TLT 431, Spring 2013 - Course record

Navigation short-cut: Session jump by number

1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 ... end

 

Session 1 - Tuesday, 15 Jan

Before class

  • Buy (borrow, rent) a copy of the textbook: A Practical Guide to Middle and Secondary Social Studies (June R. Chapin, 2011; Amazon page -- also available in the LU bookstore)
  • If you can, check out the course resources linked from the main course page: this wiki, the bookmarks list, the Moodle site.

During class (ppt)

  • Introductions
  • Tour of course sites, resources
    • Textbook: A Practical Guide to Middle and Secondary Social Studies (June R. Chapin, 2007; Amazon page -- also available in the LU bookstore)
    • Public face of the course: Wiki
      • Intended curriculum: Map
      • Enacted curriculum: Record, built session-by-session. See previous version of this course for an example.
    • Private face of the course: CourseSite.
      • You're probably familiar with Blackboard; we'll be using a different courseware system called Moodle. Lehigh has named theirs CourseSite.
      • Note that Moodle is a free tool. If you're interested, you can set up your own Moodle and use if for teaching your classes--an example is here.
    • Course bookmarks--some websites that you may find useful during the semester.
    • And in case you don't have one already in front of you: classroom laptops
  • Reviewing syllabus
    • Static copy (pdf) vs. dynamic copy (Google doc)
      • Please flag any corrections or questions as we go along! That's the whole point of the dynamic copy....
    • Part 1: General overview, expectations
    • Part 2: Assignments
  • Conceptual work:
    • What is social studies? (via Jigsaw(-ish) / LGL activity)
  • Instruction presentation: What is social studies? A natural evolution in education? A historical oddity? An ill-defined object? A battlefield?
  • What is a social studies methods course?
    • Content? Techniques? Lesson planning?
    • Significance of model lessons: LGL / Jigsaw, Hilda Taba
  • Why does social studies matter?
  • Closure: Discussion of WTL, original instructional materials assignments

After class

  • Reading
    • Chapin, Ch. 1
    • NCSS, 2008
    • Mehlinger, 1988
    • Ochoa, 2001
  • Assignments
      • WTL (start your thread in the CourseSite): Take 10 minutes to answer these questions: What is history? How do we come to know about the past? Next, pick one specific topic or event from history (e.g., slavery, Pearl Harbor, sufferage, the Great Migration) and explain (a) what you know about it, and (b) how you learned this
      • Update your profile in CourseSite to include your picture
      • Complete your first original instructional material and bring it to class next week. Don't forget to include a paragraph explaining its intended use. 
      • Start lining up an HTCE participant

 

Session 2 - Tuesday, 22 Jan

Before class

  • Complete reading (above)
  • Complete WTL in CourseSite (see prompt above)
  • Create your first original instructional material, bring it to class ready to share with a classmate. Don't forget to also write up a paragraph describing its intended use. 
  • If you haven't already, fill out the survey about iPads: http://tinyurl.com/73k9vs2

During class (ppt)

  • iPad distribution and training
  • Framing construct for the course: (t)PCK. Along the way, I'll show you my original instructional material, a couple of Google Earth overlays used in a lesson about the Great Wall of China.
    • De-brief of activity: the T..., the P..., the C...; how's your toolbox looking?
  • Pair-and-share of original instructional materials
  • Reporting out on pair-and-share–how did it fit into (t)PCK?
  • Discussion of next original instructional materials product–look at Keeler and Langhorst, 2008
  • Framing for the course: Content areas, subdivided into content schema, disciplinary skills, standards, research findings, current practice, emerging practice, building your toolbox, and pursuing the civic mission of social studies
  • Getting started on history education 
  • Closure: How's your TPCK coming along?
  • Discussion of HTCE assignment.

After class

  • Reading
    • Chapin, Ch. 1 (review), Ch. 6 (new)
    • PCK: Shulman, 1986
    • Teacher dispositions: Thornton, 2001
    • Keeler & Langhorst, 2008 (to help plan for original instructional material product #2)
    • Barton & Levstik, 1996 (to prep for HTCE work)
    • Primary source analysis: Hicks, Doolittle, & Ewing, 2004
  • Assignments
    • WTL: Take 20 minutes and --without consulting any sources-- write a brief history of the world. Yes, this is a bizarre thing to ask you to do, but given that you're headed toward becoming a history teacher, you need to figure out what your version of the narrative is (i.e., what's your internal account) and where the gaps are. 
    • Complete HTCE image set, annotations and turn it in via CourseSite.
    • Start thinking about your second original instructional material assignment.

