Virtual Reality Takes Fifth Graders on a Journey Through Black History

In an innovative approach to learning about Black history, ESJ, St. Mark’s Campus fifth-grade students recently embarked on a transformative journey through time, using virtual reality (VR) goggles to immerse themselves in pivotal moments and experiences. With the help of Innovation Instructor David Sandlin, students visited a virtual plantation, experienced segregation through Rosa Parks’ eyes, witnessed historic events in Washington, D.C., and walked alongside civil rights leaders in the Selma to Montgomery March. After each experience, they reflected on what they had witnessed and wrote about what it would have been like to live during each era.

VR allows students to adopt the point of view of somebody in a setting that would otherwise be logistically difficult to offer or, like in the case of a historical experience, impossible to offer. “It is one thing to tell students that there was a time in America when friends would have to eat in different parts of a restaurant or sit in different parts of a bus, because of the color of their skin,  it’s another for them to see it and virtually walk around the streets of a recreated version of that era,” said said Sandlin.

“This approach not only deepened their understanding of Black history but also fostered empathy, critical thinking, and a commitment to social justice,” said Katie Perkins, fifth-grade instructor. “By stepping into the past with VR, they gained an appreciation for the struggles and triumphs of the African American community.”

Beville Anderson, Head of Lower School, St. Mark’s Campus, added, “This is an example of technology integration which is authentic to the future our students will live and work in, and more importantly is rooted in our mission and our learner-centered approach to education.”