Final Blog

 

This course has made me reflect on what is meant by social studies and why it should be taught in elementary school.  A teacher, teaching young citizens about social studies may be one of the greatest services she or he can give to students and to our country.  This is something I had not really spent very much time considering before this class.  I was definitely on the right page though with my thoughts on integrating the arts into social studies.  I had years ago mentally designed a unit for fourth graders on North Carolina history where the students would learn about famous North Carolinians.  This unit I had imagined would integrate the arts as students would learn to draw portraits.  They would draw a portrait of a famous North Carolinian they would research.  Their finished portraits of their famous person would be included on a class timeline.  The students would present their research on their famous person throughout the year as we studied the time period their famous person lived.  (The study of North Carolina history would be an ongoing yearlong topic!)  This course confirmed that such a unit would work.  But now I’ve learned that including the arts in social studies may be the only way to incorporate arts education into today's jam packed curriculum.  And designing a unit is a herculean task, best attempted by seasoned professionals!

Through this course I learned about “Backwards by Design”, a way to begin from the end goals of a unit.  This idea makes sense to me now.  Instead of having an end in sight, the end is what guides you from the beginning.  Preparing our final cooperative unit was quite a project that took an amazing amount of forethought.  At times starting with the ending felt a little weird, but at least I now understand the rationale behind this method. 

I was so glad that this course included visits to the North Carolina Museum of History and the North Carolina Museum of Art, both wonderful resources.  I know some people can be intimidated by museums or turned off by them, but I was glad that we were encouraged to use field trips to these museums as we teach social studies.  I just hope I will be able to convince my school where I’m at that I need to take field trips with my classes to institutions such as these museums.  I was fortunate to have been taken to first class museums since I was very small and was provided with good models of how to get the most out of a museum visit.  I want to make this opportunity happen for other students too, so they can have information and concepts they learn in social studies and the arts come to life.

The “History through a Child’s Eyes” project was a very insightful tool for getting a quick look at what student’s might know about history and social studies.  It was a fun assignment to hear some of the student’s comments in response to the questions.  I now know that 4^th grade students think stores get things from Amazon and Google to sell to people and that a picture from John White’s voyage to Roanoke in 1585, appeared to be “very modern” because the picture has “boats and rakes in it which they must have bought at a store”.  But seriously it was interesting to note the student’s misconceptions about economics, a lack of knowledge about famous women in history and little knowledge about places in their state, including not knowing what county they lived in.  This project would be beneficial to do before beginning to teach social studies in the classroom.

The final piece I have learned from this course is how to work collaboratively and cooperatively in a group.  Growing up in an age where group work was akin to cheating, my skills for working in a group were severely lacking when I began my MAT program.  This class, requiring me to complete my mega unit project with my partner, was the capstone on my experiences in group work.  I am sincerely indebted to my great partner who dealt with my idiosyncrasies and patiently modeled how to work effectively in a group.  I will take these skills into the classroom for my students to model and practice as they learn to work collaboratively and cooperatively.

I have learned that social studies is often forced out of the classroom, but this course has renewed and energized my excitement for making social studies a prominent part of the elementary classroom - if for no other reason than for the betterment of our young citizens, the future of our country!

Reward Me!

When I first think of reward systems, I think of B.F. Skinner and his rats receiving a pellet for pressing a bar.  Some reward systems I feel have the tendency of reducing humans to rats in a cage making us exhibit a certain behavior to receive some sort of pellet.  I think one way to not reduce humans to rats is by choosing effective “pellets” for the reward.  Candy and food are the usually fall back choices for giving rewards to children.  I have been guilty many times of rewarding children with candy to reward a desired behavior.  It’s widely available, cheap to distribute to a large group and usually received enthusiastically.  But does candy server as an effective reward?  I’m reminded of the saying, “make sure the crime fits the punishment” when providing effective discipline.  So what about rewards, shouldn’t they fit the behavior to be rewarded?  Perhaps giving children candy for being “sweet” to each other or rewarding them for trying a new food, (although still a stretch), could be seen as a fitting reward for these behaviors.  But I really can’t think of too many behaviors in school that would match up with a reward of candy.  The question is, is candy a good reinforcement for student behaviors?  I don’t think so.  The catch then in using reward systems is finding an appropriate reward that is meaningful to the student, but also emphasizes the desired behavior achieved.    

