Chapter 13

 

As a graduate student studying education, much of my knowledge comes from my text. I have learned a great deal about Geography instruction and its pedagogical value from the final chapter. My conclusion from my examination of the chapter is that Geography instruction is well structured with a variety of tools. For example, there are 5 themes of Geography which can be studied individually to construct the student’s understanding of the study of Geography. If we apply the cooperative learning model which was the focus of my graduate study during this term, we will discover that an instructor can apply the JIGSAW method here. Each individual in a base group would be tasked with learning one of the 5 themes in an expert group. Then, when each student returns to their original base group, they can share what they have learned. As an educator in training, I believe the themes of Geography are an excellent centerpiece for a cooperative lesson.

Of course, there is a plethora of effective lessons outside the cooperative model such as mapping your own community. I believe such a task would cause students to learn about their community as a bonus to learning the different parts of a map. By having students create a map, it requires the 2 highest steps of Bloom’s metacognitive pyramid; creating and applying. Therefore, a project such as mapping the community could be a good way to end a unit about the Location theme of Geography. Tools such as keys, compasses and scales support teaching these concepts. These tools can be incorporated in other teaching strategies outlined in the text such as a treasure hunt. As a graduate student, my journey this term began with a scavenger hunt. As I reflect on that experience, I found it fun and engaging. I had to use my metacognitive thought and knowledge of Social Studies to solve the puzzles and clues. A Geography treasure hunt would challenge the student’s ability to apply knowledge to fulfill their task.

As an educator in training, I believe it’s one thing to memorize information for a limited length of time and it’s another to put that information to work. Using knowledge is the best way to foster real learning. Putting the student’s Geography skills to work further develops and reinforces their level of understanding. The same is true for an athlete who practices their workouts and drills each day. The more the athlete practices, the better he/she becomes at their sport. To conclude my argument on this point, application of skills is not only an accurate assessment of the student’s knowledge, it is also a way to develop it.

The text highlights a creative cross-curricular method for teaching Geography using literature and mapping skills. The example provided in my graduate text uses the Wizard of Oz story as the centerpiece of a mapping lesson. I believe students would truly enjoy this since it involves their creativity to map the significant landmarks in the story. In addition, cross-curricular lessons such as this one, are great solutions to the time problem that looms over Elementary teachers like a dark shadow. Instructors often run out of time trying to cover all their material stipulated in the state curriculum. Cross-curricular lessons solve this by incorporating multiple disciplines at once. In my study as a graduate student, I have been taught to avoid assigning homework. But what if homework is another answer to the time problem. The obvious problem with homework is that a teacher can’t be available to answer questions. On the other hand, the good news is that technology addresses that problem. Technology allows students to communicate better than ever before with their classmates and the post-COVID world will make it even easier.

The COVID19 Pandemic has been an enlightening time for teachers and budding educators such as myself. The chaos and disorder have caused educators to adapt by using tools such as Zoom, Google Classroom, Pear Deck interactive slides, Nearpod and so much more. These are not going away with the defeat of COVID19. Rather, they will remain tools for Geography teachers to use to teach each of the previously mentioned lessons and more. Technology will evolve these conventional lessons and I can’t wait to see what comes of it.

 

Chapter 12

 

As an educator in training, my study of my text informs me about the role of teaching history. As I read this particular section of my text, I discovered that I agree with much of the assertions and ideas. History is my personal favorite piece of Social Studies primarily because of its hands-on aspect. I have often asserted in the past that learning about different times is like travelling to a foreign land. The past is simply impossible for us to wrap our minds around because we only know our way of living. It’s nearly impossible to empathize with someone who lived during the American Revolution. According to my text, history teaches us perspective and how our society came to be (). When I began my Social Studies Methods course, I defined Social Studies as the story of our origins. I defined it that way because I believed that it was all about history. Therefore, I gave my definition of history. After reading the chapter, I felt that my definition of history was validated.

