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OISE/UT - Toronto East Option - 2000-2001

Social Studies, History, and Geography (EDU1420 and 1450)

 

John Mazurek

Room: 11-160 Phone: 923-6641 ex 2643 E-mail: etel or jmazurek@oise.utoronto.ca

What do you know about the Social Studies, History, and Geography topics that you may be required to teach next year? What do you know about the specific learning expectations that you may be responsible for helping your students to meet?

In this component of the Curriculum and Instruction course, you will develop your knowledge and understanding of the Ontario Curriculum for Social Studies (gr. 1-6) and History and Geography (gr. 7 & 8). You will also have an opportunity to work with units of study which have recently been designed by local school boards and the Ministry to address the expectations of the provincial curriculum. In addition, you will visit the Royal Ontario Museum to see how field trips can enrich students’ experiences with SSHG.

Field trips... textbooks.... tests... What do you remember about the History and Geography that you learned in elementary school? How will your experience inform the way you teach these subjects in your classroom?

A common problem in SSHG instruction is the tendency towards superficial, “fact-based” approaches at the expense of deep understanding. Teachers can become preoccupied with “covering” content, leading students on a forced march to ”get through” provincial expectations. Accordingly, we will focus our investigations of SSHG on thoughtful unit planning - on ways of balancing breadth and depth, of developing key questions and performance opportunities around which students will be motivated to probe a topic, i.e., get beyond common misunderstandings, and apply or extend their knowledge in an authentic, disciplined manner. Planning of this kind requires attention to the “real world” context of the classroom (students’ age levels, previous experiences and interests; time constraints; assessment responsibilities; critical examination of resources, etc.) as well as an investment in understanding the topics we are asked to teach. These can be complex and messy tasks, but can we justify doing otherwise? The payoff in terms of long-term student learning is well worth the effort.

So, the central problem you must try to solve in this course is: How can you create a unit (or lesson) that meets SSHG expectations of the Ontario Curriculum and results in powerful, long-term learning for the students you will teach this year?

The art and science of unit planning will be approached on several levels, in the following phases:

 Jan. 8

  • we will investigate the SSHG curriculum: what are the expectations for students? what is Social Studies?

Jan. 9

  • we will investigate a basic, step-by-step unit planning template
  • we will explore Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe’s “Six Facets of Understanding” and “W.H.E.R.E.”; these are criteria by which activities for units can be selected or developed in terms of how they facilitate deep understanding

Jan. 11

  • you will be introduced to the Ontario Curriculum Planner and how it connects to the planning principles that we investigated the previous day

Jan. 12 (p.m.)

  • a veteran teacher will show us how Multiple Intelligences theory informed her design of a Social Studies-based unit
  • you will peruse unit plans developed by last year’s class; these models will help you to see different options for integrating MI, deep understanding, motivation, assessment principles, etc.: a tapestry of interpretations of a particular Social Studies topic

Jan. 15 (a.m.)

Jan. 16

Jan. 22 (a.m.)

  • an opportunity to explore the Ministry of Education’s technology: in a guided practice situation, you and a partner will attempt to transpose one of the model units onto the Curriculum Planner
  • in the process, you will attempt to improve the plans according to your understanding of the planning and curricular concepts investigated thus far
  • you will present your revised plan to your colleagues in the Ed. Commons Labs on Jan. 22

Jan. 18

Jan 25

Feb 5

(all STEP days); share in class Feb. 8

  • your culminating work: in collaboration with your associate teacher, you will synthesize what you have learned about unit planning by designing a unit of study for your placement class - one that you will teach during the practicum. (See your TES syllabus (assignment #2) for details). Choose an organizing framework that best suits your needs and promotes deep understanding for your students. You are encouraged to use some of the planning strategies and technology that you investigated in class.

 As you engage in each of the above unit planning experiences, you are also encouraged to apply your present and future learning in TES (e.g., designing lessons, rubrics, etc.) and Psychological Foundations (e.g., motivation, Multiple Intelligences, etc.).

The “content” of the planning work will give you hands-on opportunities to develop your knowledge and understanding of the SSHG curriculum, and to see the possibilities and challenges of applying it in the classroom.


Suggested Reading:
Gardner, Howard. (1999). The disciplined mind: what all students should understand. New York: Simon and Schuster. (Excerpts will be given as handouts in class.)

Wiggins, Grant & McTighe, Jay. (1998). Understanding by design. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.


Issues relating to the teaching of SSHG will also be addressed in three other classes this term:

Thursday, November 30 (8:30-3:30 @ Cornell Jr. P.S.)

Teaching Research Skills (led by Carol Koechlin and

Cathi Gibson-Gates)

Monday, April 2 (a.m.)

Guided visit to the Royal Ontario Museum (cost: $6)

 

Assignment for This SSHG Component of the Curriculum & Instruction Course:

 

Unit Plan

As described in #6 above, design a unit based on a SSHG theme - a unit you will teach during the second practicum. Prepare a unit plan (typed) and be prepared to share/explain it in class. Follow the criteria outlined in your TES syllabus. (The one plan and one rubric will suffice for both courses.) Also be attentive to the additional criterion outlined above, i.e., how your unit design facilitates students’ deep understanding of the key concepts and skills.

Due Date: You will share your outline in class on Thursday, Feb. 8. Submit a copy of your work and your scored rubric on Fri., Feb. 9.
45% of your final grade for this component of the Curriculum & Instruction course.

 

ALTERNATIVELY, IF IT IS NOT POSSIBLE FOR YOU TO TEACH A SSHG-BASED UNIT DURING THE SECOND PRACTICUM:

 

Lesson Plan and Reflection

In collaboration with the appropriate associate teacher, design a SSHG lesson/learning experience for your placement class or for a colleague’s class - something that is congruent with the Ministry expectations for that grade level. Teach the lesson during a STEP day or during the teaching block in the first term, or during a STEP day in the second term. Submit the lesson plan (typed), and a one- or two-page reflection re what went well and what you would change if you could reteach the lesson. Focus on the SSHG aspects of your teaching and your students’ learning. A rubric for this assignment will be made available in class. (Note: the plan and the reflection will be weighted equally).

Due Date: Friday, Feb. 9
45 % of your final grade for this component of the Curriculum and Instruction course.

As in all your East Option courses, your portfolio presentations are worth 30 % of your final grade, your professionalism 15 %, and your journal reflections 10%. Details of these assignments can be found in our Registration Day package or on our website. (Please refer to the Cross-Course Assignments).