Bloom's Step 1: Knowledge

In this unit students examine NCSS Standard 6 - Power, Authority and Governance. We explore the ideas or power and authority, and what makes legitimate authority.

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The unit's core knowledge is as follows:

• Power is the ability to control someone or something

• There are 5 types of power: coercive, reward, expert, referent and legitimate

• Authority is the position whereby power is legitimately used

• Legitimate authority stems in most cases from the consent - passive or active - from the majority of the people

Bloom's Step 2: Understanding

We examine examples of political cartoons and students see how power is used in these cartoons. They understand what each type of power looks like in reality.

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Students are given a video made by the teacher where examples of power are used. An online quiz is taken by the students at their own leisure to test their understanding.

Bloom's Step 3: Application

Students are given scenarios such as schools, sporting teams or the armed forces. Their task is to apply specific types of power in order to achieve specific goals. They must select the correct power for the task and examine the results.

Bloom's Step 4: Analysis

Students are given primary and secondary sources regarding the British takeover of India from the mid 1700s. They analyse the sources and define the types of power used in specific situations.

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Students then analyse the types of power that have been used in the simulation. For example,

• What motivates public agreements? 

• What types of power are present in these negotiations?

• How have you used power to create your agreements?

Bloom's Step 5: Evaluation

Students evaluate the success of the different types of power used by British in India.

For example, they examine coercive power regarding trade. The British forcibly closed down the Indian textile industry in order to ensure their own textile industry in Britain was not threatened, and British goods were sold in India.

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Students evaluate the impact on the Indians, on textile production and overall success.

Bloom's Step 6: Synthesis

Having completed this thorough examination of the British use of power and authority in India, students create their own proposal and design model for administration of colonies in the simulation's fictitious continent of Chindica.

They must include:

• The types of power they will use to take over each colony

• Methods for legitimisation of their authority

• Use of power to obtain resources and maintain order

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See here for an example of a team's proposal video: Click this video link.