{"id":3469,"date":"2015-07-20T20:08:12","date_gmt":"2015-07-20T17:08:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.classtools.net\/blog\/?p=3154"},"modified":"2015-02-14T21:51:13","modified_gmt":"2015-02-14T18:51:13","slug":"interpretation-via-triangulation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/interpretations\/interpretation-via-triangulation\/","title":{"rendered":"Interpretation via Triangulation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It is always a\u00a0interesting to compare and contrast the differing views of students on key questions.<\/p>\n<p>When the debate can be reduced to an either\/or option (e.g. &#8216;success or failure?&#8217;, &#8216;hero or villain?&#8217;) this can be done most simply by students organising themselves along a continuum line.<\/p>\n<p>When the debate is based around three\u00a0main interpretations, I arrange the three options on different points of a triangle. Students have to then write their initials in the appropriate spot to indicate their respective &#8216;leaning&#8217;:<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3157\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3157\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/SCW_Outcomes.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-3157\" src=\"https:\/\/activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/SCW_Outcomes-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"Why did Franco win the Spanish Civil War?\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3157\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Why did Franco win the Spanish Civil War?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In the example above (&#8220;Why did Franco win the Spanish Civil War?&#8221;), students wrote their initials in two separate triangles. The first reflects\u00a0the relative importance of Nationalist Strengths, Republican Weaknesses and International Factors; the second covers Military, Socio-Economic and Political Factors.<\/p>\n<p>The method is a simple one but provides a visual snapshot of what students are thinking and which students in particular are most in disagreement.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Taking it further<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Get students who are most clearly in disagreement to explain their choices to the class. Allow other members of the class to adjust their position in the triangle based on what they hear.<\/li>\n<li>Blank out the central part of the triangle. This prevents students from defaulting at the &#8216;safe&#8217; option of placing themselves in the middle of the triangle to avoid &#8216;leaning&#8217; towards any particular interpretation:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3155\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3155\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/American_Civil_War.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-3155\" src=\"https:\/\/activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/American_Civil_War-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"&quot;Account for the Union victory in the American Civil War&quot;\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3155\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">&#8220;Account for the Union victory in the American Civil War&#8221;<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It is always a\u00a0interesting to compare and contrast the differing views of students on key questions. When the debate can be reduced to an either\/or option (e.g. &#8216;success or failure?&#8217;, &#8216;hero or villain?&#8217;) this can be done most simply by students organising themselves along a continuum line. When the debate is based around three\u00a0main interpretations,&#8230; <\/p>\n<div class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/interpretations\/interpretation-via-triangulation\/\">Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":195,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[199,202],"tags":[283,357],"class_list":["post-3469","post","type-post","status-publish","format-gallery","hentry","category-interpretations","category-prioritisation","tag-interpretation","tag-triangulation","post_format-post-format-gallery"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3448,"url":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/interpretations\/speech-bubble-postits-onto-paintingsphotoscartoons\/","url_meta":{"origin":3469,"position":0},"title":"Speech-bubble PostIts onto paintings \/ photos \/ cartoons","author":"russeltarr","date":"March 20, 2015","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Overview: Provide students with a photograph of a\u00a0particular moment in history, then ask them to write speech-bubble PostIt notes to imagine what the\u00a0characters might have been saying to each other. Taking it further: For cartoons, students have to provide a caption. This works even better if the cartoon has an\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Interpretations&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Interpretations","link":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/category\/interpretations\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Great example designed by @jivespin","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/jivespin-300x204.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3458,"url":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/interpretations\/sourcework-anticipation-textual\/","url_meta":{"origin":3469,"position":1},"title":"Sourcework Anticipation Task","author":"russeltarr","date":"May 20, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"After knowledge of a topic has been developed, provide students with a written source addressing\u00a0a key question relating to the topic, but\u00a0with key details\u00a0deleted. Students can then work alone or in pairs to anticipate how the source will look when complete. How will the author explain his points? What evidence\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Interpretations&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Interpretations","link":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/category\/interpretations\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Screen-Shot-2015-02-01-at-20.45.07.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Screen-Shot-2015-02-01-at-20.45.07.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Screen-Shot-2015-02-01-at-20.45.07.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Screen-Shot-2015-02-01-at-20.45.07.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Screen-Shot-2015-02-01-at-20.45.07.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Screen-Shot-2015-02-01-at-20.45.07.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3470,"url":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/interpretations\/interpretation-tracker\/","url_meta":{"origin":3469,"position":2},"title":"Interpretation Tracker","author":"russeltarr","date":"July 25, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"At the start of the lesson, ask students to write down their initial answer to a key question that is about to be considered further. Partway through the lesson, and then at the end of the lesson, ask them to repeat the process. Students then read the comments. How have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Interpretations&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Interpretations","link":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/category\/interpretations\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/progresstracker.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/progresstracker.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/progresstracker.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":722,"url":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/key-stage\/ib-history\/introduction-to-the-spanish-civil-war\/","url_meta":{"origin":3469,"position":3},"title":"Introduction to the Spanish Civil War","author":"Russel Tarr","date":"September 7, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"\"Introduction: The Outcome of the Spanish Civil War was by no means a foregone conclusion\" This worksheet will later be used as the basis for the introduction to the main essay \"Why did Franco win the Spanish Civil War?\"","rel":"","context":"In &quot;1900-2000 (GCSE History)&quot;","block_context":{"text":"1900-2000 (GCSE History)","link":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/category\/historical-periods\/20th-century\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3886,"url":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/display-work\/design-a-logo-reflecting-the-aims-and-methods-of-individuals-or-organisations\/","url_meta":{"origin":3469,"position":4},"title":"Design a logo reflecting the aims and methods of individuals or organisations","author":"Russel Tarr","date":"November 1, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Overview After studying individuals, parties or organisations,\u00a0challenge students to design a logo which summarises their essential aims, methods, successes and failures. This is a task I regularly use as part of group work exercises based on The Apprentice, but lends itself equally well\u00a0to the study of a wide range of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Display Work&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Display Work","link":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/category\/display-work\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/Miscellaneous\/menus\/Year_9\/apprentice_photos\/5.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/Miscellaneous\/menus\/Year_9\/apprentice_photos\/5.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/Miscellaneous\/menus\/Year_9\/apprentice_photos\/5.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3444,"url":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/categorisation\/curate-an-exhibition\/","url_meta":{"origin":3469,"position":5},"title":"Curate a Museum Exhibition","author":"russeltarr","date":"February 23, 2015","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Provide students with a range of images relating to the topic. They\u00a0imagine they are curating a museum exhibition on four separate walls. How will they categorise the images into four categories? How will they caption them? Examples: Portraits of Napoleon, Stalin or other dictators with a penchant for propaganda. Images\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Categorisation&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Categorisation","link":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/category\/categorisation\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/3_Students_at_work.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/3_Students_at_work.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/3_Students_at_work.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/3_Students_at_work.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/3_Students_at_work.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/3_Students_at_work.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3469","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/195"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3469"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3469\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3531,"href":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3469\/revisions\/3531"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3469"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3469"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3469"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}