Teaching to the Vision

Teaching to the VisionTeaching to the VisionTeaching to the VisionTeaching to the Vision

Organizing the ContentOrganizing the Content

Thoughts from 335

Thoughts from 335• Make sure that you know and fully

understand the objectives [outcomes] you have chosen for your unit

» Amy Hagemann

Thoughts from 335• As a teacher, based on your own

interest, background knowledge, and stance on citizenship education, [you] must decide which specific outcomes are the most relevant in teaching social understanding and civic efficacy

» Daniel Lemieux

Thoughts from 335• As teacher we must consider two

key points: what is my purpose for teaching a selected idea or content; and what value does it have for my students

» Carla McTurk

Thoughts from Gibson• Chapter 6, pp. 113-133

Review what has gone on before and what is to follow

p.129 • Scope: a deeper treatment of a

few topics, or a broader coverage of a larger number of topics

• Sequence: the order in which knowledge, skills and attitudes are to be taught

• …focusing on a few ideas in detail and making sure that there are connections made between those ideas and the children’s life experiences is how the brain learns best (p. 129)

• Meaningful

Approaches to Organizing Content

• Gibson, Chapter 6

1. The Textbook

1. The Textbook…removes the decision about what

content is most important to be taught in social studies from you as teacher by giving it to the author of the text (p. 129)

1. The Textbook…removes the decision about what

content is most important to be taught in social studies from you as teacher by giving it to the author of the text (p. 129)

Meaningful (?)Active (?)

2. Expanding Horizons(spiral)


• …begins with examples from the child’s local environment [and] then expands outward…from simple to complex, from familiar to unfamiliar, and from the known to the unknown (p. 130)


[But]…children are in fact able to conceptualize, fantasize and make mental models of what they may never have experienced before (Egan, p. 130)


[But]…children are in fact able to conceptualize, fantasize and make mental models of what they may never have experienced before (Egan, p. 130)

Meaningful (to the student)Active (the basis of constructivism)

Perhaps also Expanding

Responsibilities?• Teacher-Directed Classroom

• Shared Direction Classroom

• Student-Directed Classroom– (pp. 198-211)

3. Disciplines-Based(History,

Geography)


Geography)• …ignores the holistic manner in

which children observe their world. This approach…also ignores the interdisciplinary nature of social studies (p. 131)


Geography)• …ignores the holistic manner in

which children observe their world. This approach…also ignores the interdisciplinary nature of social studies (p. 131)

• Meaningful ?• Integrative ?

4. Concerns-Based(Spiral)


• …usually takes one concern area as the organizer for the entire curriculum and revisits that concern at greater depth over subsequent years…common examples…environmental education, peace education, human rights education, global education (p. 131)


• Meaningful (to teacher? to student?)

• Value-based

• Challenging (to student?)


• Could spiral to other Bloom’s Taxonomy levels


• Could spiral to other Bloom’s Taxonomy levels

• OR to other intelligences (Gibson, p 215)

5. Thematic/Cross-Curricular Approach


• …the boundaries between subjects are blurred and the content of each subject becomes subordinate to children coming to understand big ideas through in-depth exploration (p.131 and figure 6.5 on p. 132)


• …the boundaries between subjects are blurred and the content of each subject becomes subordinate to children coming to understand big ideas through in-depth exploration (p.131 and figure 6.5 on p. 132)

• Meaningful


• …learning should be interrelated rather than separated into a variety of discrete concepts and skills (p. 131)


• …learning should be interrelated rather than separated into a variety of discrete concepts and skills (p. 131)

• Meaningful• Integrative


• …allows for holistic skill development, for a cohesive, wide-ranging view of both the world and learning that addresses the whole before the parts (p. 131)


• …allows for holistic skill development, for a cohesive, wide-ranging view of both the world and learning that addresses the whole before the parts (p. 131)

• Challenging


• …children learn best when they make connections between the new material and their prior experiences and when there is time allotted for transference of knowledge from one area to another (p. 131)


• …children learn best when they make connections between the new material and their prior experiences and when there is time allotted for transference of knowledge from one area to another (p. 131)

• Value-based


• …provides a way to use social studies as the integrative subject and afford it greater prominence in an increasingly crowded curriculum…can allow students to develop better reading and writing skills through increased use of these skills (p. 132)


• …provides a way to use social studies as the integrative subject and afford it greater prominence in an increasingly crowded curriculum…can allow students to develop better reading and writing skills through increased use of these skills (p. 132)

• Active


• Meaningful• Integrative• Value-based• Challenging• Active


• See Gibson, Chapter 14 for an example of this powerful approach in Social Studies

Teaching to the Vision

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