Irish Famine Quest Reflection

The webquest that I developed regarding the Irish Potato Famine/Blight of 1845 – 1850 explores a historical event that directly contributed to approximately one million deaths and displaced another million during the five year period.  The displaced moved to England briefly before immigrating to Canada and the United States.  While the facts explored during the quest are historically important, the main purpose of the quest is to develop a sense of empathy with the plight of immigrants and the multitude reasons behind their relocation as well as develop skills necessary in higher education and the professional work place.  These major skills reinforced include the ability to work collaboratively; collect, analyze, and synthesizing knowledge from multiple sources; critical thinking and time management.

During the exercise, students are required to explore and sift through numerous sources, discover additional sources, and evaluate its relevance before forming and writing an opinion on a blog or message board.  Additionally students have to perform these steps as a team (groups between 3 to 4 students), working collaboratively to complete the quest and form/communicate their own opinions.  The skills listed above support - in part - the content, skills, behavior, and attitude found in the “Implication of Trends for Student Learning in 2025” document developed by the spring 2011 section of EDUC 671.

The Irish Famine Quest deals with the subject of social justice by assisting students in empathizing with the victims of a historical event, reflect upon the responsibilities of governments and their protectorates, and draw parallels between historical immigration to the United States and current patterns.  These three examples of social justice are influenced by the class’ vision that “today’s students are tomorrow’s citizens – creating and shaping the world we live in.”  The skills developed and/or honed during the quest support the vision statement excerpt “we, as educators, must instill in students lifelong critical thinking and interpersonal skills for success in an increasing global and technological society.”

The quest addresses NCSS Principle 8 [Science, Technology, and Society] because students are required to access prior multidiscipline knowledge, seek additional information and synthesize an opinion regarding the ability of science and/or technology to avert the famine/blight.  The quest also embodies NCSS Principle 9 [Global Connections] by requiring participants to evaluate the critical issues of a historical event which included poverty, disease, human rights, and global ecology.  The ability of students to synthesize knowledge related to these principles will assist them in becoming better informed and equipped citizens of the US and the wider world.

It is my desire that the participants in the Irish Famine Quest get a greater sense not only of the plight of the Irish during this trying period of time but also make connections to current day events and conditions.  Additionally, the resulting empathy should not be limited to those historical participants but should be directed to those contemporary emigrants/immigrants that are moving throughout our world.  As our world continues to shrink because due in large part to technological and transportation advancements, I hope this activity helps students apply the knowledge and lessons of a historical event to what can be controlled and improved in the current day.