In my field experiences I have seen the classroom teacher reward the students with (poker) chips in a collective group bucket.  The groups consist of 4-5 students.  Students receive chips for individual behavior that goes into their group bucket from their teacher or for group behavior that again accumulates in the group’s bucket.  This reward system is very popular with the students.  There are chips flying across the classroom all day, or placed in the hands of the students, as valuable as gold.  I’ve seen student’s behavior turn 180 degrees to receive a chip for their group’s bucket.  It seems to provide some reinforcement to the students for exhibiting desired behaviors.  Unfortunately, I think the system is a bit random and allocation of chips for certain behaviors is at the discretion of the teacher.  It has never been made clear to me what behaviors are consistently reinforced by the chips, and what the point system is.  Sometimes a certain student will get two chips for just “trying”, and sometimes a student will get only one chip for completing correctly a whole worksheet.  This random system can work in the favor of the teacher, as many of the students are always trying to exhibit behavior that the teacher may recognize.  The system works on the “catch me being good” model.   I can see myself using a similar system, because I like and I think students like as well, to play games.   This method of receiving chips and then counting them up each week for the group’s prize of their choice (i.e., computer time at the end of the day, homework pass) seems like a game to me. 

But that may be the trouble with this system, it seems like just a game and the chips thrown in the bucket only seem remotely connected to the student’s behaviors reinforced.  So how do you find appropriate rewards so reward systems are meaningful.  What about stickers, free pizza coupons, extra recess time?  Ideally none of these rewards, I feel are as effective as the self-satisfaction for exhibiting positive behaviors for an individual. Unfortunately even adults rarely achieve feeling good about this type of reward.  It’s not that they can’t feel good about their own personal merit; it’s just that in our society we’re used to displaying our rewards in front of others.  Letting others know about our own personal successes is often more meaningful when we are recognized.  (Of course in the way we want to be recognized.)  What we probably really want for a reward is congratulations and acknowledgement from others first and foremost, even before our on self-congratulations.

If this is true, having students learn to praise and congratulate their fellow students will be key for an ideal reward system.  But alas we are only human and even though we want to praise our peers, the competitive bones in our body scream, but what about me?  Teaching then students to be honest “complimenters” and learn to be genuinely happy for other’s successes may be a key to the best type of reward system.  What an amazing trait to develop in children that will benefit them all through their life.  This method also is directly related to many of the behaviors to be reinforced which I feel will more effectively promote desired positive behavior.  This is achieved because most behaviors to be rewarded are promoting social behaviors in a school setting.  Having a reward system than that is based on social interactions between students can be a meaningful reward.

Considering Self-Efficacy

I think I have some of my ideas about self-efficacy and self-confidence or self-esteem all mixed up.  It’s difficult for me to separate my beliefs about my own self-efficacy from my self-confidence about who I am and what I can and cannot do well.  But if I try to concentrate on those things that I feel I have the ability or capability to do well because of an acquired skill set or because I’ve received positive feedback in my life, I could make a list of a few things that I feel I have a high degree of self-efficacy. 

I think I have a high degree of self-efficacy for creative thought.  I don’t have a lot of self-confidence about always expressing my creativity to others, but internally I feel very confident (have self-efficacy) in my ability to see things from unusual perspectives, make new connections and be open to new and untried ideas, i.e. creativity.    When I grew up, in my elementary school, as students we weren’t as concerned about getting a 100% on our papers as a “creative” written in red ink.  When a teacher wrote “creative” on your paper we busted our buttons with pride.  There was no more covetous award then receiving a “creative” on your paper.  I’m not sure if this is a successful teaching strategy, but to this day I don’t pay as much attention to getting an “A”, or any grade for that matter, as a note from a teacher that says, “Wonderful ideas”, “I had never thought of this topic in this way”, “creative project”, “great illustration” or “original thought is shown”, and “you have such a great imagination!””, etc.  This way of thinking (although part of the critical thinking process) has gotten me into lots of trouble.  Most teachers in the end care very little about original thought, they just want to make sure that what they taught you, you can show that you’ve learned right back.  It’s gotten me into trouble with my writing, as I always concentrate on the ideas and not much on the mechanics; it’s probably also why I’m a terrific “creative speller”.  But all the emphasis on doing things a “right way” has not kept me from thinking creatively.  I’ve had some teachers who have encouraged my creative thinking and have appreciated, although not always understood, my different point of view.  Also, having friends, family and teachers that have exposed me to original ideas, art, music, writings and original thinkers and artists has fed my own self-efficacy for creative thought.  I think having a family that allowed me to be an independent thinker has also helped grow my creativity.  Being able to think creatively although not always appreciated, is a gift that makes the world so much richer, deeper and always full of possibilities.  I am thankful that I have a high degree of self-efficacy in thinking creatively.