History may be exciting but it comes with its challenges. For example, many educators struggle to cover their material as stipulated in the curriculum. This leads to anxiety which blocks learning. The other nemesis that haunts social studies teachers is how to talk about sensitive concepts to a culturally diverse class. If we discontinue teaching the Big Lie that is the first Thanksgiving then how do we tell the truth? The next problem highlighted in my text is the holes, exaggerations, biases and inaccuracies in history. That is the leading reason why as a future educator, I plan to teach my students to cross examine different perspectives in their search for truth.

An effective way for educators to address some of the previously highlighted problems is by using a strategy called EPIC. EPIC stands for Experience, Perception, Information and Connections. In the past I have asserted that students will not remember concepts that are not significant to them. The EPIC strategy creates connections by drawing from the student’s life experiences that parallels the concept under study. This is accomplished during the opening Experience stage. Next (Perception), students are tasked with reflecting about those experiences by recalling thoughts and feelings and comparing different points of view. Once the student’s interest has been sparked, the instructor moves on to introduce concrete information to the students (Information). Finally, the teacher highlights the connections shared in the Experience stage between the student’s thoughts and the topic (). According to my text, this is an effective way to make the past more relatable for students. Although it may be effective in switching on the student’s minds, I do not believe it will establish a deep connection with the past.

As a professional historian, I have discovered the best connections with our history is through artifacts and the sights themselves. The strongest example of this is a living history museum because it possesses both. In the 5^th Grade, I had the good fortune to visit one of the best living history communities in the country; Colonial Williamsburg. There, museums and artifacts surround visitors. Beyond that, visitors can watch demonstrations of matchlock and flintlock muskets along with the Guttenberg Printing Press and so much more. I remember purchasing reproductions of all the important documents, visiting the Yorktown Battlefield and trying on a British uniform! I visited a windmill, gunsmith and actors playing the key figures from Virginia such as Patrick Henry. Not only did I watch but I left with one of the first authentic items in my military collection. That is when I discovered that objects from the past are our direct portals to the past. Only authentic artifacts tell us the plain, raw, untainted truth. It is my hope that one day I can mount these artifacts and replicas to the walls of my classroom.

My text lists a variety of items for teachers to use to draw students to learning. I found games to be the most interesting. After pondering the idea of teaching with games, fun and interesting lessons suddenly sprung out of my mind. I thought of a way to create a lesson plan around the game of Dungeons and Dragons. Since the game is a campaign that follows a story controlled by a “Dungeon Master”, almost any historical period can be adapted to the game. The students can name their own characters and decide what they do in the story as they learn about different time periods. The text shines a spotlight on how relatives can be part of a history lesson by sharing stories and pictures with their children about their youth. They can be helpful in constructing a family tree. I believe that a family tree project is perfect for teaching young students how to conduct research professionally for a purpose that is significant to them (family).

History is such an exciting topic but it is important to note that the attitude of the teacher will spread to the students. No matter how exciting history is, if the instructor is dull, down and dry then the content will be too. For the most part, my viewpoints as an educator in training are in check with those in the text. Plugging the holes in historical pedagogy is up to the creativity of the teacher.     

 

Chapter 11

 

The study of civics in social studies is of particular importance today and educators should be diligent about teaching its key concepts to students. We currently live in a historic time with Trumpism, COVID, black lives matter, conspiracy theories about our government and a Capital attack. Since we live in a Democratic society, we must teach students about their role in this picture. This is where that old saying “Knowledge is power” comes into play. As educators, the more we can shed light on our student’s rights as citizens the more active they can be.

As an educator in training, I believe we have failed when it comes to teaching the importance of the vote. I have herd time and again during elections that their vote doesn’t count or doesn’t matter. I have been told that our government is corrupt and the choices we are given during election time are all self-interested and corrupt. The question is, are these the conclusions of a properly educated citizen. I believe the answer is simple. As President Joe Biden bluntly put it during his final debate against former President Trump, NO! According to my text as a graduate student, one of the benefits of civics education is to “improve our democratic shortfalls.” If we examine the 2016 election, we can conclude based on the low voter turn out that there is tremendous apathy. It appears that in spite of our efforts to educate students about their role in government, we have failed.

