SoSt 200 Introduction to Social Studies

Term: Fall, 2008

Instructor: Tony Filipovitch, 106d Morris Hall, 507-389-5035 (office), 507-388-2264 (home)

Office Hours: My office hours are posted here. I am available in my office at those times (or other times by appointment). I also check my e-mail daily (usually several times during the day), and have an answering machine on both my home and office phone. There is no reason to flounder around, unsure of what “he wants” or confused about what you are doing; and even if everything is going fine with the coursework, there is more to learning than completing the assignments. I encourage you to visit me, in person or at a distance by phone or e-mail, many times during the course.

Instructional Management System & Communication Protocols:

· The course will use D2L as the instructional management system. Grade rosters and other course management issues will be handled through that site.

· The software for this course will be PC-based Microsoft Office and Internet Explorer, or compatibles. I prefer to receive e-mail and course submissions to my e-mail address (not to D2L), and I can only open Microsoft Word or text files (if you are using, say, WordPerfect, make sure to send any files to me in .txt or .rtf format).

· I will communicate with you using your official MSU e-mail address; if this is not your preferred e-mail provider, make sure you have set your MSU e-mail account to forward to your preferred address (instructions are available from the help desk at help@mnsu.edu or 507-389-6654).

· I generally will reply to e-mails within 48 hours (give me an additional 24 hours over the weekends), unless I have notified the class through D2L that I expect to be away from my computer (e.g., when I am attending a national conference). If you do not hear from me within that time, please resend your question or comment as it may have been lost.

Text:

· National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS). 1994. Curriculum Standards for Social Studies. Silver Spring, MD: NCSS. (Note: You will use the NCSS book again in SoSt 450)

Course Overview:

The purpose of this course is to initiate formal preparation for teaching secondary social studies.

Learning Outcomes:

Students will

Begin to develop a professional portfolio using the Web
Examine critical integrating concepts of the social studies.
Analyze the role of perspective, paradigms, and frames of reference in understanding social phenomena and apply your understanding in a multiple perspectives learning activity.
Study models of critical and creative thinking, inquiry and discovery within the context of a secondary social studies classroom.
Develop and deliver standards-based teaching strategies using a current history project plan.
Use knowledge of current events to create applications for teaching social studies.

Students will address the following Minnesota Board of Teaching and National Council for the Social Studies Teacher Education Standards by applying their understanding of:

Culture & Cultural Diversity: How human beings create, learn, and adapt culture
Time, Continuity & Change: Historical roots based on what things were like in the past and how things change and develop over time.
People, Places & Environments: The world within and beyond personal locations.
Individual Development & Identity: Personal identity as shaped by an individual’s culture, by groups, and by institutional influences.
Individuals, Groups & Institutions: How institutions are formed, what controls and influences them, how institutions control and influence individuals and culture, and how institutions can be maintained or changed.
Power, Authority and Governance: The historical development of structures of power, authority and governance and their evolving functions in contemporary United States society and other parts of the world.
Production, Distribution, and Consumption: How people organize for the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.
Science, Technology and Society: The relationship among science, technology, and society
Global Connections: The relationship ob global connections among world societies to global interdependence.
Civic Ideals and Practice: That civic ideals and practices of citizenship are critical to full participation in society and are the central purpose of the social studies.
Native American History and Culture

Requirements:

Class Meetings:

Class time will be a mix of lecture, discussion, activities, and student presentations. You are expected to come to class, and come prepared to discuss the material assigned for each week. Also, throughout much of the course there will be a current events quiz at some time during the class. Material for the quiz will be taken from the StarTribune, although you might get a boost from NPR’s “Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me.”

Website/Portfolio:

You will need to establish an online professional portfolio. You will continue to develop your portfolio throughout your studies here at MSU, and most likely will continue it once you are in your profession. We recommend MnSCU’s e-Folio site, although you may use other websites if you get prior permission. The instructions for the Portfolio are found in the Course Calendar.

Current History Day Project

You will work in small groups (3-4) to complete a plan for a current history day project which

Focuses on one of the major NCSS social studies strands (each group will select a different strand)
Incorporates the National History Day theme
Emphasizes a current events topic

Your group will:

Conduct primary and secondary research on the topic, demonstrated by an annotated bibliography of research materials (7 pts.)
Develop a “blueprint” of topic research and analysis based upon an exhibit, performance, or media documentary (see the NHD website for details about these forms) (10 pts.)
Write a “process paper” (limit 500 words—7 pts.) explaining

The identification of the NCSS strand and performance expectation and the NHD theme and topic
Your research
Current and potential historical importance of your topic
Connection of the topic to the theme and the NCSS strand and performance expectation

As a group, you will present your blueprint to the class (about 30 mins.—6 pts.) Each group member is expected to participate in the presentation.

