scholarly journals Building community using experiential education with elementary preservice teachers in a social studies methodology course

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-120
Author(s):  
Stephanie Speicher
Keyword(s):  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Studies ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Methods Course ◽  
Social Studies Methods ◽  
Collegial Support ◽  
Teaching For Social Justice ◽  
Teaching Competence

There is urgency for teacher educators to instruct preservice teachers in the tenants of social justice education. This urgency is based upon the American demographic landscape and the responsibility of educators to teach for social justice. Preservice teachers report feeling inadequately prepared to educate for social justice when entering the classroom setting (citations from below). Feelings of incompetence in social justice teaching expressed among preservice teachers coupled with minimal examination in the literature of the effects of teacher education practices that aid in the readiness to teach for social justice provided the foundation for this study. This study examined experiential methodologies that can prepare preservice teachers to teach for social justice, particularly within a social studies context. The study focused on two research questions: (a) How do preservice elementary teachers in a social studies methods course conceptualize teaching for social justice within an experiential framework? (b) In what ways did preservice teachers operationalize teaching for social justice in the practicum classroom? Also examined was how the development of community in a social studies methodology course fostered the understanding of teaching for social justice. The findings highlight how preservice teachers were able to conceptualize building communities with experiential methods to teach for social justice and how doing so created an effective learning community. Although the preservice teachers valued the implementation of experiential methods to foster the teaching of social justice, difficulties were expressed in their incorporation of experiential methods in the practicum environment due to a lack of confidence, teaching competence, or collegial support.

Incorporating Social Justice Into Science Teacher Education Courses

2020 ◽  
pp. 208-224
Author(s):  
Seema Rivera ◽  
Amal Ibourk
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Teacher Preparation ◽  
Science Teacher ◽  
Instructional Strategies ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Science Teacher Education ◽  
Teaching For Social Justice ◽  
Education Courses

In this chapter, the authors cover the importance and challenges of incorporating teaching for social justice in science teacher education courses. The chapter starts by providing an overview of the literature on social justice, specifically in science education, and define the terms social justice, equity, and diversity. Then, the authors, who are teacher educators from under-represented groups, share their own experiences about what led them to do social justice work. In addition, the authors present examples from their courses with their preservice teachers and instructional strategies they used. The chapter concludes with recommendations of ways in which we might consider implementing social justice practices in teacher preparation courses.

Teaching and learning with morning meeting in elementary social studies methods courses

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ariel Cornett ◽  
Alexa M. Quinn
Keyword(s):  
Social Studies ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Methods Course ◽  
National Council ◽  
Methods Courses ◽  
Social Studies Methods ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Elementary Social Studies ◽  
Morning Meeting

PurposeUsing morning meeting, an evidence-based practice that is part of the responsive classroom (RC) approach, the authors (two teacher educators [TEs]) created opportunities for teacher candidates (TCs) to experience representations, decompositions and approximations of practice in multiple iterations of an elementary social studies methods course.Design/methodology/approachThe authors detail how TEs can expose TCs to social studies content (e.g. the National Council for the Social Studies themes) that can be incorporated into structured, daily classroom routines, such as morning meeting.FindingsThe authors include TE-created morning meeting facilitation guides with components such as a morning message, greeting, share, group activity and theme justification. Furthermore, the authors outline TCs' reflections on planning and implementing a morning meeting with a partner in addition to their own reflections on the TCs' feedback.Originality/valueThis work has implications related to TEs and TCs in elementary social studies methods courses as well as current and future students in elementary classrooms.

Meeting the demands of the C3 framework in elementary social studies methods

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 358-371 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Alan Neel ◽  
Amy Palmeri
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Social Studies ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Social Studies Education ◽  
Methods Course ◽  
Social Studies Methods ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Elementary Social Studies ◽  
Social Studies Teacher ◽  
Social Studies Teacher Education

