TCH 347 Social Studies Methods

Department of Teacher EducationShippensburg University

Han Liu Ph.D.

Social Studies Teacher as a Generalist

What Is a Generalist?

• One who has broad general knowledge and skills in several areas.

• The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2004, 2000 by

Houghton Mifflin Company. Published

What Should a Generalist Know About?

• A generalist should have the basic knowledge of disciplinary domains• Humanity• Science• Social Science

Basic Disciplines

• Humanities: • Art, Literature, English, Foreign Languages,

Music, and Philosophy, Religion

• Sciences: • Physics, Biology, Chemistry,

Geology/Meteorology/Oceanography, Mathematics, and Physics/Astronomy

• Social sciences: • Anthropology, Psychology, Sociology,

Economics, Political Science, Geography, History

Interdisciplinary & Multidisciplinary

• Interdisciplinary• Involving two or more academic disciplines that

cannot be identified with any single academic discipline

• Generating a new academic study domain, such as global studies, environmental research

• Multidisciplinary• Making use of several disciplines at once to address

a problem• Combining humanities, science, and social science• Representing a study approach for a problem

Standards

• Social studies teachers should know the national and state standards of the following areas by grade levels

•Reading/Language Arts•Math•Science•Technology

Cross-Curriculum/Curriculum Integration

• Social studies teachers should know the scope and sequence of the following areas by each grade levels

•Reading/Language Arts•Math•Science•Technology

Make Connections to Social Studies:

Reading/Language Arts

• Stories involving concepts, people, or scenarios related to social studies

• Historical events• Historical figures• Geographical concepts and terms• Reading/Listening skills• Speaking/Writing skills

Make Connections to Social Studies:

Science • Areas

• Physics• Chemistry• Biology• Earth Science

• Technological inventions/inventors and development in history

• Science and geography• Science/Technology and economy• Science and environment• Science in student daily life

Make Connections to Social Studies:

Math

• Basic calculation• Basic data analysis

• Total, average, percentage, per capita, etc.

• Data organization & presentation• Table, charts, graphs

Make Connections to Social Studies:

Technology

• Calculating• Excel

• Ordering/Sorting• Word/Excel/Access

• Data retrieving/transferring• Downloads, Emails

• Report writing• Word, Excel, PowerPoint

• Searching• Search engines selection & key words defining

• Diagram Drawing• Word, Paint

Social Studies Skills

• Social studies teachers should help students develop skills in the following areas• Language/Communication Skills• Vocabulary building skills• Moral reasoning skills• Thinking skills• Data processing skills• Technology skills• Research skills

Mind Boggling???

• Do you think too much is required for a social studies teacher?

• Is it difficult to become a good social studies teacher?

• What do you suggest as other necessary knowledge and skills for qualified social studies teachers in addition to those listed in this PPT?