The second area I will mention that I feel I have a high degree of self-efficacy is my ability to speak in front of a group of people.  Considering that I am a shy and private person, talking in front of a group of people (of any age), actually comes naturally for me.  I am especially adept at speaking in front of a group when I know my subject matter and my audience well! I suppose my parents, who both enjoyed opportunities to speak or read in front of a group (such as in church) contributed to my affinity for public speaking.  Although I wasn’t officially recognized for this skill until I was in college, I think I always felt a sense of confidence or self-efficacy in this ability.  I don’t have the best voice and I often get tongue-tied, but I think my ability to think on my feet and feel empathy with those in the audience, plus a positive, enthusiastic manner contributes to me being successful at speaking in front of a group of people.  I think I also really enjoy the puzzle of how to best convey information to other people, or how to make people laugh or smile.  I’ve really enjoyed working with my classmates in the M.A.T. graduate program, many of which show a high degree of self-efficacy for speaking in front of a group of people.  A skill, I think, will serve us well as teachers!

 

Hook Lesson - "I'm Packing My Suitcase and I'm Going to Take..."

Coming up with a hook lesson or an introduction to a lesson that grabs the students, I think, is always the most fun to write.  The trouble is sometimes it’s hard coming up with a really good idea.  A hook lesson should grab your student’s attention, but also introduce a lesson or unit and even provide an informal assessment back to the teacher about where the student’s understanding about the lesson lies before the lesson/unit even begins.    Putting all of those components together makes the hook lesson tricky to write.  You want to get their attention, but not give them too much information about the lesson and “dump the whole load”, all while trying to figure out what they know and don’t know about the topic. 

Our unit is on 4^th grade history.  We have finally narrowed our unit on North Carolina history down to the study of North Carolina structures, symbols and place names.  Specifically, North Carolina Essential State Standard: 4.H.2 Understand how notable structures, symbols and place names are significant to North Carolina.  Our unit plan includes lessons on our state’s geography, learning how to read a map and determine distances on a map, a lesson on our state’s three regions, and corresponding lessons on each of the three regions and important places within each of the three regions.  The final assessment, authentic task we have planned is an online student made scrap book that highlights places from each of the three regions of North Carolina, as if they had taken a trip to these places in our state. 

For the introductory lesson, I thought I would bring a suitcase into the classroom, and explain to the students that we’re going on a trip to discover places in our state.  I’ll remind the students that we live in a varied state, with lots of different types of people with different accents and backgrounds, different things to see and do, different places to explore and even different places to eat.  I’ll explain that since we’ll be visiting North Carolina all year, we'll experience even very different types of weather.  I will ask them, if we plan to do it ALL, what kinds of things will we need to pack in our suitcase to make sure we 1) see it all and won't get lost and 2) have the right clothes, supplies and gear.  I would ask the students for ideas for things we’ll need to pack and their reason for why we’ll need the item.  I could start the students off by saying that we’ll need hiking boots to explore the mountains.  I would want to remind them that I really want to experience everything the state has to offer from music to food, sports and culture to landmarks and history.  I might also ask the students to think back about their travels and what they might have brought with them.  The list could be endless, but also telling, as to what the students might know about places in their state.  They could say we’ll need sunglasses and sunblock for the beaches, guide books on the Civil War, a Tar Heel T-shirt, or Wolfpack t-shirt if we plan on attending a basketball game in Chapel Hill or Raleigh.  We might need a guide to the best barbecue in the state, mosquito repellent for the bugs in the mountains, or ant spray for the fire ants.  We might need guidebooks on insects to identify the scary bugs, or information about plants in our state, especially the poisonous plants. 

