Moving Asian American History from the Margins to the Middle in Elementary Social Studies Classrooms

This article describes how three Asian American elementary teachers in Texas reflected on the absence of Asian American histories in their own educational experiences, which later inspired them to teach Asian American histories in their classrooms. The teachers’ lessons about Asian American history required them to first (re)define the term Asian American with their students, and the teachers also (re)defined what it meant to be American. Ultimately, they promoted cultural citizenship, which is more inclusive and critical than traditional forms of citizenship that are defined by individual acts like voting and following rules. Cultural citizenship promotes difference as a resource; emphasizes the need to respect and humanize others; includes the voices, experiences, and perspectives of People of Color; and emphasizes human rights and agency. Asian American children’s literature was an essential tool in disrupting exclusionary histories and notions of citizenship as equal to whiteness, and the teachers' work demonstrates how educators can move Asian Americans from the margins to the middle of social studies instruction to support better teaching of U.S. history and democracy.

A study of elementary teacher’s perspectives on professional development for social studies

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to ascertain perspectives from pre-service and in-service elementary teachers about challenges they face when teaching social studies, and how their participation in a content-based professional development opportunity can support their preparedness for social studies instruction. Five speakers who were experts in topics such as Native American history, historical preservation, women's history and the Constitution were featured at this workshop.Design/methodology/approachCase study methodology with both descriptive and explanatory data collection and analysis methods, which were inclusive of surveys and focus group sessions, was implemented. The National Council for the Social Studies (2017) Powerful and Authentic Social Studies framework was applied in order to examine whether elementary in-service and pre-service teachers participation in this content-focused professional development impacted their preparedness to teach social studies.FindingsMajor findings show that content-specific professional development can support pre-service and in-service elementary teachers' preparation to teach social studies through analysis of historical topics and contemporary issues, as well as mitigate challenges with regard to limited time dedicated to social studies instruction.Originality/valueIn light of the Senate's debate on passing the Educating for Democracy Act concerning funding for civics and history education, the originality of this study highlights the continued need for scholarship on how partnerships between colleges of education, school districts and local educational agencies to provide content-focused professional development can support elementary teachers' ambitious social studies instruction, which can foster greater understandings of historical content and civic participation in democratic society.

What Is Efficient Social Studies Instruction?

Effective social studies instruction should intend to train young individuals who are interested, are capable of participating in the learning process, are capable of utilizing technology, have a good memory, look forward to the future with confidence, and transfer the knowledge they acquire at school to daily life. The aim of the present research is to determine the problems experienced in the instruction of social studies course based on teacher views and the means for an efficient social studies instruction. Thus, the case study method, a qualitative research design, was employed in the present study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 teachers, employed in five middle schools in Elazığ province urban center, during the 2016-2017 academic year, and the data were analyzed with descriptive analysis. Thus, it was determined that the inadequacy of course hours and the redundancy and complexity of the topics were the main problems experienced in social studies courses and these were identified as the factors that led to the lack of student interest. According to the views of the teachers, efficient social studies instruction requires a focus on current issues, requires employment of available technologies, and should allow the individuals to transfer content knowledge to life. It is concluded that an efficient social studies instruction would be possible through the transfer of knowledge to real-life situations, the employment of technological tools, active student participation, the simplification and the elimination the discontinuities between textbook content.

Effective Practices for Teaching Content Area Reading

Adequate reading skills are necessary for college and career readiness and success in the work force, but many students do not have sufficient reading skills. The 2019 National Assessment of Educational Progress demonstrated that fourth- and eighth-grade students had made little to no progress in reading since the previous report in 2017. Elementary level students often receive dedicated English language arts instruction during the day, but this is not always true for secondary level students . One way that educators can support students across the grade levels is by providing evidence-based reading instruction within content areas (i.e., science and social studies instruction). Researchers have investigated ways for teachers to provide high-quality content area reading instruction to support the reading comprehension and content acquisition of students in general education settings. Previous research suggests that paraphrasing and text structure instruction support readers’ identification of key ideas and the integration of those ideas across paragraphs and passages when reading content area texts. These practices align with reading comprehension theory in support of conscious text processing while reading. Teaching readers to generate main ideas during reading may improve the reading outcomes and content acquisition outcomes not only for typical readers but also for struggling readers and those identified for special education. Educators’ implementation of such practices within science and social studies instruction may improve students’ reading performance and content learning across grade levels.

A Practical Guide to the Benefits & Barriers to Mobile Technology Integration In Social Studies

Mobile technology continues to change and evolve the way people and society function in their everyday lives. Much like the phenomenon that was the Internet 20 years ago, educators now find themselves facing increasing pressure to adapt classroom instruction to accommodate for new and emerging technologies. This article offers practical considerations from our own classroom experiences surrounding the benefits and barriers of incorporating mobile technology in social studies instruction. We provide readers with a rationale for the use of mobile technology in social studies classrooms, as well as general lists of benefits and barriers to using this technology in the classroom to hopefully assist educators in overcoming common fears associated with the use of mobile technology in the classroom.