 

Session 3 - Tuesday, 29 Jan

Before class

  • Complete reading
  • Do WTL
  • Complete and turn in your HTCE image set

During class (ppt)

After class

  • Reading for Feb 12
    • Planning
      • Chapin, Ch. 2
      • What is an Essential Question?
    • Methods
      • Smith & Niemi, 2001
      • Alibrandi & Sarnoff, 2006
    • Stances
      • Yeager & Davis, 1995, 1996
      • Barton & Levstik, 2003
    • Optional reading
      • Wineburg, 2004
      • Nash, Crabtree, & Dunn, 2000
      • How Students Learn: History
      • Bransford, Brown, & Cocking
  • Assignments
    • WTL: Take some time to (a) report out on how you're using your iPad -- how is it useful (or not) for this class? Are you using it for other classes? Are you using it for any extra-curricular purposes that might connect to social studies and/or education? (b) What thoughts do you have about using iPads (or other mobile technology) for teaching social studies? For example, St. Thomas More in Allentown is using iPads in its middle school social studies classes -- what might you do if you had to teach in that environment?  
    • Download and install Aurasma (link: itunes.apple.com/gb/app/aurasma-lite/id432526396), create an account for yourself. 
    • Complete and turn in your second instructional material assignment
    • Come to class prepared to go outside!!

Session 4 - Tuesday, 5 Feb

No class session, due to STEM presentation. In lieu of our meeting, please meet with Richard Rosenblum, one of our doc students. He will be leading you through an augmented reality exercise (created by other doc students) and an GPS-based activity (created by me!). The augmented reality is designed for history ed (history of Bethlehem Steel) and the GPS activity is designed for geography ed (specifically latitude and longitude), but these technologies can of course be applied to other content areas / topics. Soak in the concept of these tools and think about how / why you might apply them to your own instruction. They fit into the theme of 'social studies is ripe for change', thanks to new technologies or (in the case of GPS) fairly old technologies that are now becoming more broadly available. 

 

Session 5 - Tuesday, 12 Feb

Before class

  • Complete and turn in your first course plan
  • If you haven't already: Complete and turn in your second original instructional material assignment
  • Complete reading
  • Do WTL

During class (no ppt this week – everything runs from the wiki)

  • Discussing last week's activities
    • Questions? Curiosities? Anyone confused as to why we did it? 
    • Extensions
      • Technology: Using devices other than a GPS unit to generate a lat-lon
      • Instruction
        • Geocaching
        • Trees, cars, and carbon activity
    • Plug for TLT 368
    • Invitation to do something with augmented reality as part of your microteaching, or perhaps make something for use at Centennial
  • History education
    • Wrapping up methods for history ed: Maps and globes (more t/k when we pivot to geography); primary sources (see heuristics); timelines.
    • Timelines get us into two other issues
      • Chronology as a tool for history
      • The role of (multiple) perspective in history education (and other social studies fields)
  • Social studies and diversity / multiculturalism
    • The danger of a single story (video) – this is a TED talk by Nigerian author Chimamanda Adichie, July 2009
    • History ed and single stories
      • Timelines
      • Maps
      • Textbooks
      • Documentaries
  • Wrapping up history ed
    • The eternal beta of historical reasoning and teaching: Metaphor of an album
    • Touching our touchstones one last time
      • Standards
      • Resources
      • Methods
    • What you need to do as a history educator to keep moving forward – role of textbook, articles, fieldwork, etc.
  • iPad time: For next week, I'd like you to explore some specific apps, targeted at social studies content
    • Lincoln Telegrams (website, app) – this one comes from the history ed community, specifically the good people at NC State. 
    • History: Maps of World (app) – this one comes from I have no idea where; it doesn't seem to be an educator
    • Pick anything from the "Education" section of the app store: http://www.apple.com/education/apps/– scroll down to the "History and Geography" section. Find something, try it out, keep track of where it's coming from: inside or outside the education community? From a social studies educator or someone more generically focused (e.g., a technologist)?
    • Pick anything from a specialized list – for example, http://teachwithyouripad.wikispaces.com/Social+Studies+Apps
  • Time permitting: Let's talk about the State of the Union!
  • Housekeeping
    • Original instructional materials #2? 
    • Everything OK with the first course plan?
    • Checking on HTCE participants
    • Discussing fieldwork

