Philosophy of social studies education.

Each teacher of social studies teacher needs to possess a philosophy of teaching and learning. Philosophy provides guidance and direction in choosing objectives, learning activities, and assessment procedures. Each philosophy to be discussed will possess differences in meaning and implementation. It is salient to understand relevant philosophical schools of thought in order to make full use of each.

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Project methods emphasize a hands-on approach to learning. Active involvement of the learner is necessary to choose a project within an ongoing social studies unit of study. Interest is inherent in choosing the project. Careful consideration is given to interest factors, Learner purpose is important also. Thus, there are reasons for choosing and working on a project. Projects may stress individual or committee endeavors, depending upon the learning style of the students. After the selection has been made, the student with teacher guidance develops a plan to follow in doing the project. The plans made follow a definite sequence. Included in the plans are needed materials, which will be necessary to complete the project. There are a plethora of developmentally appropriate projects to be made such as a model farm, a solar collector, an urban scene, soil conservation scenes, and/ or a housing development. Depending upon the social unit being studied, the choices for materials to be used in the project are endless. Modifications are made as needed.

Following the completion of the plans, the student is ready for implementation. Quality work is desired. Work habits of punctuality, creativity, and care are salient. These processes as well as neatness and accuracy in the final product are important. Each of the following parts of the project method need to be assessed in terms of learner progress:

* Purposeful choice made in selecting the project. Here, the learner needs to perceive value in the ongoing activity. Motivation accrues when value is accepted in doing a project. Active engagement in learning becomes an inherent part of learning.

* Planning the ensuing project places responsibility upon the student to solve difficulties involved in flexible, sequential steps of doing things. There is teacher oversight and supervision, but the learner must assume ownership of the project.

* Implementing the plans involves the actual doing of a hands-on approach in learning. Eye hand coordination as well as cognition is being harmonized to achieve, grow, and develop. The ultimate goal is to complete a project that may be assessed favorably.

* Evaluation of the projects stresses using quality criteria to notice how well the project was completed in its final form. A comprehensive rubric makes for increased objectivity in evaluation (Ediger and Rao, 2000).

A project method emphasizes an activity-centered procedure in learning. The basics of reading to gather information, writing the plan for doing construction work, as well as arithmetic useful in measuring dimensions for the project, are brought into developing a project.

Subjects Centered Approaches in Teaching Social Studies

Subject matter will be learned in any procedure of teaching social studies.

However, when subject matter, not activity centered procedures, are stressed, the focal point of instruction will be for students to achieve vital facts, concepts, and generalizations in a more direct manner. A carefully selected basal textbook is used to determine the structure of content to be taught. Additional reference sources may be used as needed. For each lesson and unit taught, the teacher

* Has learners view the related illustrations in the basal

* Assists students to develop background information for the ensuing reading activity

* Prints the new words to be read on the chalkboard. By seeing and discussing these words, students are aided to recognize them when reading silently.

* Guides learners to raise questions pertaining to the reading selection

* Helps students to predict answers to these questions.

Following the reading experience, students with teacher guidance check the predictions and evaluate answers to questions. Additional questions/comments are discussed. Inductive learning is then basically being stressed; however deductive learning is also salient when subject matter is learned in depth through direct teaching. Audio-visual aids are used, when necessary, to clarify subject matter taught and make learnings meaningful. Vital and relevant subject matter is to be acquired by students.

Enduring ideas from each academic discipline should be taught in each lesson/ unit of study. Mastery of subject matter is demonstrated by student test results.

Careful mapping of knowledge and skills for each academic discipline helps to ensure that individual students are achieving. In this way efficient monitoring of student achievement is possible. It is a top down academic curriculum; however, each student is important when viewing mastery of subject matter and skills. No one is to fall through the cracks. Adequate gains from each are necessary to reveal learner achievement and progress (See, Ferrero, 2006).

Measurably Stated Objectives and the Social Studies

Here, the teacher writes precise objectives for students to attain. The objectives are written prior to instruction and may be available to students so they may know what is to be learned. After instruction, the teacher measures, through testing, how well students have achieved the precise objectives. Those not achieved require a different teaching strategy. Learning activities chosen to achieve the objectives are aligned and selected by the teacher. Individual differences need adequate provision in teaching and learning situations.