According to my text, another intended benefit of civics education is “to improve our idea of civic equity.” If we take a close look at the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, we will discover the strong presents of hate and racial prejudice. The murder of George Floyd is proof that the education system has failed. As a graduate student tasked with studying how these issues are related to how we educate our students, I have come up with my own theories to explain these failures. I believe the apathy is rooted in the distance between the ordinary citizen and the government. Much of what goes on feels far away and doesn’t impact us. To solve this, educators must find ways to “put our students in touch with the government” such as organizing field trips to Washington D.C. However, after the capital riot, such visits will be difficult to arrange. As a future educator, I might consider organizing or attending an event with my class. For example, I could organize a visit with the local government. Educators must show as well as talk about the connections between them and our distant representatives on capital hill. I also believe that communicating with a politician or representative can be intimidating. Therefore, as a future educator, I will teach my students how to communicate with politicians about issues that concern them. Students must learn how the decisions made in Washington affect their lives because they do!

As I have asserted in class, “people are entitled to their own opinions but not their own facts.” If we take a good hard look around, we can see the truth about how our government works is slowly being eroded. The biggest example of this is something known as the big lie which states that Democrats unlawfully stole the 2020 election from former President Trump. Individuals who believe this assertion clearly don’t understand that our government doesn’t choose its own leaders. Only the vote of the people determines our next leader. This could be the result of poor education. I believe the individuals who voted for former President Trump were simply angry with the results. We live in a time where the truth is being lost and it is vital to teach it. Another shinning example of the truth becoming lost are those who don’t believe in climate change.

In terms of methods suggested by my book, I believe sharing power with the students is one of the best ways of teaching about activism and government. Many schools also have a form of student government in which there is a President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. Each of these jobs teaches students their role in our government. When I was an undergraduate student at Mount Saint Mary College, there was a student government and I was a representative for one of the school’s clubs. In our government, we have senators which represent each state in congress. When I was in Elementary school, I was elected by my classmates as their class representative. I believe this form of learning by doing is the strongest way to teach students how they can make a difference.

The next method I have explored in practice and theory. It is known as JIGSAW and it is a form of cooperative instruction. As an educator in training, I believe JIGSAW plugs many potential holes in the cooperative instruction model. For example, it holds each group member accountable for their role in the group’s objective. Each group member depends on the success of the others to accomplish a shared objective. The JIGSAW method creates an environment where students help each other causing growth and active learning. In terms of teaching civics in social studies, a teacher could organize groups to research the three branches of government as well as key individuals such as the President. Groups can be created to research the jobs and roles of each of the President’s cabinet members. I strongly believe that JIGSAW also addresses increasing classroom diversity since students would learn acceptance by learning about their peers.

To conclude, we live in a historic time. Events are unfolding around us which our students must learn about. They must feel secure when expressing their feelings. School is a safe place where each student’s feelings must be validated. The truth is that 70 years after Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X, here we are again witnessing the rise of the second Civil Rights movement. Clearly hate and prejudice still runs hot in America’s blood. The question Educators must ask themselves at this point is; “can we find the antidote to these issues somewhere in our teaching?” All I know is that I’m studying to become an educator to change the world and each day I turn on the news, I discover what I will be up against. After examining my text and working with my professors and peers, I feel better armed with the tools I will need to strike down these enemies and do my part to create a better world.

Chapter 10

 

As an educator in training, I have learned about the economic aspect of teaching social studies. I still am getting used to the idea that social studies is not just about history. As a student who always attended high quality schools and lived in a safe upper middle-class community, I found it difficult to wrap my brain around the effects of living in poverty on academic achievement and even disabilities. The bottom line is that by educating the next generation about making smart decisions with the resources they have, maybe we can help them build a better future.

My text discusses something called affluenza which is the concept of emptiness in our society even though we are surrounded with more “stuff” than ever before. Lives are empty, unfulfilled and unsatisfied because there’s always something new or something better. A shinning example of this is the evolution of the iPhone. Since the software is constantly being updated, our hardware is constantly outdated and it’s time to get a new one. These “things” that constantly fade in and out resemble the concept of a fad. Although fads become obsolete for a different reason, I believe it is a very similar concept to planned obsolescence discussed previously. My text shines a spotlight on the idea that children, unlike many other consumers, influence their parents’ financial decisions. Reading this immediately triggered a flash-back to a time in my childhood when I enjoyed playing with the new Star Wars action figures. I remember shopping in the Target store with my parents and how I begged them to buy me the newest action figure hanging from the shelf (I didn’t get it).     