After class

  • Reading
    • Chapin, Ch. 4
    • Hammond, 2010
    • optional: Hammond & Manfra, 2009
  • Assignments
    • Update me on your field experience: Do you have a placement? Have you contacted the teacher? Do you have a schedule in place to get in your hours? Do you need any help with this? 
    • WTL: Apologies, but there are a lot of things I want you to do. In separate posts, 
      • Describe and comment on your iPad exploration – what apps did you look at? What did you like / dislike? How might you use them? 
      • Draw a map of the world, scan it, upload it to your thread (to prep for geography next week)
      • To prepare for a guest speaker next week: Pretend that you are going to teach a unit, the topic is either India or Islam (your choice). Spend a little time thinking about what you might teach and how you might teach it. BE SURE to specify the learners you have in mind: Rural / suburban / urban; high-achieving / low-achieving / mixed; public / private / charter, etc. 
    • Finalize your HTCE participant

 

Session 6 - Tuesday, 19 Feb

Before class

  • Post update on your field experience progress (if any)
  • Complete reading
  • Complete WTL – see prompts, above

During class

After class

  • Reading
    • Chapin, Ch. 7 (3rd ed.) or Ch. 8 (2nd ed)
    • Carano & Berson, 2007
  • Assignments
    • WTL
    • Complete second course plan

 

Session 7 - Tuesday, 26 Feb

Before class

  • Complete WTL, second course plan.
  • Complete reading

During class (ppt)

  • Housekeeping – previewing assignments
  • Geography ed, re-cap from last session
  • Moving forward
    • Stances
    • Maps & empathy
    • New method and some essential content: Map projections. See relevant bookmarks.
    • Another method, plus reminder on importance of technology: 'Weaving the Globe': Input your data; look at others' output.
    • Another method, plus a plug for Teachers Curriculum Institute materials (and a model for micro-teaching) – we'll make use of some YouTube videos for this, courtesy of Lyle Hiroshi Saxon. Literally THOUSANDS of videos. Thanks, mate!
    • Geography and history: Reclaiming Henry Noll
  • Recap of geography ed
  • Picking micro-teaching assignments

After class

  • Reading – both of these pieces point out the possibilities for technology to significantly impact geography teaching, content, and student outcomes.
    • Doering & Veletsianos, 2007
    • Milson, Gilbert, & Earle, 2007
  • Assignments
    • WTL
    • Work on HTCE
    • Complete and turn in curriculum map assignment
    • Sign up for microteaching time slot via this handy form.

 

Session 8 - Tuesday, 5 Mar

Before class

  • Complete reading
  • Complete WTL
  • Turn in curriculum map
  • Sign up for microteaching slot – see links above

During class (ppt)

  • Getting our microteaching organized: Confirming dates; who wants what topic? 
  • And a little sidebar on pedagogical stances. This refers back to an optional reading from earlier in the semester: Hammond & Manfra, 2009
  • Getting started on civics
    • An opening activity: Bill of Rights bingo! Note that this is from the Utah Education Network (lesson page); you may want to bookmark them. 
    • Conceptual framing of civics / stances
    • Another activity: Branches of govt via photo markup. 
    • How about a community-oriented approach? Welcome to OpenSecrets.
    • What kind of citizen? (adapted from Westheimer & Kahne)
    • Examining standards
      • PDE old vs. new
      • Center for Civic Education. 
    • Going further with the Center for Civic Ed
    • What's special about civics? (Back to the pedagogical stance stuff)
  • Time permitting: Another vision of citizenship: Question Time. 

After class

  • WTL: Take 15 minutes and write how the American government works. Next, take 10 minutes to explain what democracy is. How much overlap is there between your explanation of the two topics?
  • Prep microteaching (if you're scheduled to go next)
  • Think about your unit – what topic? Methods? Assessments? Special needs learners? 
  • Reading
    • Chapin, Ch. 5
    • Westheimer & Kahne, 2004
    • Smith, 2004
  • STAND BY for some prep work. I want to run a debate and/or simulation in our next class; I'll email out instructions once I get it sorted out. 
Tuesday, 12 Mar – no class; spring break

Session 9 - Tuesday, 19 Mar 

Before class

During class (ppt)

  • Microteaching: Karina
  • Civics, part 2: Civics as action, not knowledge
    • Civics and the dilemma of deferred action: You learn it now, but you use it later
    • Civics in multiple contexts: Adults' world vs. students' world
    • Bringing these concerns together: Simulations and debates
    • Civics as MORE than just voting
  • Closure

