c
Running head: COMPARISON MATRIX
Comparison of Social Studies Learning
Suzanne Dellinger
EED 463
Grand Canyon University
October 29, 2010
Comparison of Social Studies Learning
| | PROs |CONs
|
|Integrated Social Studies Learning |Social studies learning integrates knowledge,
|Could not locate any viable information through|
| |skills, beliefs, values, and attitudes |the internet or
reference books that offered |
| |toaction. |any (negative) cons for
integrated social |
| |Social studies teaching and learning integrate |studies
learning. |
| |effective use oftechnology. |
|
| |Social studies teaching and learning integrate |
|
| |across thecurriculum. |
|
| |Helps students develop a deeper understanding |
|
| |of how to know, how to apply what they know, |
|
| |and how to participate in building a future. |
|
| |Students who have these commitments, knowledge,|
|
| |and skills will be the most capable of shaping |
|
| |our future and sustaining and improving our |
|
| |democracy. |
|
| |Promotes civic competence. |
|
|Textbook Social Studies Learning |Grahm (1986) and others conclude that the
|Even the best textbook is a limited teaching |
| |modern basal social studies textbook has much |tool which
must be used in combination with |
| |to offer as an instructional resource if the |other media and
materials to adequately address|
| |teacher usekm,s it wisely. |important learning
objectives pertaining to |
| | |cognitive skills and civic
participation. |
| | |Teachers who depend only on
textbooks are |
| | |likely to deprive students of
important |
| | |learning experiences.
|
| | |Young children have issues
reading elementary |
| | |social studies textbooks that
stem from lack of|
| | |experiential background and
complex social |
| | |studies content.
|
|Commercially Purchased Social Studies Learning |Teachers can develop lessons that
enhance |Levels of complexity and instruction need to be|
| |student skills in information retrieval, the |considered.
|
| |presentation of data, and critical reflection |Necessary
technology needed can be exspensive. |
| |and decision making. |Computers need
enough memory and a network that|
| |Major innovations in the design of |runs fast.
|
| |instructional software, multimedia programs, |
|
| |and telecommunications allow students and |
|
| |teachers to develop and access signifigant |
|
| |content relevant to social studies curriculum. |
|
|Teacher Proposed Social Studies Learning |Cover text sequentially.
|Limited resoures. |
| |Use PowerPoint |Limited planning time.
|
| |presentations or overhead transparencies for |
|
| |visual learners when lecturing. |
|
| |Teach key concepts and generalizations unique |
|
| |to each topic or period. |
|
| |Examine various points of view. |
|
| |Use a variety of text, video, and taped |
|
| |material of varying degrees of difficulty. |
|
| |Contrast historical or abstract facts with |
|
| |current events to bring relevancy to students. |
|
| |Offer several options for projects so that each|
|
| |student can express his or her understanding in|
|
| |individual ways. |
|
| |Allow students options for assessment, such as |
|
| |using an exam and an alternative form of |
|
| |assessment to form a whole grade. |
|
The National Council for Social Studies (NCSS) defines social studies as the integrated
study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence. Within the
school program, social studies provides coordinated, systematic study drawing upon such
disciplines as anthropology, archaeology, economics, geography, history, law, philosophy,
political science, psychology, religion, and sociology, as well as appropriate content from
the humanities, mathematics, and natural sciences. The primary purpose of social studies is
to help young people develop the ability to make informed and reasoned decisions for the
public good as citizens of a culturally diverse, democratic society in an interdependent
world.
Our world is changing rapidly. Students in our schools today, who will be the citizens of
the twenty-first century, are living and learning in the midst of a knowledge explosion
unlike any humankind has ever experienced. The social studies standards should:
1. serve as a framework for K-12 social studies program design through the use of ten
thematicstrands;
2. serve as a guide for curriculum decisions by providing performance expectations
regarding knowledge, processes, and attitudes essential for all students;and
3. provide examples of classroom practice to guide teachers in designing instruction to
help students meet performanceexpectations.
These social studies standards provide criteria for making decisions as curriculum planners
and teachers address such issues as why teach social studies, what to include in the
curriculum, how to teach it well to all students, and how to assess whether or not students
are able to apply what they have learned. The ten thematic curriculum standards and
accompanying sets of student performance expectations constitute an irreducible minimum
of what is essential in social studies. Along with the examples of classroom practice, these
standards and performance expectations help answer the following
using textbook: Effective teachers challenge students to apply or extend main ideas,
concepts, and skills they have gained from textbook lessons. By doing so, students see how
their reading relates to life outside the textbook. Thus, the first step in helping students
overcome textbook reading problems is for teachers to determine what they want students
to learn from a certain paragraph, page, or section of the textbook. A helpful procedure is
for the teacher to review the childrens edition of the textbook before reading the teachers
guide. This helps a teacher to see the book as the child sees it, and puts the teacher, not the
guide, in charge of what will be learned from the lesson. To proceed, the teacher must (1)
develop, albeit vicariously, the required background of experience; (2) accommodate the
varying reading skills of students; (3) provide direct instructional help with locating places,
comprehending long periods of time, understanding technical concepts, and pronouncing
foreign-language names; and (4) select appropriate learning activities which go beyond the
first three measures (which support reading the text). This last step will help students apply
or extend the important content of the lesson.
Experiential background should
Social studies is integrative when the curriculum and instruction address a broad range of
content,
concepts, generalizations and ideas in an interdisciplinary manner. Relevant information is
drawn from
the social sciences, history, the arts and the humanities. In this context, the web of
information resources
available on the Internet has considerable potential for integrative learning. However,
whether such
learning occurs depends fundamentally on the teachers ability to guide students to
integrate information
from the range of knowledge domains one can explore on the Internet.
Does the technology-based product help promote value based social studies instruction?
Social studies is value based when instruction is directed at having students grapple with
the ethical
and social policy implications of historical and contemporary issues. Instruction enables
students to be
sensitive to the values, complexities, and dilemmas involved in an issue; consider the cost
and benefits to
various groups; and develop well-reasoned positions that reflect an awareness of the
potential social
policy implications of their value based decision on the issue. Two multimedia products
come to mind in
this context, both by ABCNews Interactive: In the Holy Land and The Lessons
Grahm, Alma. “Elementary Social Studies Texts: An Author-Editors Point of View.”
SOCIAL EDUCATION 50A