Economics is a vital piece of social studies because it directly impacts educators and students. According to my graduate text, class size can increase which directly impacts the teacher’s ability to adequately distribute their attention to help students learn. The important thing to remember is that students are the forefront of economics. In other words, it is one of the two Social Studies disciplines that teaches the student’s place in our world; economics and civics. For example, attaining a career will affect their quality of life. By acquiring the appropriate skills, a student can learn to transform those skills into a service and exchange it for money. If we revisit my brief memory of my experience at Target, we can apply an even more vital concept. I believe the most important economic lessons educators can teach is how to earn things rather than learning to feel entitled. I have observed the absence of ambition and humility in the next generation. To put it plainly, our children do not feel they have to earn things. Learning how to do chores at home is an exchange of a service for a small allowance. If I was earning an allowance as a child, I could have bought myself that Star Wars action figure. It is important to note that the socioeconomic status of every family is different and not everyone can afford to grant their child an allowance. As an educator in training, I believe this can be addressed in the classroom. I would teach this idea by assigning different jobs to each of my students or group of students in exchange for fake money which they could use to trade for something such as candy, free time or a small toy. I would also implement games such as Monopoly to teach key economic concepts. Implementing the game of Monopoly creates a learning environment where students must apply their knowledge of managing money to win.  

 Of course, quality of life is also determined by how we teach our students to make decisions. My graduate text highlights the importance of teaching children the difference between wants and needs. I believe that the concept of wants vs. needs is the foundation for learning to manage money. We can even connect this with the other Social Studies discipline that shines a spotlight on the place of students; civics. Since part of our responsibilities as citizens is paying taxes to the government, we must teach our student not only how to make basic decisions, but also how to manage a complex budget.

It is important to note that the COVID19 pandemic has profoundly affected how we educate our children. The truth is that our classrooms are getting larger and more diverse. Our classrooms are becoming melting pots of different socioeconomic backgrounds. With more children living in poverty, their access to a quality education is diminished. The bottom line is that we can’t assume that we will ever return to the way things were. Rather, we must use our passion and creativity as teachers to bring education to everyone and move forward.  

Portals to The Past

 

It’s no surprise to me that teaching with tangible artifacts is an extremely motivational and thought-provoking teaching strategy. When I was in elementary school, my class went on a field trip to a historic house from the American Colonial period. I remember seeing and touching hard-tack and other artifacts that were passed around before my class explored the property. We participated in an activity that involved marching with wooden muskets from the American Revolution. At the end of the field trip, we were paid with replica currency from the time period. Today, that small, yellow copy of a colonial 5-shilling note sits in my dresser drawer along other replicas I have made myself! Next to my desk, mounted to my wall is a display case which holds real musket balls, a mini ball from the Civil War, my Grandfather’s Cold War army patches, medals and so much more! When I was about 9 years old, I started collecting coins, stamps and currency. So, I think it is reasonable to conclude that no one understands the excitement that real artifacts bring more than I do!

The bottom line is that artifacts inspire curiosity and an appreciation for different people and time periods. In my opinion, nothing connects us to the past better than artifacts do. They show us how studying history is like travelling to a foreign land. This is precisely why they are perfect tools for an inquiry lesson. As a future educator, I plan to use objects and artifacts often. But I believe the learning theory behind artifacts is incomplete. The truth is that hands on IS minds on learning. According to the theories explored in Building literacy skills across the curriculum: Forging connections with the past through artifacts, the best theoretical approaches to instruction using artifacts include to many traditional tools. One of the strategies begins the lesson by breaking students up-into groups to analyze small artifacts. Their task is to draw as much knowledge as they can be observing. Once this phase of the lesson is over and done with, we regress right back to research in the computer lab (Fuhler, et. al., 2006). To be blunt, education relies far too much on screens and the internet. As a future educator, I would use an artifact to inspire motivation and curiosity in my students by kicking off the unit with an artifact bag. The next phases of my lessons would be quite different by using books which is discussed in the article as an effective cross-curricular tool. My students would learn how to study history the same way real historians do. I would teach them how to look up books that may be connected to their artifact. From there, they could find other titles and sources that could lead to even more information.

