What is Social Studies Method?

Origins of social studies

*Overview

-History has dominated the discipline

-Lectures and discussions are primary teaching devices

  -Occasional audio visual aids and field trips

-Homework assigned from textbooks

-Elementary

  -Small group and independent work

  -Manipulatives, films, TV, computers

  -Integrated approaches

  -Greater instructional variety than other subjects

Social Studies Powerful Elements...

Meaningful - Engaging, connects students with real-world situations

Integrative -  Draws on more than one discipline, subject or skill set

Value-Based - Strengthens students' sense of democratic values and social responsibility

Challenging - Incorporates different perspectives and draws on students' critical-thinking skills

Active- Participatory, makes use of manipulative or physical environment

How people Learn? What is Learning?

Structure of Knowledge
Jerome Bruner
What is knowledge?

• Meta-Cognition (evaluation, creation)
• Generalizations (analyze)
• Concepts (comprehension)
• Facts (understanding)

Educational philosophies

• Re-constructionalism (Social-cognitive)
• Existentialism (focusing on your child) (learning styles, MI, brain research)
• Progressivism (Constructivist, cognitive)
• Perennialism/Essentialism

Models, Strategies, and Methods

Models (approaches to teaching)

• Personal (self esteem, individuality)
• Social-Interactive (students learn each other through group working)
• Informational-processing (short-term memory, long-term memory..)
• Behavioral (Stimuli, responses)

Strategies (sets of specific steps)

• Indirect/Individual
• Indirect/Interactive 
• Indirect/Cognitive
• Direct

Methods (specific of teaching)

Examples

• Indirect/Individual: projects
• Indirect/Interactive: jigsaw, role plays, discussion, simulation, 
• Indirect/Cognitive: no worksheets! graphic organizers, inquiry methods
• Direct: demonstration, guided practice, lecture, home assignment, read from the texts... 

Learning-Planning-Teaching

• Creative Thinking Evaluation/Synthesis
• Analysis
• Application Comprehension
• Knowledge

Instruction                                       Assessment

Personal                                      Summative/Authentic/projects, E-folios, Self-evaluation, Journals

Social-Interactive                       Peer review,. group processing

Informational-processing

Behavioral

Goal is a general statement (bigger picture). 

What are Building Blocks/Components of Objectives? (Where? closure on the lesson plan)

                    Condition (Given)

Behavior                                          Criterion

Unit Plan Design

1. Direct
2. Indirect/Cognitive (Inquiry)
3. Indirect/Social (CL)
4. Indirect?Personal (Project)