Blog Post #8

EQ: What do you need to know to teach social studies?

Q1: Is the information taught by social studies teachers becoming too difficult for students to
understand?
Q2: Is it more important for social studies teachers to understand/learn one subject over another?

One of the most significant keys when studying to become a teacher in the state of Ohio
is to be able to understand and teach the information presented in the Ohio Learning Standards.
While attending Bowling Green State University, as a freshman, my professors have already
begun to stress the importance of content classes and OAE readiness. The OAE is to be
completed after all of my core content classes, or classes that I will need to take to learn and
understand information that I will have to eventually reteach to my students. Through my field
experience, content courses, and research, I plan to answer the essential question: What do you
need to know to teach social studies?. I also plan on being able to answer two supporting
questions that I have chosen: Is the information taught by social studies teachers becoming too
hard for students to understand? and Is it more important for social studies teachers to
understand/learn one subject over another?
My time in Anthony Wayne Junior High School has been well spent. I grew in a school
much (almost 5x) smaller. This school has about 400 students per grade level; I graduated from a
school where the class sizes averaged about 70. When Mr. Keller first gave me this information, I
was a little surprised and a bit afraid of what kind of environment I was getting into. I was very
relieved and shocked to find that while they have high numbers, Anthony Wayne has many
teachers teaching the same subject which puts the average class size at about 22 students. Every
seventh grade social studies teacher taught the same information, and used the same notes,
homework, tests, quizzes, PowerPoints, etc. Mr. Kellers students have spent a lot of time
working on guided notes; but he also spent a lot of time working on something I found more
interesting. All seventh grade students were working on what they called a DBQ, which stands
for Document-Based Question. Students were asked to answer an essential question based
upon a document they were given by using their notes and other approved resources. This
brought me back to the article written by Fred M. Newmann and Gary G. Wehlage titled Five
Standards of Authentic Instruction; Newmann and Wehlage make the point: We contend that
innovations should aim toward a vision of authentic student achievement, and we are examining
the extent to which instruction in restructured schools is directed toward authentic forms of
student achievement. (Newmann, F.M. & Wehlage 1993) DBQs ensure that students
comprehend the information being taught and also gives them practice doing research; which in
my opinion has led to a very healthy and successful classroom.

Is the information taught by social studies teachers becoming too difficult for students to
understand?
One article that I constantly find myself referring back to is Why Kids Dont Like Social
Studies, written by Mark C. Schug, Robert J. Todd and R. Beery. The statement Reasons given
for why some courses were least favorite usually referred to the difficulty of the subject or a
dislike of the subject matter, makes it clear that students dont dislike the subject because it is
not interesting, they dislike it because it is hard for them to understand (M.C.S., R.J.T. & R.B.
1984.). Personally, I always excelled in social studies subjects, but I believe that this is because I
understood the subjects very easily and I had some teachers that were able to make the subject
fun. As a National Honor Society student, in high school I was required to help tutor students
who may need it in a subject I performed well in. One student was having a lot of issues in her
freshman world studies class. She explained that she was having issues understanding and
memorizing the material. Personally, I believe that this is because she didnt enjoy the subject
itself nor did she like the teacher. Students are finding the information difficult to learn and
understand because of the methods being used. I believe that the information is getting tougher,
but by using a successful method, teachers can make the class more enjoyable, therefore
encouraging the students to want to learn. Therefore, to answer the question, I believe that they
information is becoming more difficult, but that is not the reason behind why they do not
understand.

Is it more important for social studies teachers to understand/learn one subject over another?
Social studies teachers can teach a variety of different subjects, and as weve seen in the
article Why Kids Dont Like Social Studies, kids dont particularly enjoy social studies! One
reason this could be is that teachers are not using the correct methods with their students. It is
also possible that the teachers do not completely understand the information themselves! The
OAE tests a students knowledge on world history, American history, geography, government and
economics. Based on the number of questions included on the test for each subject, American
history, government, and world history seem to be more important. Phycology is not even tested
on the OAE, but social studies teachers are still responsible for knowing the information. You are
never guaranteed to be teaching a certain subject when being hired, so in my opinion, it is very
important to understand every aspect and disciplinary within social studies. By understanding
each subject, it will ensure that each teacher has the ability to teach any subject, and can make
the learning experience a positive one for each student!

*I included my references to previous MR within my essays.

References
Newmann, F.M., & Wehlage, G.G. (1993). Five standards of authentic instruction. Educational
Leadership, 50 (7), 8-12.
Schug, M., Todd, R., & Beery. R. (1984). Why kids don't like social studies. Social Education,
48(5), 382-387.