II. CROSSROADS SOCIAL STUDIES METHODS SYLLABUS:

AMERICAN HISTORY THEMES IN HISTORICAL

INQUIRY METHODS FOR TEACHING THE CROSSROADS CURRICULUM

Introduction


This syllabus is intended for a college-level unit (of three to four weeks) on the subject of teaching American history using CROSSROADS, a K-16 curriculum in American history. The unit can be included within a course on Social Studies Methods at the undergraduate or graduate level, or it can be used alone as a preparatory course for the novice or veteran CROSSROADS teacher. This methods course can be for the elementary and/or the secondary grade levels.

Ideally, students using this unit should have prior coursework in American history and human growth and development. Educational psychology and learning theory are other courses of value.

Course Readings


There are two companion works to this CROSSROADS Methods Syllabus. One is the CROSSROADS K-12 American history curriculum itself and the other is CROSSROADS: Essays in American History by Richard B. Bernstein, which is a collection of background content essays that introduces and frames the curriculum. While references to particular essays are made within this syllabus, students taking this course will have to read both the essays and the curriculum on their own early in the methods course. Therefore, content assignments are not included with each theme; the student/teacher is expected to know the relevant material of the historical period.

There are two additional references to be used in conjunction with this course: B. Joyce, M. Weil, and B. Showers, Models of Teaching (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1992); and Christine Sleeter and Carl Grant, Turning on Learning: Five Approaches for Multicultural Teaching (Columbus Ohio: Merrill, 1989).

Course Goals


There are three major areas for teachers of social studies to master:

  1. A broad knowledge of subject matter, including chronological and cultural history, aspects of political science and economics, and other social sciences as necessary such as anthropology and archaeology.
  2. Practical and theoretical knowledge concerning pedagogy and the models of learning and teaching these subjects, such as the inquiry method, concept teaching, and cooperative learning.
  3. Knowledge of the psychological and cognitive development of the learner and how that development interacts with the first two areas, especially pedagogy.

Each of the eight themes in the CROSSROADS curriculum has important assumptions embedded within it. The list below presents the salient teaching methods for each theme. For example, geography requires not only a love of maps and geological features and topography, but also that teachers be able to move from concrete to abstract thinking, from directly acting upon and with materials to engaging and deciphering abstract symbols. On the other hand, teaching about the evolution of American democracy is ideal for concept teaching and development. In the middle school, teaching the inquiry method is ideal for subjects that students are highly motivated to research such as aspects of American culture. There are other methods that are also important in each theme, but they will not all be extensively addressed. Although many of the methods are applicable across the themes, students will learn the approaches thematically. At the end of the course, there will be a period for the integration of methods through the CROSSROADS material. A correlation of CROSSROADS themes and units is found at the end of this syllabus.

Pedagogical Methods for CROSSROADS Themes


  1. Geography as the Setting of American History
    * Teaching from concrete to abstract: hands-on to symbol systems
    * Integrating geography, geology, and the environment in history making deductions and inferences

  2. The Evolution of American Political Democracy and Ideas
    * Concept teaching
    * Teaching with inductive thinking
    * Cooperative learning and the inquiry model

  3. The American Society
    1. The Evolution of American Society
      * Inquiry models
      * Teaching about moral development, ethics and values
      * Sociological tools
      * Board games and simulations
      * Introduction to point of view
    2. The Question of a Distinctive American Culture
      * Teaching about aesthetics, literature, architecture, music, art
      * Approaches to American invention, scientific and technological development: applications and inquiry
    3. America as a Gathering of Peoples and Cultures
      * Approaches to teaching about multiculturalism: human values and group dynamics, single group studies, cultural pluralism, multiculturalism, social reconstructivism
      * Teaching about point of view

  4. The Development of an American Economy
    * Teaching basic principles of economics
    * Using applications and simulations (Stock Market Game)br> * Group investigation

  5. The Changing Role of America in the World
    * Teaching critical thinking and problem solving
    * Geographical concepts in America's changing role
    * The information explosion and point of view

Resources:
Correlation of CROSSROADS Themes and Units

Theme I:Geography as the Setting of American History
Theme II:The Evolution of American Political Democracy and Ideas
Theme IIIA:The American Society: The Evolution of American Society
Theme IIIB:The American Society: The Question of a Distinctive American Culture
Theme IIIC:The American Society: America as a Gathering of Peoples and Culture
Theme IV:The Development of an American Economy
Theme V:The Changing Role of America in the World


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