I imagine they’ll say we’ll need money, and to that I’d respond,  "since it’s a virtual trip, our virtual cash supply is endless, but that doesn’t mean we won’t need to know how much things will cost.  We might actually get a chance to get to go to some of these places!" So information about how much places we'll want to see might cost would be helpful.

A list of all of the things and the corresponding reason why we’ll need these things could be written on a white board.   I’d want to get the students excited about learning about places in their state, and to have them start to think about what they already know about their state. 

 

I’m hoping the students will say that we’ll need a map of our state or a GPS or something along that line.  If not I’ll add that we’ll need a map, and then produce a map already packed in my suitcase since I’d tell them I anticipated we’d need a map of North Carolina, so we wouldn’t get lost.  I’d open up the map, and also display a highway map of North Carolina on a whiteboard.  I’d ask the students what we’ll need to be able to get to all of the places in North Carolina.  Will a car get us everywhere we want to go?  What about the waterways, such as the rivers, lakes, streams, and even the ocean inlets?  Could we go by airplane, helicopter or gyrocopter?  If we go by train, we’ll it take us everywhere we want to go?  Could we bike?  Take a bus?

As an assessment tool for this lesson and for helping plan the rest of the lessons in this unit, I would have the students in small groups study a map of North Carolina.  Then I would have the students take a piece of paper and fold it in half.  On one half of the paper they are to write five places in North Carolina that they already know something about, and one thing that know about that place.  (It does not have to be a place that they have visited.)  On the other side of their paper they are to write 10 places they don’t know anything about, have never heard of, or just want to find out more about the place.  Remind the students that the places can include everything from cities to lakes, rivers, streams, universities and colleges, monuments, statues, hospitals, shopping centers, farms, golf courses, speedways, race tracks, factories, businesses, buildings, architectural wonders and buildings, light houses, museums, railroads, restaurants, parkways, forts, ferries and Ferris wheels.  They can use the map or other maps of North Carolina highlighting points of interest or approved internet sites, texts on North Carolina and brochures and magazines on places in our state. 

I’m hoping this lesson will spark interest in studying places in North Carolina for the students, familiarize them with our state by having them pour over the maps and get a sense of what they might know and not know about places in our state.

 

Biases in History

Fred Olds' Hall of History

As a child learning about history, I thought the subject was much like math.  Everything I was being taught I thought could be qualified and proved.  If I was taught that George Washington chopped down a cherry tree and couldn’t tell a lie about his deed and that he wore false teeth, than that’s what I thought he did.  And somewhere I thought, out in some dusty museum, there were his false teeth and his mother’s diary entry telling how little George told her he chopped down the cherry tree and how she told him, now there will be no more cherry pie; hence proving what I was taught.

As I grew older I realized that history is more like a story.  A story that changes with the storyteller each time it is being told.  Can you really argue that the story of the Trojan horse has been told time after time in exactly the same way?  Of course not, the simple children’s game of telephone tag proves this point.  For even if one wanted to write down history exactly as “they found it”, history is always subject to the treatment, the lens, the bias, of the recorder.  Herodotus,  Plutarch, Voltaire, Winston Churchill, John F. Kennedy and Ken Burns have forever put their spin on history no matter how well they have tried to leave themselves out.  There may not be an “I” in team, but there is always an “I’ in history.

This makes the study of history all that more fascinating, trying to unweave the storyteller from the story.   History becomes then as much a reflection of the storyteller’s or historian’s beliefs, prejudices, opinions, philosophy, principles and theories as the history that is told.  The historian becomes the ambassador that represents areas of importance to his/her society  to others in a new time by veiling his time’s beliefs, philosophies, teachings, and values in the retelling of other's histories, This doesn’t make history any less important to study, knowing that it is never pure, never crystal clear, and free from bias.  In fact it makes history even more important for our students to study, less dusty and more intriguing.  For history is like a mirror showing to us what an age values from the perspective of the historian telling the story.