Multiple Perspectives Learning Activity

As the final project in the class, you will design a 1-3 day learning activity that will lead secondary students to examine perspectives, paradigms, or frames of reference, using techniques of inquiry/discovery/active learning. The lesson plan should include all of the elements of a lesson plan (Standards, Results, Evaluation, Curriculum, Instruction, Discussion Questions), and each student will create their own lesson (in other words, this is not a group project, although you will submit it to your group for review/comment before the final version is posted to your portfolio).

Course Calendar

Date	Topic	Readings/Assignments	Activities & Integrating Concepts
8/27	Becoming a Social Studies Teacher: a. Introduction	NCSS; “How to Build a Student for the 21^st Century,” Time, 12/18/06, 50-56
9/3	b. Thinking like a social studies teacher	BOT Standards; MN BOT Native American Performance Expectations; NCSS Standards, pp. 21-30 & 111-141; Yashino & Harada “Engaging Students in Inquiry” (e-Reserve)	Standards, results, evaluation, curriculum, instruction **Current events quiz
9/10	c. Social Studies Profession (Social Studies Panel) & Portfolios	Create your portfolio	MSU SoSt Portfolios Portfolio Evaluation Criteria **Current events quiz
9/17	d. Writing a Lesson Plan	National History Day NHD Theme 2008-09	Sign up for “Current History Day” Project **Current events quiz
9/24	Team work day—current history project		**Portfolios due
10/1	MN Alliance for Geography Educators (MAGE)	Teaching Geography
10/8	Thinking in Paradigms a. The business of paradigms		Dialectics, gestalt, schemata, dialogue Creating Multiple Perspectives Learning Activity ++CHD Strand 4 **Current events quiz
10/15	b. Perspectives	Robert Hanvey, “An Attainable Global Perspective” Paradigms, perspectives & frames of reference	“Two Women” ++CHD Strand 5 **Current events quiz
10/22	c. The Reporters’ Questions	Clark Johnson, “The Template of the Investigative Reporter” (e-Reserve)	Shape of the World 3-Story Building ++CHD Strand 6 **Current events quiz
10/29	d. Things ramify/Role of uncertainty	Christensen, “Conducting Policy” Kurzman, “Reasonable Disagreement” (e-Reserve)	Draft of Multiple Perspectives Plan due to team ++CHD Strand 7 Current events quiz
11/5	Critical Thinking	Critical Thinking on the Web; Critical Thinking in the Curriculum;	++CHD Strand 8 **Current events quiz
11/20	Inquiry & Discovery	Asking good questions; Inquiry & discovery	++CHD Strand 10 **Current events quiz
11/26	No class		**Final of Multiple Perspectives Plan due
12/3	Civics—Teaching local government	Teaching the Local Community	**Current events quiz
12/10	Final Exam Period—Course evaluation due

Course Expectations:

Grading:

There are 100 points for the course, divided as follows:

1) Current Events Quizzes (10 @ 3) 30

2) Web site/Portfolio 20

3) Multiple Perspectives Learning Activity 20

4) Current History Day Project 30

The final grade may be based on a curve, but students can expect at least an A if they achieve 90, a B with 80, etc.

Other Matters:

All assignments are due on the assigned date. There will be no makeups except for very unusual circumstances (a medical excuse will require a doctor’s slip). No extensions or makeups are allowed without prior permission.

Written reports are expected to be free of grammatical, spelling, and content errors. It should be submitted in typewritten, standard formats (APA, MLA, URSI Style Sheets). You must familiarize yourself with the University’s Academic Honesty Policy. I encourage you to draw on the ideas of others—but you must also identify when you do so (you gain “brownie points” for citing the work of others!). Plagiarism is a serious breach of academic behavior and will result in an F for the course.

I will help you in whatever manner humanly possible. However, once the semester is over, there is not a great deal I can do. If there is something that you don’t understand, are having problems with, or need help on, please get in touch with me as early as possible.

Every attempt will be made to accommodate qualified students with disabilities. If you area student with a documented disability, please contact me as early in the semester as possible to discuss the necessary accommodations, and/or contact the Disability Services Office at 507-389-2825 (V) or 1-800-627-3529 (MRS/TTY).

Bibliography

There are a number of interesting and useful journals and websites that might help you dig deeper into the issues raised in this course. Among them are:

The Social Studies [D16.3.S65]

Social Education [H62.A1S6]

Theory and Research in Social Education [H1.T47]

Journal of Economic Education [H62.5.U5.J6]

Journal of Geography [G1.J87]

The History Teacher [D1.H8177]

Teaching Sociology [HM1.T43]

Minnesota Academic Standards in History and Social Studies

Curriculum Standards for Social Studies

Social Studies Development Center

MarcoPolo Network

Nationals Standards for History