I went through this process myself as I conducted my professional research for a previous blog about the German Me-262 which will soon be published in World at War Magazine later this year! I began my investigation in Washington D.C. several years ago at the National Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. There, I was able to spend time with an authentic Me-262 that was captured and brought to the U.S shortly after WWII. I read several secondary sources (books) with different historical perspectives which I cross examined for discrepancies. Within those books, I found leads that took me to primary sources written by the pilots who flew the 262. I also read a segment from the autobiography of Albert Speer who had an interesting part in my story. I learned to examine certain key details in historical photos which were enclosed with all the research I had read. This is the process I would have my students follow with few exceptions. One exception includes being able to access documents from the national archives over the internet about a particular moment in history. Another is using the resources on the Ellis Island website since they carry only original records of individuals who passed through. The only drawback to this however, is that those resources are available for a fee. Now that I think of it, the best inquiry lesson for teaching history is a family tree project. Using artifacts, photos and original documents, the students could find clues and investigate their roots. In that case, students would be using artifacts to help them fill in the ancestral gaps in their family tree. They would be given the option of a presentation, written report or flip grid video. If the student had another idea for completing the assignment, they would simply have to pitch it to the instructor for approval. Providing students with choice is a fundamental part of any lesson. I also believe that a project about family history includes and validates students from all different cultures and backgrounds.

As a future educator, I would use objects from the current times and have my students create a time capsule they could bury and excavate in the future. I believe this would be a great lesson about continuity by showing how things change over time. I would also design a project that would involve the students creating their own artifact! This is an application of the highest order of thought represented in Bloom’s taxonomy. Such a project would conclude a topical unit by having students APPLY their knowledge and to CREATE something original. To conclude, I believe that teaching with artifacts is the best approach. However, let’s try to remember that an artifact can be something original OR something that students create. That is how educators can turn on the minds of students and instill a lifelong love of learning and curiosity.

Citation

Fuhler, C. J., Farris, P. J., & Nelson, P. A. (2006). Building literacy skills across the curriculum: Forging connections with the past through artifacts. The Reading Teacher, 59(7). https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwC7OGFCEPfydmZyOVREOXNDSUE/view.

Theory vs. Practice

 

It’s one thing to study learning theory but it’s another to put it into practice on real students. As an educator in training, I will discuss the direct instruction theory which I studied and attempted to apply during my fieldwork experience. The truth is theory always seems to make sense until we apply it in real-world situations. As an educator in training, I spent a considerable amount of time learning about the direct instruction theory. Although before my eye-opening application of this concept, I had my own perception of what it was and how to use it.

For me, direct instruction was always delivered through a lecture where I could inject humor and thought-provoking questions into the lesson. In my professional career as a historian, I like to establish a dialogue with my audience as I teach. Engaging them in a conversation causes them to be active learners. Let’s be brutally honest with ourselves, lecture can become boring, dry and dull very quickly without any creative measures added to it. In theory, direct instruction is meant to be a teacher-controlled strategy where the students function like sponges. But, does a sponge think? No! In my professional opinion, active learning takes place when students are engaged in active thought with the instructor. Teaching students how to be perceptive and deep thinkers is one of the most important things an educator can accomplish. For me, the only way to accomplish this with direct instruction is to betray the nature of the theory by teaching students to form concepts and definitions in their own words rather than spoon feeding one that has been pre-packaged for obedient robot-like thought.

