Abstract
Carnes, Wiedeman, and Street investigate the potential for testimony-based educational activities, delivered through IWitness, to effectively, appropriately, and safely engage primary school age children in Holocaust education. The chapter is based on a recent study that examined how testimony as an integrated element of a Holocaust education program successfully prompted critical thinking, empathy, and historical understanding among young students. Leveraging digital testimony led children to want to learn about Holocaust education, facilitating and activating their curiosity and desire to go deeper into the topic, suggesting that testimony-based education can address some of the concerns raised about the applicability of Holocaust education in primary grades.
The findings of this paper are based on two internal reports prepared for USC Shoah Foundation – The Institute for Visual History and Education as part of its monitoring and evaluation program: Gayle Kolodny Cole, “Potential Use of IWitness in Elementary Classrooms” (2016), and Ilene Berson, “Evaluation Report – IWitness Chicago Pilot” (2015). Please do not cite without permission of the authors.
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Carnes, A.M., Street, K., Wiedeman, C.R. (2018). Using Holocaust Testimony in Primary Education: An Initial Inquiry. In: Szejnmann, CC., Cowan, P., Griffiths, J. (eds) Holocaust Education in Primary Schools in the Twenty-First Century. The Holocaust and its Contexts. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73099-8_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73099-8_2
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