Stephen J. Thornton's "Teaching Social Studies That Matter" dives in to an innovative approach that teachers should develop curriculum or subject matter tailored to the advancement of what is relevant for students moving forward. As I read the term "Deweyan perspective", I immediately identified Thornton to be a progressivist with a constructivist approach. Thornton believes quite often that curriculum experts have allotted subject-matter to ultimately decide on the course of action, content, theoretical lessons; leaving teachers with minimal ability to conceptualize information for students to connect with. In the early chapters, he refers to the teachers role as a "curricular-instructional gatekeeper" and how it's their responsibility to usher in social studies curriculum, teaching, and instructional planning appropriately (Pg.10). As gatekeepers, teachers are the ones who make the final decisions in the classroom. He describes gatekeeping under three important elements of the educational process: (1) aims, (2) subject matter and instructional methods, and (3) student interest and effort. (Pg. 11)
Thornton puts a stress on the need to implement this curriculum on a more conceptual level rather than a contextual approach (which in lines up with progressive ideology). Progressive education is a twentieth century pedagogical approach, which was designed to develop students in different ways than anything previous. The term "progressive education" has been used to describe concepts and practices which are intended to create a more meticulous student in the society he/she is a part of. Although there are numerous differences in styles/points to highlight, emphasis amongst progressive educators, like Thornton (even Engle, Hess et...
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...ee myself embracing the concepts of a progressive education now more than ever. Thornton reminds us that the choices educators make on topics, methods, conceptual understandings, and skills are basically educational questions and that vehemently as importantly as content. That although there are many levels above us, teachers cannot assume their concepts and intentions are successful and we need to engage in our own way. Of all the things mentioned in this book, the most important aim of a teacher is to develop a child's potential to the fullest. Regardless of what happens to you twenty years down the line, a student will always remember which classes and teachers help spark what they have become to this day.
Works Cited
• Thornton, Stephen J.. Teaching Social Studies that Matters: Curriculum for Active Learning. New York: Teachers College Press, 2005. Print.
Many progressives thought that the greatest way to reform society was through its schools. Public education had grown rapidly since the Civil War. Progressives had new ideas about the purpose of education. Progressive educators believed that children should learn best by contributing in activities where they can work on projects and learn at their own rate. I thought this idea was a better way of learning because memorizing methods were really stressful and many people have diverse ways of learning: visual, hearing, hands on, and etc.
Arthur Bestor had the ideal that progressive education was teaching students skills that did not need to be taught in school. He wrote educational wastelands, which talked about how schools need to return to basic academic
...did not exist in his school. However, although the emphasis of education returns to traditional way such as using less flexible curriculum, teaching basic subjects, various tasting and narrow choosing, we still notice the ideas of progressive education remain part of our educational scene such as teaching progressively. Compared to his experience, I find the education had a progress in the past forty years. Nowadays, high school students have more flexible curriculum, lots of social activities and more choices based on their interest. The ideas of progressive education are perfect in theory, but we cannot abandon traditional education. Without scientists such as Einstein, Tesla in 20th century, we would not have good life today. We should not only educate students based on traditional method, but also use some progressive ideals to train students more creative.
Hayes, William. "The Progressive Education Movement." The Progressive Education Movement: Is It Still a Factor in Today's Schools? N.p., Nov. 2006. Web. 12 Mar. 2014. .
The literature on social studies enjoys a wide range of social movement’s definitions (Christiansen 2009). This diversity of such a definition is due to the fact that theorists tend to define the term of a social movement depending on their particular theoretical formulation (Diani 1992). Therefore, this section will first consider definitions proposed by group of scholars that represent four major trends in social movements analysis. These trends are as follow, the ‘Collective Behavior Perspective’ (Turner and Killian), the ‘Resource Mobilization Theory’ (RMT) (ZaId and McCarthy); the ‘Political Process Perspective (Tilly); and the ‘New Social Movements Approach’ (NSMs) (Touraine, Melucci). Then, a definition by Della Porta and Diani is selected as this definition has been centered on the most important characteristics of the social movements and oft-cited by researchers.
From the moment you enter my classroom, it’s apparent how the environment centers on the students. From the furniture, to the interactive bulletin boards, the students’ surroundings support learning. Two educational philosophies I model my beliefs and teachings from are: progressivism and constructivism; both student- based theories. The philosophers and educational models that influence my philosophy are: Maria Montessori, Jean Piaget, and Friedrich Frobel. Portions of each philosophy are integrated in my own, yet not one is followed completely. Progressive theorists, Maria Montessori and Friedrich Froebel placed value on the hands-on experience in the classroom.