The measurement movement is reflected in the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law. Objectives for student achievement are written on the state level. Learning opportunities to achieve the objectives are chosen by the teacher. They are aligned with the objectives. Tests to measure performance are also written on the state level. Students need to pass the tests in grades three through eight in order to be promoted. They also must pass an exit test in high school to receive a diploma. If a school does not meet a state's adequate yearly progress (AYP) standards, the students in the failing school may transfer to one which is successful in meeting state requirements. All standards and requirements for students are measurable and not subject to opinion (See Ediger and Rao, 2006).

Testing provides objective data in terns of percent, percentiles, and standard deviations, among other statistical techniques. Comparisons are made between students in a grade level one school year as compared to another group of the same grade level the next school year. Schools are also compared in one school year to determine if a school has made adequate yearly progress. Objective standardized test results and scores only, are accepted, not subjective information such as grades received in school, teacher written test results, portfolios, and special required projects. Measurement philosophy emphasizes

* standardize means of ascertaining student achievement

* standardized direction and time limits for all students taking a test

* standardized conditions for test taking.

However, there is a plethora of subjectivity in standardized tests, including the following:

* Human beings write the test items. Other test items, instead, could be used in testing

* Conditions for testing, such as noise level, might vary much from group to group being tested

* Students vary in test taking abilities

* Tests may measure socio-economic levels of learners largely

* Feelings of students change in time intervals (See Parker, 2001).

At the present time reading and mathematics, only, require testing; science will also require testing during the 2007-2008 school year. There are a few states that require testing in the social studies. Selected educators feel social studies receives short shrift, since teachers spend much time teaching those subject matter areas tested upon in NCLB. There have been numerous suggestions for modifying NCLB including testing in more curriculum areas, the use of value added approaches and the addition of portfolio procedures.

The Integrated Social Studies Curriculum

Integration of subject matter has been advocated for decades, but a total integrated curriculum has been emphasized, in degrees. A problem solving procedure might do much to relate academic disciplines. Here within a learning activity, pupils identify one or more problems. These problems represent dilemma situations that require research, thought, and time. They are in-depth questions which students believe are salient situations. Each problem needs to be clearly stated so that a hypothesis is developed and viable solutions are possible. The hypothesis is tentative and subject to change or modification. It is subject to being tested, based on in-depth information gathered. Subject matter from diverse academic disciplines are used and integrated to find solutions. Each academic discipline loses its separate identity in a truly integrated curriculum. Information for problem solving may come from reading experiences, internet and World Wide Web sources, as well as audio visual aids, including multi-media.

The information gathering results in testing the hypothesis. The hypothesis might then need to be revised or changed. New problems, too, may emerge.

The integrated curriculum stresses the significance of

* Knowledge being practical in that it becomes useful within a learning situation or in the solving of practical problems

* Knowledge used at the time a problem is to be solved

* Knowledge which is used tends to be retained longer than if learned in isolation (Ediger, 2002).

Critics tend to believe the integrated social studies curriculum deemphasizes the individual academic disciplines. Students then learn survey procedures in securing knowledge and skills from each subject matter being studied.

In Closing

There is no reason that each of the above four approaches in teaching social studies could not be stressed. Thus, time may be given to the project method, subject centered approaches whereby each academic discipline is taught separately in the social studies, the use of measurably stated objectives with aligned tests, and the integrated curriculum. Flexible time allotments then need to be given to each. Student learning styles are involved here, in that some prefer a more structured curriculum such as the basics being taught and/or measurably stated objectives to be achieved. More open-ended procedures of instruction pertain to the project method and problem solving. Teachers might well assist conscientious students to achieve well in any individual or combination of procedures in teaching and learning.

References

Ediger, M. (2002). Reading for Enjoyment and Pleasure. Experiments in Education, Published by the SITU Council of Educational Research in India.

Ediger, M. & Rao, D.B. (2000) Teaching Social Studies Successfully. New Delhi, India: Discovery Publishing House.

Ediger, M. & Rao, D. B. (2006). Successful School Education. New Delhi, India: Discovery Publishing House

Ferrero, D.J. (2006). Creativity, Academic Mastery, Depth, Student Interest, Breadth, Subject Matter Disciplines. Educational Leadership, 63(8), 10- 14.

Parker, W. C. (2001). Social Studies In Elementary Education. Upper Saddle River, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc.

Marlow Ediger, Professor Emeritus, Truman State University.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Dr. Marlow Ediger, Professor Emeritus, Truman State University, North Newton, KS 67117.