conference Program, July 2008. 176 Figure 24: The New Mexico Presentation at the National Conference, July 2008. 180 Figure 25: My presentation board on the U. History unit, NMCSS, April 2009.
185 xiii LIST OF TABLES Table 1: STI 06: Day One Reflective Question and My Responses. 114 Table 2: Day Three Reflective Question and Answers from State Groups. 122 Table 3: The outcome of our essential understandings meeting at STI 06. 124 Table 4: Teaching and Learning Topics, October 14, 2006.
127 Table 5: Secondary Lesson Plan Template for U. 131 Table 6: Field Test, November 2006: Day Three of my Curriculum Unit. 134 Table 7: Field Test, April 2007: Day-by-Day Outline of my Curriculum Unit. 138 Table 8: STI 07: Day One Reflective Question and My Responses.
164 Table 9: Secondary Lesson Plan Template for U.
