Teaching Migration Through Data and Storytelling

Help learners understand where, why, and how migration happens

There have been urgent recent calls for curricula to address issues of migration. Yet 78% of British teachers asked by the Runnymede Trust said they needed more support “to equip them to teach migration more sensitively and effectively.”

On this course, teachers can develop their skills to explain where and why migration happens. You’ll learn how to interpret big data sets, examining migration research through video and learning activities.

You’ll also explore creative methods of storytelling, visual arts, and design to humanise migration stories through arts and empathic learning.

This course is designed for teachers educators who want to know how to teach migration using data and storytelling. It would also appeal to anyone learning from home interested in these issues, or educators and learners interested in critical thinking, data skills, independent investigation, and understanding the reliability of sources.

The resources were designed to be taught with students having access to computers for data analysis of a large data set, but some teachers have adapted the resources to use print outs of subsets of the data.

Please note, this is an unmoderated course. It was created at the beginning of Covid-19 and may only be occasionally updated.

To take part in this course you will need to know how to use google sheets, or to feel confident to download a google sheet and use excel.

• What is migration and why does it happen?
• Welcome to the course
• Introducing the world's largest research project into migration
• Where and why do people move?
• An introduction to the large data set
• The importance of storytelling
• Reflections
• How can we teach migration through large data sets in the classroom?
• Welcome to week 2
• Considering lines of enquiry
• The power of a design brief
• Increasing engagement
• Using infographics
• Developing cross-curricular links
• Reflections
• How can we support and stretch students using large data sets?
• Welcome to week 3
• Supporting students with using a large data set
• Stretching students using a large data set
• Planning your unit of work
• Potential challenges with teaching migration through data and storytelling
• Reflections
• Farewell