Integration of Technology into Instruction

Study and Analysis of Migration

This project encourages students to develop a sophisticated understanding of migration, a phenomenon repeated throughout history (from country to country, from region to region within a country, and from rural to urban areas). Emigrants leave their native lands for a variety of reasons, including war and political/ethnic persecution, freedom of religious practice, and improved economic prospects.

While this project requires Internet access, a computer and database software, its point is not to teach the use of technology - though to complete this project, students must use technology to perform genuine research and analysis. The goal is to more effectively teach the traditional high school curriculum, and in this instance, the Internet provides vastly superior access to statistics than traditional print sources. To analyze a substantial body of data, especially numerical data, database software is more flexible and efficient than legal pads or index cards.

Objectives:

• To explore migration as an economic, geographic and human phenomenon

• To convey the connection between statistics and everyday life

• To perform genuine research and analysis

• To express research conclusions in written form

Time Required:

Two to three weeks

Materials, Tools and Resources Required:

Internet Access

Filemaker Pro database software (or a program with similar capabilities)

Web Sites ( to obtain statistics):

1999 CIA World Factbook

http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html

Inter-American Development Bank

http://www.iadb.org/

World Bank

http://www.worldbank.org/

Tips for Teachers and/or Teacher Preparation:

• This assignment may be readily adapted to any region or culture.

• The analytical rigor can be adjusted by requiring less (or more) formation and testing of hypotheses.

• It would obviously be helpful if students had some knowledge of the regions or countries being studied. If the students are very advanced, they will be able to undertake most of this assignment on their own. Most classes will require substantial direct instruction and class discussion.

• The project may be undertaken either individually or by small groups.

• The project is readily linked to literature, art, and film.

• The project is suited to various types of writing assignments.

• Geography is a mystery to many of our students and inhibits understanding of history and economics. It is valuable to point them to the Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection:

  http://www.lib.utexas.edu/Libs/PCL/Map_collection/Map_collection.html

• If students don't know how to use a web browser - or how to save or print documents, they will require basic instruction in these areas. Ideally this should occur outside of regular class time - or there won't be much time for the content that's supposed to be taught.

• Many students have never done research, which includes developing hypotheses and analyzing the information one discovers. Some students will need to learn that printing out or downloading information is only the middle of the process.

• There are interesting discrepancies in the statistical data presented by various sources. This presents an opportunity to discuss the imprecision of estimates.

• Given the high cost of printing, particularly with inkjet printers, it makes sense to create a binder in which printouts from the CIA World Factbook should be for student use.

• The vast majority of students will require instruction in the design of databases and their use for data analysis.

• Students will need to learn terminology related to geography, population, and economics (per capita, GDP, infant mortality, population density, etc.) - but the point of this project is to teach those subjects!

  Prerequisite Student Knowledge:

Students should be generally familiar with the Caribbean islands and their history.

They should also be familiar with the basic categories of economic and population data.

They should also know the following:

• Citizens of the Anglophone (English-speaking) Caribbean tend to emigrate to Britain, Canada, and the United States.

• Citizens of the Hispanic (Spanish-speaking) Caribbean tend to emigrate to the United States.

• Citizens of most of the Francophone (French-speaking) Caribbean tend to emigrate to France, except for citizens of Haiti, who emigrate to both France and the United States.

• Citizens of the smaller islands tend to emigrate to the larger islands, though some also emigrate to industrialized countries.

• There are no limits on migration by residents of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands or from Martinique and Guadeloupe to France.

Procedure:

The assignment is to use economic and population data to explain why residents of the Caribbean islands emigrate to industrialized countries: Britain, Canada, France, and the United States.

1) Research the Caribbean and its history, including geography (location, climate, natural resources), population (numbers, density, literacy, health), and economy (productivity, key industries). Is the population increasing, decreasing, or remaining the same? Are there more immigrants coming to the island or emigrants leaving the island? Students should use a combination of print and electronic sources.

2) Decide (and justify) which economic and population data best explain migration. Students should write five to ten hypotheses to be tested.

3) Locate and consider the same data for the industrialized destination countries to which Caribbean citizens emigrate.

4) Reveal any significant discrepancies in statistical data presented by different sources Ð and how they decided which source(s) to use.

5) Create a database that includes the statistical categories they have selected, and enter the data for both the Caribbean and destination countries.

6) Use the database to test hypotheses. Which hypotheses are supported by the data? Present data (print out) to support these hypotheses. Explain.

7) Which hypotheses are not supported by the data? Present data (print out) which prompted them to conclude that these hypotheses were not correct. Explain.

8) What new hypotheses were formed based on analyzing the data? Present data (print out) which prompted them to conclude that these hypotheses were promising. Explain.

Culminating Activity/Assessment:

Write an expository essay explaining why people from the Caribbean emigrate to one or more industrialized country (the United States, the U.K., or Canada would be best). The essay should provide three arguments, supported by economic and population data. Printouts from the database must be provided to backup the arguments presented in the essay. The initial hypotheses and subsequent evaluations/revisions must also be presented, along with a reflection on what was learned from this project. A bibliography, in proper MLA form (see http://www.mla.org), should be included

Rubric:

Rubric for Assessing Essay for Caribbean Migration Project

Caribbean Data 1

Caribbean Data 2

California Historical and Social Science Analysis Skills

Chronological and Spatial Thinking

3. Students use a variety of maps and documents to interpret human movement, including major patterns of domestic and international migration, changing environmental preferences and settlement patterns, the frictions that develop between population groups, and the diffusion of ideas, technological innovations, and goods.

California Social Science Content Standards:

10.11 Students analyze the integration of countries into the world economy and the information, technological, communications revolutions (e.g.,television, satellites, computers).

11.8 Students analyze the economic boom and social transformation of post-World War II America.

11.9 Students analyze U.S. foreign policy since World War II.

11.11 Students analyze the major social problems and domestic policy issues in contemporary American society.

12.2 Students evaluate and take and defend positions on the scope and limits of rights and obligations as democratic citizens, the relationships among them, and how they are secured.

National Education Technology Standards for Students

Students use technology to locate, evaluate, and collect information form a variety of sources,

Students use technology tools to process data and report, results,

Students use techology resources for solving problems and making informed decisions.