Purpose In both elementary schools and elementary teacher education programs, social studies is marginalized while standards require increasingly more ambitious reasoning, reading, and writing in social studies than has historically been documented in American elementary schools. The purpose of this paper is to explain the challenges that elementary social studies teacher educators face in preparing elementary school teachers to facilitate the kind of ambitious social studies envisioned in the NCSS’s C3 Framework and advocate an approach to successfully address these challenges. Design/methodology/approach This paper articulates a targeted and ambitious approach to elementary social studies teacher education. The authors describe five recommendations from the teacher education literature for supporting preservice teachers in learning disciplinary-oriented social studies teaching, recommendations that guided the redesign of the social studies methods course. The authors then highlight key aspects of the redesigned methods course and demonstrate how the authors engaged the challenges inherent in the work of elementary social studies teacher education. Findings Although this paper is not arranged in such a way as to substantiate empirical findings, the purpose of the paper is to demonstrate an approach to elementary social studies education aligned with extant literature on preparing teachers to engage in reform teaching practices, specifically those disciplinary oriented practices suggested in NCSS’s C3 Framework. As such, the paper should be read as a perspective on practice. Research limitations/implications The type of disciplinary-oriented approach described here is increasingly under investigation in secondary teacher education research and similar approaches are under investigation in elementary math and science education research. To the authors’ knowledge, the approach is novel in elementary social studies education. Furthermore, the authors believe it offers a direction for researchers interested in gaps in the literature related to practice based teacher education and disciplinary-oriented social studies teacher education. Practical implications The approach described here offers specific guidance and resources for teacher educators who are struggling with the challenges of the contemporary social studies education landscape and/or who wish to focus methods courses in disciplinary ways. Social implications Research in social studied education has demonstrated that when students are exposed to disciplinary practices in social studies, their literacy skills improve and they learn analytical skills that support their development as citizens (consumption of media, participation in public discourse, ability to discern arguments). Originality/value As noted above, the approach described here is novel in elementary social studies education. Combining a disciplinary approach with a practice-based frame in elementary social studies represents an opportunity for empirical research and offers new approaches to the practice of teacher education and early career professional development.

From A to Zinn

2020 ◽  
pp. 144-164
Author(s):  
Stephanie R. Logan
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Studies ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Studies Methods ◽  
Elementary Social Studies ◽  
Social Studies Teacher ◽  
Social Justice Teaching ◽  
And Gender

Scholars have presented a number of challenges to elementary pre-service teachers gaining content mastery specifically in social studies methods courses. One of those challenges relates to the selection of what social studies content should be mastered by pre-service teachers. Scholars encouraged elementary social studies teacher educators to engage their students in new, challenging, critical, and complex topics, rather than redundant, simple, and general content the students already agree with. In response, this endeavor presents an instructional framework rooted in social justice teaching designed to inspire elementary pre-service teachers with the necessity of teaching social studies for social justice and the content knowledge and skills to do so. The chapter author shares how she supported students in conducting macro-to-micro content analyses of critical and challenging sociological issues of race, economic status, and gender in the development of the United States while sharing the methods for teaching elementary social studies that represented diverse ideas and perspectives.

Social studies teacher educators who do race work

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 330-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara B. Demoiny
Keyword(s):  
Social Studies ◽  
Pedagogical Content Knowledge ◽  
Content Knowledge ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Methods Course ◽  
Methods Courses ◽  
Social Studies Methods ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Pedagogical Content ◽  
Social Studies Teacher

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how 11 social studies teacher educators (SSTEs) incorporated race into their social studies methods courses. It examines the instructional practices of the SSTEs using racial-pedagogical-content-knowledge (RPCK) as an analytical framework. Design/methodology/approach The paper is a qualitative interview study. The data sources included two 40–90 min semi-structured interviews per participant, methods course syllabi and reading lists, and university documents such as departmental mission statements and program course requirements. Data were analyzed using three cycles of coding: descriptive coding, focused coding and analytic generalizations. Findings The paper illustrates how the SSTEs incorporated race into their social studies methods courses through developing counter-narrative content knowledge, modeling the application of critical race theory tenets through pedagogical content knowledge, and cultivating a working racial knowledge among pre-service teachers. Originality/value This paper extends the literature of the RPCK framework through illustrating many ways each component of RPCK can be applied within a social studies methods course.