After class

  • Reading
    • t/k – I'm scanning selections from Diana Hess' Controversy in the Classroom (2009; see Amazon link). I'll let you know when it's posted.
  • Assignments
    • WTL
    • Complete and turn in unit overview

 

Session 10 - Tuesday, 26 Mar

Before class

  • Complete reading
  • Complete and turn in your unit overview; if you need a little extra time, that's fine (since it took me longer than it should have to give feedback on your curriculum maps)

During class (ppt)

  • Housekeeping
  • Microteaching: Tierney
  • Conceptual work: Assessment & social studies
    • Generic purposes & assumptions of assessment: sequestered, individual tasks; assessment OF learning vs. assessment FOR learning; accountability / the 'bottom line' vs. the challenges of failure (or being passed along)
    • Reviewing things you (may?) already know – formative v. summative, etc.
    • Assessment in the context of social studies: What's the bottom line, again? Significance of schema, level of non-information in traditional assessments. Examination of the work of Sam Wineburg, Gabriel Reich. Test items as text: compare primary source heuristics & test-wiseness
      Examples of non-traditional assessment: Take the assessment & then evaluate your work
      • Digital documentary group
        • Other approaches: A digital documentary? (This was made using PrimaryAccess.) Other tools: Glogster, Prezi, good ol' powerpoint (albeit perhaps used non-traditionally), a discussion board, etc. 
      • Essay group
        • Start with the Free Response Question. Individually examine the question and the images, then individually outline an answer. Then read the sample student response and score it with a rubric. Discuss your scoring. 
        • Move to the Document-Based Question. Examine the question and the documents, but skip writing your own answer. Examine the rubric, then look at the sample student response. Score it individually, then discuss.  
      • Collaborative test-taking group
        • Answer the first ten questions on your own. 
        • Answer the second ten questions on your own; then stop and discuss them. Note places where you changed your answers and provide an explanation of why. 
        • Answer the last ten questions on your own. Then use a computer to explore these questions further. Change your answers as needed, and document your changes (i.e., provide new answer, explain your new understanding, and provide links to relevant sites)

After class

  • Reading
    • Reich, 2009
    • Re-visit NAEP and Praxis links (see CourseSite) as needed
  • Assignments
    • WTL
    • Complete and turn in your HTCE. Again, if you need more time, let me know
    • Microteaching: If you did your microteaching, write your reflection. If your microteaching is coming up: Prepare your materials and post them to the forum in CourseSite

Session 11 - Tuesday, 2 Apr

Before class

  • Complete reading
  • Complete assignments. If you're not turning in your HTCE, let me know when I can expect it!

During class (ppt)

  • Microteaching: Cameron
  • Conceptual work
    • Finishing assessment
      • Discussing alternative test-taking experience
      • Digital documentary group
        • Other approaches: A digital documentary? (This was made using PrimaryAccess.) Other tools: Glogster, Prezi, good ol' powerpoint (albeit perhaps used non-traditionally), a discussion board, etc. 
      • Essay group
        • Start with the Free Response Question. Individually examine the question and the images, then individually outline an answer. Then read the sample student response and score it with a rubric. Discuss your scoring. 
        • Move to the Document-Based Question. Examine the question and the documents, but skip writing your own answer. Examine the rubric, then look at the sample student response. Score it individually, then discuss.  
    • Accommodation & Inclusion
      • Videos to watch
      • Sharing what you've seen / done in your fieldwork
      • Some big picture background on the law & demographics
      • Given this large-scale, career-long challenge...break it into three pieces

After class

  • Reading
    • Material on ELPS in CourseSite

    • Cho & Reich, 2008

    • Cruz & Thornburg, 2009
  • Assignments
    • Review the material with the green headers in the course record, above. We didn't get to it in class, but I'd like to start out discussing it in our next class. You will need these strategies to (a) start building your toolkit of inclusion strategies, and (b) meet the adaptation/modification requirements of your unit.
    • Come to class prepared to discuss your unit: How is it coming? What decisions are you facing? What do you have in mind for your assessments? What individual learners will you plan for? 
    • WTL
    • Work on your final unit
    • Microteaching: If you did your microteaching, write your reflection. If your microteaching is coming up: Prepare your materials and post them to the forum in CourseSite

 