The theory of direct instruction calls for repetition and automation which means the students should be able to repeat content they have been taught. However, this does not mean at all that they will truly learn the nature of the content taught. In our teaching of literacy, word callers do not understand what they have read. The same can be said for students who are taught to simply echo what they are taught in class. From here, it is reasonable to conclude that students who recite and echo content have not truly learned anything. If we take a look at Bloom’s taxonomy of higher-order thought, we will notice that memorization is located at the bottom of the pyramid. That is because it represents the lowest level of thought and does not give the student the understanding to interpret, demonstrate or create something original. Creativity is represented at the top of Bloom’s pyramid because it is the highest level of thought and understanding. In my professional opinion, creativity is the best demonstration that learning has occurred. The logic is simple. If a student understands content deeply enough, they will be able to apply it and create by drawing from their knowledge. For example, if a student can take a spoon-fed definition of a concept and interpret it in their own words, that student has learned.

If we take things one step further and recognize that in our diversifying classrooms, pre-packaged one size fits all concepts and definitions simply will not do the job. The truth is that times have changed and educators must validate all perspectives. This is very important when teaching Social Studies since there are multiple perspective about the same event or time period. For example, an American Indian student will not feel validated by the European lie, that is, the story of the first Thanksgiving. The bottom line is that we must encourage thought instead of the recitation of words or the memorization of manufactured concepts for a standardized exam. Automation, in my professional opinion, is not learning. If we return to my example from my professional lectures, I can safely assert that engaging the audience in thought as I feed them information is a better way of delivering direct instruction. As I deliver the information, I give them the tools to answer my thoughtful questions. In addition, since the audience is aware that I will call on them to respond to prompts, they pay attention. As a result, all my students have walked away from my classes and lectures having truly learned something.

Before I began my graduate education to be trained as an educator, I had no formal training. But I did have experience. I taught an 8-week class at Vassar College that I designed from scratch. I delivered my content through lecture, slides and prompts. I discovered that engaging my students in active thought resulted in learning. I felt surprised to learn the true theory of direct instruction and now after comparing my previous execution with the theory I have learned I believe that my own method is more effective. For most students, the situation would be reversed but for me, teaching has always been my dream and always is a long time to create a vision for the best ways to create the best learners. To conclude, I disagree with the existing theory of direct instruction but as a graduate student, I will humbly seek to learn more about why it is what it is. I believe that learning more will assist my efforts to re-invent how direct instruction is implemented in my classroom and my career.

Cross Curricular Geography

 

Until this point in my graduate study of education, I never associated the study of geography with social studies. Rather, I regarded it as a separate discipline. Not only have I learned it’s true place in academics but I have come up with excellent cross curricular methods of teaching geography. As an aviation historian, I have studied in great detail the navigation methods of WWII pilots over both land and sea. One afternoon, I found myself studying the methods of teaching geography as a graduate student and a neuron fired a lesson plan which I will elaborate on in this blog.

The story begins with a lecture I gave at the Cornwall Public Library about the battle of Midway. I was curious about how the naval aviators found their way navigating a battle field that consisted of nothing but wide-open ocean. In my study, I discovered how they used navigation by radio, the position of the sun, waypoints and something else called dead reckoning. Dead reckoning is easily the most complicated and sophisticated method of navigation. It requires calculation of wind speed, course plus the aid of waypoints. It requires a lot of skills and training because with dead reckoning, a small error could cost the entire bombing mission. Navigators had to be trained in calculating the time delay and drift caused by a cross-wind to keep the aircraft on course. Other bomber pilots used tools called sextants and used the position of the sun to determine their location.

So, what does all this history have to do with the perfect geography lesson? Well, the answer is using this history to build a simulation lesson. This would be a cross-curricular lesson between history and geography where the teacher would create a target destination for a simulated WWII bombing mission. The students would learn only the basic concepts of dead reckoning to find their way to the target on a map. The teacher would provide the situation indicating head-winds or cross-winds, the location of the target and so on. An enthusiastic instructor could dress up the lesson with historical photographs and displaying maps on the smart-board. A teacher could even take this lesson one step further and mold it into a cooperative lesson. The instructor could divide the class into small groups, each group would represent a bomber crew, and t he students within each group would split the responsibilities of navigating to the target. This lesson would incorporate all aspects of geography and since it is an interactive lesson with complex and tasks requiring lots of thought, I believe it would be a home run for any social studies teacher.