In fact, almost all use of technology
in social studies methods instruction is accounted for by word processors, email, and the Internet.
The courses I taught were on the subject of curriculum at the graduate level and
social studies methods at the undergraduate level.
Researchers should continue to evaluate the influence of technology on social studies, and should seek to provide exemplary models for the infusion of technology
within social studies methods of instruction.
This study of 65 elementary school teacher candidates enrolled in
social studies methods classes examined attitudes toward currently contentious curriculum issues before and after participation in a practicum experience teaching an arts - integrated unit on Africa.
Following a discussion of the challenges of providing clinical experiences, the authors describe the outcomes of a study involving remote partnerships in learning between candidates enrolled in a distance
education social studies methods course and mentor teachers employed in middle and secondary schools.
Windows into Teaching and Learning (WiTL), developed to provide relevant and meaningful technology - mediated clinical experiences in an
online social studies methods course, engaged participants in purposefully designed synchronous and asynchronous field experiences to address a lack of summer clinical teaching opportunities.
In our
own social studies methods classes, we use a wide variety of technology tools to prompt students, from data visualization (e.g., using Fathom or GIS to generate hypotheses about demographics, agriculture, and urban planning) to user - generated content (YouTube clips to initiate discussions of culture and globalization).
Echoing these findings, Bolick et al. (2003)
surveyed social studies methods faculty regarding technology applications in social studies teacher education.
The preservice teachers entered the
elementary social studies methods course with 12 or more years of conditioning to accept social studies as an uninteresting content area, mainly requiring the memorization of names, events, places, and dates.
- Jean A. Luckowski is a professor in the department of curriculum and instruction at the University of Montana, where she
teaches social studies methods and professional ethics.
U.S. and Canadian K - 12 social studies teachers,
social studies methods professors, curriculum coordinators, principals / assistant principals, State Department of Education employees, and STEM educators who have the ability to integrate social studies topics into their curriculum are eligible to apply to spend two weeks in the summer in Germany.
Transformation in curricula and instructional processes may be promoted by offering sufficient access to technology and infusing technology
into social studies methods courses while affording opportunities to consider the daily demands of a teacher that may present barriers using technology in the classroom (Berson, 2000; Mason et al., 2000; Rose & Winterfield, 1999; NCATE, 1997).
Results from the baseline survey in 1999 indicated «almost all use of technology in
social studies methods instruction is accounted for by word processors, email, and the Internet» (p. 306).
As an assistant professor in the College of Education at Michigan State University (MSU), I have spent the past six years working with a team of faculty members and doctoral students, and coordinated and taught the senior year and internship year courses of elementary
social studies methods.
She is author and co-author of several journal articles and book chapters, and she co-authored, with Jere Brophy and Janet Alleman, the third edition of
the social studies methods textbook, Powerful Social Studies for Elementary Students.
We reached out to Walter Parker,
the social studies methods instructor at the University of Washington School of Education, to help us clarify our thinking.
In light of this context, the 1999 principle called for researchers to «continue to evaluate the influence of technology on social studies, and should seek to provide exemplary models for the infusion of technology within
the social studies methods of instruction.»
In this design research study, 22 preservice teachers in
a social studies methods class conducted online class discussions inside the National Council of the Social Studies Network Ning, a social network for social studies educators.
The social studies methods course expanded its technology integration with additional assignments and instruction.
Integrating technology into
the social studies methods course was not simply a function of adapting the technology for student learning.
LECTURER, Secondary
Social Studies Methods Apply now to LECTURER, Secondary Social Studies Methods... in teaching.
Teaching tomorrow's teachers: Computing technology,
social studies methods instruction, and the preservice teacher.
Computer mediated communication in elementary
social studies methods: An examination of students» perceptions and perspectives.
The unfortunate consequence of these preservice teachers» mixed and often negative K - 12 social studies experiences, combined with their limited experiences with technology, is the negative affect on their perceptions of social studies, their expectations of
the social studies methods course in which they participated, the way they planned on teaching social studies, and the way they planned on using technology in their teaching.