Session 12 - Tuesday, 9 Apr

Before class

During class

  • Microteaching: Corey
  • Discussing units, adaptations for special needs learners, and assessment
  • Opening up economics ed
    • Economics & the curriculum & you
    • Economics as integration: Classic lesson topic = Great Depression. Here's a sample lesson from Social Ed, but there are lots of other ways to get at this. 
    • Economics as a representation / simplification / model. Examples: micro S & D, macro AS & AD. Competing policy implications of different models of AS & AD. I'm using ThinkEconomics here -- it's worth playing with & exploring. Bookmark it for later. 
    • Demo lessons
      • Play-Doh Economics, from Indiana's Council for Economic Ed. You can get the first edition online for free; the second edition you have to buy (Amazon).
        • Activity de-brief -- what was learned: concepts? Skills? Attitudes?
      • A market in wheat. This is a CLASSIC lesson. I first encountered it in the 'Morton' books for teaching AP Econ--it's also available in a CEE publication via Google Books: lesson, entire book. 
        • Activity de-brief -- what was learned: concepts? Skills? Attitudes? Any citizenship development going on here? – can't do activity; not enough students
    • A critical stance on economics education (in the US, at least): where's the non-capitalism? Example of Islamic banking, etc. Related links
    • Opportunities to think critically & address citizenship/global citizenship:
  • Closure: Bringing together geography, economics, civics, and history: gapminder.org

After class

  • Reading
    • Day, 2006
    • Caldwell & O'Driscoll, 2007
    • NCEE, 2007
    • review Chapin, Ch. 8 (3rd ed) or 7 (2nd ed) – just the economics material
    • optional: Fraser, 2007
  • Assignments
    • WTL
    • Complete remaining assignments!

Session 13 - Tuesday, 16 Apr

Before class

  • Work on remaining assignments. Come prepared to discuss your accommodations for your special needs learners
  • WTL
  • Complete reading – file away useful economics materials for future reference!

During class

  • Housekeeping: Re-scheduling next week's session. Fill out the form here. 
  • Microteaching: Bachka
  • Talking about units: What are your adaptations for your special needs learners? 
  • Talking about current events: Should the bombing in Boston be mentioned or not? If so, how should you approach it? 
  • Starting to unpack our iPad experience
    • My thesis
    • Some popular press to back up my thesis: "The Smart Way to Use iPads in the Classroom" (Slate)
    • And here's an example for you to try out: EduCreations (website, link to page in app store)
      • Sample 1: Branches of Govt (approx 1 minute; from student at TCU)
      • Sample 2: Mexican-American War (approx 10 minutes; by middle school teacher – see his full set of videos here)
      • Sample 3 (and my proof-of-concept): Vietnam War (approx 11 minutes, by me!)
    • Implications
      • Does this support my thesis?
      • Who should be the primary consumer? Audience? 
      • Fitting this into instructional strategies
        • Flipped curriculum?
        • Student project work? 
        • Meeting special learners' needs?
      • ...does this have anything to do with democratic classrooms? 

After class

  • Complete your work! No WTL, no reading, just crank away on your units and whatever else you have left

Session 14 - Tuesday, 23 Apr – MONDAY, 22 APRIL; room TBA

Before class

  • Complete any remaining assignments
  • Bring your iPad to class, and complete the survey that I emailed you about

During class

  • Technopalooza
    • Social studies and technology: Opening new possibilities. In addition to what we've already seen (e.g., using GPS units, doing augmented reality, etc.), consider the following:
    • Point being: Life-long learning about social studies content, social studies methods, and technology. Always be ready to think outside the box
    • Examples of packaged concepts that you might adapt to your purposes
      • 5-picture Charades. 
        • Now you try it: Take your iPad, shoot a sequence of 5 pictures, bring it back to class and see if the other team can guess it.
        • Now turn your 5 pictures into a movie: Open EduCreations, make five pages, add graphics, narrate and upload. 
      • Video-conferencing: vicarious field trip and/or remote guest speaker. We'll be talking to the wonderful, awesome, generous Julie Ellis, live from Hong Kong.
  • Closure to our semester together
    • A wallwisher (now called Padlet!) activity: Write on my page here. 
    • Turning in iPads – closing thoughts? 
    • Things to do with cups
    • Graduation ceremony: A methods student is a colleague forever.

After class

  • Complete and turn in assignments!

 

LAST DAY TO TURN IN ASSIGNMENTS: Tuesday, 30 April

 

(back to top?)

end