The doors they choose: Solutions to “The Lady or the Tiger”

2021 ◽  
pp. 204717342110383
Author(s):  
Thomas A Lucey ◽  
Anthony W Lorsbach
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Social Studies ◽  
Short Story ◽  
Methods Course ◽  
Research Needs ◽  
Specific Nature ◽  
Social Studies Methods ◽  
Student Responses ◽  
Elementary Preservice Teachers

We consider the extent that elementary preservice teachers enrolled in a social studies methods course expressed empathy for story characters when solving the story’s emotionally ladened problem. We believe that the manner by which these students resolved one character’s dilemma informs about the nature of their own emotions. Participants read Frank Stockton’s story, “The Lady and the Tiger” toward the beginning and at the conclusion of the semester. The data represented all student responses to the prompt, “Read the short story at the following link. To what door do you think the princess directed the accused? What is the reason for your choice?” Forty-two students completed both reflections of the reading. The analysis found that in their initial reflections, a solid majority of students selected the tiger. At the end of the course, this percentage decreased to a smaller majority. Analysis of the six students who changed their perspectives of the princess’s decision found that five referenced course experiences in their explaining the reason for change. This paper fills a gap in social studies research about emotions and decision-making. Additional research needs to interpret the specific nature of these emotions and the conditions that influence them.

Preservice Teachers' Development and Application of Critical Thinking Skills in a Social Studies Methods Course

2019 ◽  
pp. 341-358
Author(s):  
Dallas Ann Dallman ◽  
Jayne A. Downey
Keyword(s):  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Student Engagement ◽  
Social Studies ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
Methods Course ◽  
Social Studies Methods ◽  
Thinking Strategies

Critical thinking skills are essential in the success of effective citizens. However, it is unclear how well preservice teachers (PTs) are prepared to teach these skills to K-8 students. This chapter investigates the application of PTs' critical thinking skills in a social studies methods course. In addition, it examines how often PTs include critical thinking strategies in their lesson plans. Findings suggest that PTs consider themselves to be critical thinkers. Yet they may lack the tools, skills, and strategies to promote student engagement with critical thinking through rigorous, complex lessons. The authors present a research study and offer strategies to enhance the development of PTs' critical thinking skills. The chapter discusses how to promote the transfer of these skills to K-8 students.

From A to Zinn

2021 ◽  
pp. 359-379
Author(s):  
Stephanie R. Logan
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Studies ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Studies Methods ◽  
Elementary Social Studies ◽  
Social Studies Teacher ◽  
Social Justice Teaching ◽  
And Gender

Scholars have presented a number of challenges to elementary pre-service teachers gaining content mastery specifically in social studies methods courses. One of those challenges relates to the selection of what social studies content should be mastered by pre-service teachers. Scholars encouraged elementary social studies teacher educators to engage their students in new, challenging, critical, and complex topics, rather than redundant, simple, and general content the students already agree with. In response, this endeavor presents an instructional framework rooted in social justice teaching designed to inspire elementary pre-service teachers with the necessity of teaching social studies for social justice and the content knowledge and skills to do so. The chapter author shares how she supported students in conducting macro-to-micro content analyses of critical and challenging sociological issues of race, economic status, and gender in the development of the United States while sharing the methods for teaching elementary social studies that represented diverse ideas and perspectives.

The three R’s: reading, (W)Riting, and researching through multi-genre project

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn Roberts ◽  
Kristy Brugar
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Peer Interactions ◽  
Student Response ◽  
Methods Course ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Historical Inquiry ◽  
Social Studies Methods ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Action Research Approach

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how the authors, two teacher educators, planned for and guided 23 students (teacher candidates) through a multi-genre historical inquiry experience, integrating instruction on the Inquiry Arc and writing process, during a co-taught literacy and social studies methods course. The authors describe the ways in which the students demonstrated both active and passive participation and resistance to this process/project, and the related implications. Design/methodology/approach Using an action research approach, this paper reports analysis and interpretation of lesson plans, course materials, debriefing notes, field notes, student response notebooks and intermediate and final inquiry project artifacts. Findings All students demonstrated gains in content knowledge through their products, oral presentations, group discussions, or conferences with the authors; and all gained experience with the Inquiry Arc and process writing. Many students saw the benefits of collaboration and social construction of knowledge as they moved toward more central participation. Practical implications Instructors cannot mandate full participation in any task, but can influence the conditions (i.e. pedagogy, task, scaffolding) to increase the possibility of positive peer interactions and learning. Originality/value This paper contributes to the knowledge of teaching and learning innovation in teacher preparation coursework.

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