The “founder” of the North Carolina Museum of history, Fred Olds, who loved history and wanted to preserve his state’s history through artifacts he collected from Cherokee County to Wake County, had his biases.  The museum today still displays one case that was part of the first Hall of History (forerunner to the North Carolina Museum of History).  Contrast this case to the current museum’s exhibit cases to see his biases of what he thought was important in North Carolina history verses what the curators today value.  His case includes many military artificats, undocumented items with questionable labels (a piece of Daniel Boone’s home with a handwritten note saying it is so), and an unidentified rock among other objects.  Because of Fred Olds bias, intended or unintended in how he preserved North Carolina history, we now have a picture of what he and some of his age, at the turn of the century, felt was important to remember. 

Bias in history is inevitable.  It is unavoidable.  Study history and study the ones who record history.  Study the ones who record over past records of history.  Try to untangle the voices that whisper and shout history in your ear.  Don’t shun biases, celebrate them and try to listen to what they are trying to tell you about their world, their time, their history.

North Carolina Museum of History today

Integrated Teaching

As a new teacher I wonder if there will ever be time to appropriately plan for an integrated lesson?  Working backwards in the UbD* method seems like a very time consuming process to plan a unit for teaching.  Just trying to come up with essential questions for a unit takes a lot of thinking, brainstorming, writing, critiquing, and rewriting time.  Although I think the actual process of planning an integrated unit would be very enjoyable - trying to match concepts that correlate across subjects, imagining activities to implement integrated learning, etc. -  indulging in the time it takes for planning an integrated unit as a new teacher may be unfeasible with all of the demands a new teacher faces. 

I’m also concerned about staying on track with the curriculum map for the year.  Will my students and I get so deeply involved on a loosely related subject to the integrated learning unit that we don’t cover the standards, or will we cover the material so broadly, trying to incorporate a little of this subject and a little of that subject, that we barely learn the material that will be tested?   I can see myself, “falling off the horse” on both sides of teaching integrated units.  Or I wonder will the constrains of a particular school’s curriculum mapping make it next to impossible for me to teach interdisciplinary units, as I try to stay on track teaching each day’s assignments?  

I’m also concerned about how integrated teaching will be received by the other teachers at my school.   Ideally, what I’ve seen from the UbD method, (Wiggins and McTighe, The Understanding by Design Guide to Creating High-Quality Units”), and Dr. Heidi Hayes Jacob’s online workshop on “Interdisciplinary Learning in the Classroom”, http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/interdisciplinary/exploration.html

as well as lectures in my course at Meredith, “Teaching and Integrating Social Studies and the Arts,” I’ve seen that integrating teaching works well (maybe even best) when teachers collaborate.  Will my peers be willing to plan and teach integrated units with me?  As a new teacher what kind of input will my fellow experienced teachers allow me to have in planning? 

Overall, I am very interested and committed to trying to implement integrated teaching/learning in the classroom.  I plan on taking baby steps towards integrated planning and implementing teaching units  as a new teacher.  I also hope I’ll be undaunted in the face of any opposition that I might encounter in an integrating teaching approach in my classroom because I believe strongly in the efficacy of integrated teaching on students' learning.

A look at Integrated Studies from Edutopia

As to why integrated teaching, although documented as valid and “highly-touted in the research", is not seen that often in schools, I think the fear of not appropriately teaching the standards that will be assessed by formalized testing is probably the number one reason.  By spending time on subjects that will not be assessed by high-stakes testing through integrating teaching, i.e. social studies, teachers and administrators may feel that time is wasted or lost on those subjects, instead of devoting time teaching and learning the subjects that will be tested.  Second, I think role models for integrating teaching are important for teachers to feel comfortable with this method, especially when they need a mentor to confer with about concerns and ideas for implementation, or are using UbD and integrating teaching approaches for the first time.  If there were more teachers in the field using integrating teaching, teachers who had some hesitation might give it a try if they knew they had other teachers to guide them.  And third, I think the history of interdisciplinary or integrated teaching has gone through so many upheavals - from being seen positively in the 60’s, to being seen as a threat in the 70’s to standardized testing, to the 80’s where some educators saw interdisciplinary teaching  promoting the  extinction of discrete disciplines.  And although the reports from the Carnegie Foundation (Turning Points: Preparing American Youth for the 21^st Century) and the National Association of Secondary School Principals’ (NASSP), (Breaking Ranks: Changing an American Institution) (1996) made integrated teaching gain credibility in education circles, these documents were geared towards the middle school and high school level.  Integrated teaching/learning in elementary schools, which have an emphasis on skills learning seems to still be finding its place among teachers and administrators today.

