GIVE ME YOUR TIRED, YOUR POOR…TEACHING ABOUT DISCRIMINATION THROUGH AN EXPERIENTIAL IMMIGRATION UNIT

Abstract

“You never really know a man until you understand things from his point of view, until you climb into his skin and walk around in it” (Lee, 1960). Empathy is the ability to share someone else’s feelings and create an emotional connection with another human being (Brown, 2013). History will become relevant when its participants create connections with people of the past rather than view history as merely a collection of dead people and dates. Students must learn from mistakes in history in order to make positive changes in the future. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1963, p. 2) said in his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Historical mistakes, such as the disenfranchisement of others, are still current issues in today’s society. Exposing students to authentic experiences with discrimination is one way to teach empathy for the marginalized.

This dissertation examines how an experiential immigration unit about discrimination affected student empathy, how students applied and transferred new learning to future situations, and how students demonstrated motivation, engagement, and ownership of their learning. It followed three fifth-grade classes in an academic magnet school as students participated in an experiential immigration unit about discrimination. The dissertation examines student impressions as they participated in activities such as role-play, simulations, and decision-making. Coded data collected included interviews, reflections, diaries, work samples, and the researcher’s journal. The qualitative approach for this study was phenomenological and naturalistic inquiry. Students experienced a phenomenon together through an immigration unit. The researcher looked for common themes as they developed from the participants’ data.

The extensive data set revealed a substantial understanding that when students immersed themselves in their learning through experiential activities such as simulations, they were able to empathize with historical figures and connect the meaningful experiences into their everyday lives; and when students are engaged in their learning, they place a higher value on the knowledge and become active participants in their education. A surprising aspect emerged from the student voices: openly structured debriefing and reflective activities were essential to the learning process.

Keywords: experiential education, empathy, immigration, discrimination, and student engagement, student voice