Breaking Bones and Barriers: Is Necessity the Mother of Curricular Invention/Innovation or Compromise in Realigning a Social Studies Method Course?

Abstract

Since 2009, I have been responsible for leading an upper-level methods course geared toward helping senior elementary education majors develop a foundation for how they will bring social studies to life with their own students. By comparison with math, science, and language arts – as those subjects are each deliberately woven into the ELED program with two or more required courses (at least one relating to developing content mastery and understanding, another pedagogical with an explicit internship placement to assure each preservice intern will be afforded opportunities to practice planning, facilitating, and assessing subject-specific lessons) – ELED 365 offers the ONLY social studies education course elementary education majors take at all… and though it’s paired with an internship that semester, there’s no assurance that these placements will afford our interns any opportunity to observe, much less practice explicit social studies instruction.

As one might imagine, it can feel like one has to swim mightily against the current to make the course as meaningful as it ought to be… to cram in as much as possible in spite of the less-than-ideal- conditions. Now imagine how much more complicated (or perhaps simplified) things need to become when the course-lead has to modify everything around two major surgeries he has to have during the school year: literally breaking each of his legs to reset/realign them. This presentation will explore the nature of redesigning curriculum to meet necessity’ needs and where/when such change may have led to improvement versus compromise. A blessing or a curse?

Presentation Description

As one might imagine, teaching social studies methods to elementary education majors in their senior year can feel like one has to swim mightily against the current to make the course as meaningful as it ought to be… to cram in as much as possible in spite of the less-than-ideal- conditions. Now imagine how much more complicated (or perhaps simplified) things need to become when the professor has to modify everything around two major surgeries he has to have during the school year: literally breaking each of his legs to reset/realign them. This presentation will explore the nature of redesigning curriculum to meet necessity’ needs and where/when such change may have led to improvement versus compromise.

Keywords

Elementary social studies methods, Curricular redesign, Adaptations/Accommodations, Systemic barriers

Location

Forsyth

Publication Type and Release Option

Presentation (Open Access)

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Jun 10th, 2:15 PM Jun 10th, 3:30 PM

Breaking Bones and Barriers: Is Necessity the Mother of Curricular Invention/Innovation or Compromise in Realigning a Social Studies Method Course?

Forsyth

Since 2009, I have been responsible for leading an upper-level methods course geared toward helping senior elementary education majors develop a foundation for how they will bring social studies to life with their own students. By comparison with math, science, and language arts – as those subjects are each deliberately woven into the ELED program with two or more required courses (at least one relating to developing content mastery and understanding, another pedagogical with an explicit internship placement to assure each preservice intern will be afforded opportunities to practice planning, facilitating, and assessing subject-specific lessons) – ELED 365 offers the ONLY social studies education course elementary education majors take at all… and though it’s paired with an internship that semester, there’s no assurance that these placements will afford our interns any opportunity to observe, much less practice explicit social studies instruction.

As one might imagine, it can feel like one has to swim mightily against the current to make the course as meaningful as it ought to be… to cram in as much as possible in spite of the less-than-ideal- conditions. Now imagine how much more complicated (or perhaps simplified) things need to become when the course-lead has to modify everything around two major surgeries he has to have during the school year: literally breaking each of his legs to reset/realign them. This presentation will explore the nature of redesigning curriculum to meet necessity’ needs and where/when such change may have led to improvement versus compromise. A blessing or a curse?