I feel integrated learning allows teachers to give priority to subjects, such as social studies and the arts, not tested in standardized testing and still not take time away from teaching the tested subjects.  Integrating subjects such as social studies with reading and writing and math enhance those subjects and give meaning to students to see how those subjects are used in the real world.  Teaching about how to write a letter to a government representative, read a graph about world population or read a selection from literature about a child’s perspective in Afghanistan, allows teachers to make skill subjects have meaning for student’s lives.  Teachers shouldn’t be afraid to integrate their teaching with other subjects that will, I think,  enhance learning and create meaning for students instead of taking away valuable learning time.  Based on teaching practices of teachers I've seen in the school today, and the emphasis on teaching to the test it can seem like a difficult thing to teach using integrating teaching methods and design.  But I think when teachers see the engagement and excitement of their students in learning all subjects with integrating teaching units, they will know that real learning for life, measured by a standardized testing,  or not, is occurring.

 * UbD - Understand by Design is the backward design method used to "create curriculum units and assessments that focus on developing students' understanding of important ideas" from:
.Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (2010). Understanding by design: Guide to creating high quality units. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Division

Meaningful, Well-Planned Social Studies Lessons

I think the first thing a social studies lesson has to be is part of an interdisciplinary program.  What I’m learning is that teachers today have little if any time anymore to teach social studies straight up.  It must be incorporated into other subjects to make the best use of every minute of every school day -if it is going to be taught at all.  And I think incorporating social studies into other elementary school subjects can really work and actually make social studies more meaningful to students. Combining social studies with literacy, is a no-brainer, literature can make social studies come to life whether that means reading stories about figures from history or stories that illustrate forms of governments, for example.  Integrating social studies into other disciplines may be a little trickier for some subjects and some areas of study of social studies, but the challenge will require the lens to be placed squarely on the goals and objectives of what the lesson is teaching.   

Social studies lessons have to involve the students.  The aim of social studies lessons is to get the students to think about themselves, their world, and themselves in the world.  But finding the connection or the hook to see themselves in the lesson is the trick.  This involves providing a motivating piece of the lesson that makes the students see the importance of studying social studies for them.  Often motivating students will come from using student’s love of being social.  Working together as group, collaborating on a project, or being part of a whole class activity can make students want to study social studies.  Social studies is social, it is about being a human in the world of today, yesterday and tomorrow as part of world filled with other human beings.

 
A good social studies lesson builds on what students have studied before and allows them to make connections to what they are learning about in other subjects or connections to things that can bring into the class and connections to exploring and learning new material.  Social studies lessons that allow the student to be challenged with new ideas, knowledge and understandings will engage students if the lessons are correctly designed as to not be so difficult that they are frustrating or too easy that the students loose interest.  A social studies lesson needs to be flexible enough to expand or tighten to allow students to learn most effectively.
 
Social studies lessons should be about recognizing the similarities and differences in all of us.  Social studies is such an important topic today, as our classrooms represent the amazing diversity of our country and world.  We need to have an understanding of other’s cultures, backgrounds, lands and beliefs to have a respect for each other.  Social Studies lessons should help students grow in their knowledge of our very big, but at the same time very small world and its inhabitants.  Social studies lessons should include helping students see the diversity of people in our world and the people in our classrooms.  Diversity also includes the many ways students learn, their interests and motivations.  Lessons should include recognizing, capitalizing on and teaching methods that keep in mind the diversity of students.
 

Lessons should meet the New Common Core  and State Essential Standards to provide students with the knowledge and skills deemed necessary for our world today.  But this knowledge is not enough for the social studies lesson to impart.  The social studies lesson should provide knowledge in a way that will develop students to be problem solvers, questioners and thinkers about what they have learned.  This is functional content that allows the students to learn more than facts and figures but knowledge that they can apply, ponder and puzzle about.

 
Meaningful, well-planned social studies lessons incorporate a “dynamic” approach capitalizing on the curious elementary student that will become tomorrow’s aware and informed citizen.  The Dynamic social studies approach is outlined by George W. Maxim in his book, “Dynamic Social Studies for Constructivist Classrooms”.

Maxim, G. W. (2010). Dynamic social studies for constructivist classrooms. Boston, MA Pearson.