In search of the Santo Espiritu Constructing literacy

In search of the Santo Espiritu: Constructing literacy from historical evidence Mary Reynolds St Stithians College

Baseline course (basic skills) Information literacy course

Nishimuro (1999, p. 1) Information literacy

The Question is … The question is how come the teacher asks all the questions when I'm the one who needs to know things. The question is why I'm supposed to have the answers to all my parent's questions when they can't answer mine. The question is why scientists ask ten questions for every answer they get but I have to answer seven out of ten to pass. The question is why politicians learn not to answer questions while I must learn how to answer them. The question is why questions have to be answered fast in school when philosophers take years to answer them. The question is why there are so many little questions in school when Marie Curie spent her whole life on one big question. The question is why I must find answers to already answered questions when I have questions that have not yet been answered. The question is why can't I be in charge of the questions? Jamie Mc. Kenzie www. fromnowon. org

From evidence to hypothesis

Observe …

Plates, bowls, jars?

Learner 1 Learner 2 Learner 3 Learner 4 Keyword 1 Keyword 2 Keyword 3 Keyword 4 Keyword 5 Double Mouth carrack survival vitrification China Macao Santo Espiritu cobalt Agulhas current navigation instruments Delgoa Bay shipwrecks Ming sherds trade winds Portugal/ Portuguese Indian Ocean Symbols Porcelain Jingdezhen Table 1: Table of keyword distribution

Challenge hypothesis with questions Who Factual questions What? Basic facts Where? When? Prime questions Why? How? Reasons Causes Which? Consequences What if? Suppositions

Scaffolding the research process Library +OPAC Keywords Evaluating Skimming & scanning Multiple sources Referencing

Scaffolding understanding • Information processing sheet (IPS) example • Information processing sheet (IPS) template

The story unfolds Jingdezhen Macao Portuguese Carrack

Alternative routes? http: //www. ucalgary. ca/applied_history/tutor/eurvoya/map. html

The story unfolds Trade winds Ocean currents Navigation instruments Astrolabe: Rabbi Zacuto Portugal 15 th. C Compass: 300 China BC

The story unfolds Chinese map of Africa 1389 Chinese map of the World 1418

The story unfolds The Wild Coast is exactly that: “the pounding breakers and cauldron of its boiling seas when stormy conditions reign” causing many shipwrecks. http: //www. beachandbush. co. za/things. To. See/scenic_places/wild_coast_shipwrecks

The story unfolds Black Rock is a graveyard to a number of ships, such as the Santo Espiritu which ran aground in 1608. Testimony to this are a number of Carnelian beads and Chinese blue and white Ming porcelain shards found in the shingle and grass lining the rocky shore. http: //www. dispatch. co. za/1999/12/13/entertainment/FUN 1. HTM

Survival! Vitrification = indestructible “Of the original party of 72 only nine made it back to Delgoa Bay … where they were hoping to find a ship to transport them back to Portugal and only four of these men made the trip back home. ” Port Elizabeth Times Delgoa Bay

Problems encountered • Logistics – Teacher turnover – Time slot and length • Cognitive – – – Global awareness Sequencing and linking concepts Co-operation Superficial questions Ignore cached websites Cueing presentations

Benefits • Global thinking – Holistic view of the world (North-South, East-West) • Integration – – – Natural Science Geography Arts & culture Mathematics English Zulu

The role of History • A unifying role in the curriculum • About culture , trade, art, language, influence • How different might our history have been if Zheng He had been a conqueror not just an explorer? • Toleration of uncertainty • Creative imagination and courage to challenge the unknown

mreynolds@stithian. com