By Michael Niehoff
Education Content Coordinator, iLEAD Schools
Today is International Women’s Day, a global celebration of the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. It has also come to represent an international call to action to accelerate gender parity and women’s equality.
At iLEAD Antelope Valley, Dr. Shayna Markwongark’s 5th and 6th graders are heeding that call to action. According to Markwongark, learners are currently embarking on a women’s history project. They have to first identify a key woman in history, learn her story and then connect that story to their own lives and community. Their driving question is “How can we use the activism of women throughout history to influence or change our community today?”
“This is all about research and then activism,” Markwongark said. “Its purpose is to connect this information to their world and their futures.”
The project has two key components once teams of learners have identified their famous woman, done the research and learned the key aspects of her story. First, Markwongark said, students will work in teams to produce a three-to-five-minute podcast that tells both the women’s story and then showcases how it can connect to the learners’ school lives and communities.
The second major public product, according to Markwongark, will be a series of written proposals that the teams prepare for iLEAD Antelope Valley Director Dawn Roberson. This proposal will represent the students’ recommendations to iLEAD about continuing to empower women and raise awareness within the iLEAD community.
This correlation of history and activism is at the heart of this project, according to Markwongark. She said learning the history and even connecting it to the learners’ lives is important, but what’s more important is how this information is used going forward.
“This is about inspiration first, then action second,” Markwongark said. “It’s great to be inspired and full of hope, but what matters is how we individually contribute to improving the world.”
For Markwongark, the goal is to empower learners to learn the stories of others and then take action. “I’m going to continually ask them what they can do going forward — this year, this summer, next year and beyond,” she said.
School Director Dawn Roberson is excited about the facilitation and learning associated with a project aligned with global goals of empowering women to advocate for their rights as human beings. Roberson appreciates the depth of this project, which allows learners to see the complex world in which they live from a more empowered position.
“Even in a nation like ours, we see the need to continue to advocate for equal pay, equal rights and equal opportunities for women and for all,” Roberson said. “These 5th and 6th graders will have a better understanding of their role supporting all the women in their lives and advocacy on behalf of others.”
Although this project is just getting underway, Markwongark has high expectations for learner outcomes. In addition to the historical knowledge and content, there is a social-emotional component, along with some very important skills that Markwongark anticipates learners will experience. One of her goals is that after reflecting on the obstacles, challenges and successes of women in history, learners will have epiphanies about what they can do with their lives.
“My learners already have great qualities, but I am going to see a lot more empowered young men and women,” Markwongark said. “It doesn’t have to be global. It can be in their own communities and even their own families. It might be even just working with their brother or sister to be more sensitive, aware or inspired.”
High-quality project-based learning make way for learners to have a voice and agency, according to Markwongark.
“Hopefully, they become the disseminators of this information about what equality looks like,” she said. “Who knows? Maybe some of these learners will come up with ideas that iLEAD decides to implement. That’s the power of PBL.”
For more details and background on this project, see The Project Design Guide and the Project Information Flipbook.