In this paper I will be writing about Why we teach social studies. I will also go over why and how we teach social studies. I will also go what makes me a good candidate to teach social studies. I will go through these in good detail and try to provide good information to use in this essay.
I must see students for who they are individually and respect their ideas and opinions. Each student has a different learning style. I must take this into consideration because I want to provide a constructive learning opportunity for every student. I believe that every student has the potential to learn. My philosophy at this point is progressive.
My visit to York Middle School was a great experience. While there I witnesses some interesting teaching strategies, saw the observations of learning theories and saw how the teachers taught while being mindful of the student’s adolescent development. The principal of the school told us that York Middle School has a high poverty rate and that the school’s teaching staff goes above and beyond to help the students. An example of this is the fact that the students are often fed breakfast and dinner because they don’t always receive these meals at home. While on my field visit to York Middle School I noted that elements of progressivism were present. I saw this in a seventh grade history class. Progressivism in a classroom usually has student centered
The concept of best practices in teaching is not a new one, and the discussion of how to implement the most effective strategies in social studies education is ongoing. By definition, social studies is a curriculum design focused on the relationships among multiple disciplines such as history, geography, philosophy, and the humanities, and its purpose is to help students develop the ability to make informed decisions with a world perspective. However, due to the ever increasing pressure from high-stakes testing, teachers feel the need to focus instead on memorization of names, dates, and other facts as the primary method for teaching social studies concepts (Au, 2011). For social studies instruction to be powerful, it must be meaningful, integrative, challenging, and active (NCSS, 1993), and as teachers begin to implement the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) into their classroom instruction, they will need to weave in strategies that promote critical thinking, a skill that is inherently challenging for many adolescents.
In the educational philosophy of social reconstructionism, learning takes place through both affective and psychomotor experiences. Since the majority of subject matter will be hard for many students to comprehend due to its intensity and honesty, students will need to develop strategies for dealing with discussions on controversial issues. In order to be best prepared to hold discussions about these issues, students will need to understand that there are multiple perspectives and beliefs on each topic discussed (Philosophical Perspectives in Education). These affective experiences result in a variety of learning taking place, including increasing one’s perspectives in inquiry, dialogue, and multiple perspectives through learning about other
Through fifteen weeks of reflective, discussion-based learning, my views and philosophy of social studies education has drastically changed for the better. In the beginning, every time I heard “social studies”, I instantly had a negative mindset. I believed social studies was equivalent to history and that the two subjects were interchangeable and meant the same thing. Due to this misconception, I thought social studies was boring and solely regarded past events and numerous, overwhelming dates. Since I have been enlightened, I now have a deep appreciation and admiration for social studies and its importance in education.
The learning environment connects the classroom to the community through a democratic approach. This community based learning brings the world into the classroom so students can implement social change and challenge social inequalities. The curriculum focuses on student experience and taking social action on real problems such as hunger, violence, and discrimination. It is important to instruct students to explore in group settings so they can work together to analyze and develop theories that can help each other and make a real different in the world. As a future educator, it is important to not only to teach my students the issues in our world, but how we can work together to find
Social Studies education is a subject in today’s schools that is undervalued. The study of social studies in schools help young people develop the ability to make informed and reasoned decisions as citizens of a culturally diverse, democratic society in an interdependent world (Seefeldt, Castle, & Falconer, 2010). When participating in social studies class children are learning so much about who they are, where they came from, how to succeed in the world, and more. Most of what we teach daily includes an aspect of social studies. But, since the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001 de-emphasis or nonexistence of elementary social studies is the national focus because of high stakes testing (Sunal, & Sunal, 2008). Social studies
When starting this course, I was introduced to the main questions surrounding the field of Social Studies Education: What is Social Studies? Why and How should we teach it? From this class I have been able to understand each of these questions and how they interplay with one another, in order formulate my own thoughts on each. This combination of these questions ultimately defines why I feel I would be a good candidate to teach Social Studies. When coming to a conclusion regarding what the topic of social studies is, I realized that ultimately, it’s about people. The way people interact, alter their landscape, build systems of government, and shape the current society from past events. Each of these different human actions, it defines a specific