Learning Technique: Who am I? - Explore, Connect, Identify, Belong

• Citizenship
• Primary Education
• Lower Secondary (Key Stage 3)
• Upper Secondary (Key Stage 4)
• Further Education (Key Stage 5)
• Higher Education (degree)
• Special Education
• Higher Education (non-degree)

Introduction

It is not unusual for people, systems, objects or ideas to be judged or given labels without others really knowing much about them. This routine encourages students to take time to find out more about what they see and/or hear, explore other people deeply and broadly, and develop greater understanding of similarities and differences.

Instructions

Application: When and where can I use it?

Identity can be a sensitive matter. This does not mean we should never take up sensitive matters in our classes; arguably we should from time to time. It’s always a judgment call. Other questions that can foster further understanding of the ways an individual’s identity is developed include: Does where you, or where your parents were born, influence your identity? Do the place you live, your school, your friends shape your identity in some ways? What about your religion and/or skin color? What do you think has shaped your identity?

Launch: Tips on how to implement this routine?

The routine can be introduced and incorporated in one lesson, or in more steps. The process can be planned or shaped in response to specific discussions you want to stimulate. It can be broken into steps, which can be revisited over time.

• How can similarities, not only differences, be brought into discussions about identity? Students in the same school wear different clothes, eat different foods, and celebrate different festivals. Often their identities are shaped by their differences, and generalisations are often made that group them with others sharing those attributes. Invite students to find similarities they share. Invite them to look for similarities among students who come from different family structures, or those who make very different choices in how they spend the time away from school. They often share unexpected similarities.
• What are some tips to help your students "identify" themselves? You could invite students to role play, and introduce themselves to each other for the first time by asking each other questions. Discuss the multiplicity of identity. Who do people think you are? Can the same person be a sister, a daughter, a student, a swimmer, a friend? Where do you think you belong? Is a sense of belonging important?

This thinking routine was developed by Project Zero at the Harvard Graduate School of Education as part of the PZ Connect project with generous support from Independent Schools Victoria (AU).

Who am I?

Learning Technique

Explore: 

Who am I? How has my identity developed?

Connect:

I am connected to my parents, their parents and my family. Who else and what else am I connected to?

Identify:

If I wanted others to know who I am, what would identify me? Do we have more than one identity?

Belong:

Where do I think I belong? Do I have a sense of belonging to more than one group, more than one place?

Aardappeloproer

1917

Enkele Amsterdamse vrouwen zagen dat er een schip vol aardappelen in een van de grachten lag. Ze gingen erop af en plunderden het schip: hun schorten vol aardappelen. De dag erna waren er meer plunderaars. Pas nadat zes mensen door het leger werden doodgeschoten, keerde de rust terug