History and Social Studies Teaching Methods:Intensive Summer Introduction

Justin ReichAugust, 2010

Who are you?

Who am I?

Learning Goals• By the end of the course:

– participants will have developed a familiarity with a wide variety of instructional methods and be able to discuss some of their advantages and disadvantages.

– by your participation in these various instructional activities, you will have a chance to practice some of your historical thinking skills:

• close reading of primary and secondary sources• finding and evaluating source material• constructing historical arguments orally and in writing

Essential Questions• History of History Instruction: How has history instruction

evolved over the last 300 years in America? How strong is the legacy of early instructional texts, approaches, and curricula? What genuine innovations have occurred over the last 200 years?

• • Social Studies Pedagogy: How can we use diverse pedagogies

to engage diverse learners? What are the strengths and weaknesses of different pedagogical approaches?

Syllabus Overview• Day 1: Lectures and note-making; reading

secondary and primary sources• Day 2: Searching and assessing online materials;

communication and collaboration with technology• Day 3: Rubric co-construction, writing, DBQs• Day 4: Field Trip to Boston• Day 5: Debate, Discussions, Wrap-up

Assignment Overview• DBQ on 19th C History Textbooks

– Rubric to be co-constructed on Wed. morning• 20 min. On-site history lesson during field trip

– Rubric in the complete syllabus• Debate on history instruction past and present

– I will adapt our DBQ rubric for the debate by Thursday evening• Participation Grade

– No rubric; holistic evaluation

Skills for 21st Century Work and Life

Richard J. MurnaneHarvard Graduate School of Education

June 22, 2009

Men's real hourly wage by education, 1979-2006 (2006 $)

All Males

Less than High School

High School Graduate

4-year College Degree

Advanced Degree

$5.00

$10.00

$15.00

$20.00

$25.00

$30.00

$35.00

$40.00

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79

19

82

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85

19

88

19

91

19

94

19

97

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Year

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ag

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The data on w hich this graph is based w as provided by Jared Bernstein of the Economic Policy Institute. The data come from the Current Population Survey. The sample includes all w age and salary w orkers, age 18-64.

Computerizing the Routine Tasks: Self-Service Check-In

A theory about the Impact of Computer-Driven Technological Change

• All Human Work involves processing information

• Computers are strongest at performing processing that can be described in rules (Rules Based Logic)

• Examples: Mathematical Algorithms, Diagnostic Procedures, Securities Trading, Order Processing

Types of Tasks Computers Do Not Well

Tasks that cannot be described well as a series of if-then-do steps because:

• “We know more than we can tell.” (Polyani).

• Not all contingencies can be predicted ahead of time.

• We learn to define the task and accomplish it through social interactions.

Economy-Wide Measures of Routine and Non-Routine Task Input: 1969-1998 (1969=0)

-10

-8

-6

-4

-2

0

2

4

6

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12

14

1969 1980 1990 1998

Perc

entile

Change in 1

969 D

istr

ibution

Complex Communication

Expert Thinking

Routine Manual

Routine Cognitive

Changes in Task Mix Within Occupations: Example: Secretary

• 1970 description of a secretary’s job:“Secretaries relieve their employers of routine duties so they

can work on more important matters. . . .”

• 2000 description of a secretary’s job:“. . . Office automation and organizational restructuring have

led secretaries to assume a wide range of new responsibilities once reserved for managerial and professional staff. Many secretaries now provide training and orientation to new staff, conduct research on the Internet, and learn to operate new office technologies.”

Source: U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Handbook

What was the date of battle of the Spanish Armada?

Student 1: 1588.Q. How do you know this?

It was one of the dates I memorized for the exam.

Q. Why is the event important? I don’t know.

Student 2: It must have been around 1590. Q. How do you know this?

I know the English began to settle in Virginia just after 1600, although I’m not sure of the exact date. They wouldn't have dared start overseas explorations if Spain still had control of the seas. It would have taken a little while to get expeditions organized, so England must have gained naval supremacy somewhere in the late 1500's.

Q. Why is the event important?It marks a turning point in the relative importance of England and Spain as European powers and colonizers of the New World.

This example is taken from Bransford, Brown and Cocking (eds.)

A Homework Question• Examine the homework that teachers in your school

typically assign:

– Does the homework push students to develop expert thinking skills (non-routine problem solving)

– What about communication skills?

– Or does the homework ask students to do the kind of rules-based tasks that computers can be programmed to do?

• The answer may tell you a lot about the types of jobs your school is preparing students to do.

Implications for Education

Expert Thinking and Complex Communication are not new subjects to add to the curriculum. They should be at the center of instruction in every one of the existing subjects.

Collect-Relate-Create-DonateStudents Should…

• Collect the information needed for the performance of understanding

• Relate to one-another in collaborative learning groups

• Create meaningful, authentic performances of understanding

• Donate their work to a broader audience

How do history students use history?• Historians• History Knowers (Test-Takers)• History Users

– Amateur Historian (Carl Becker, 1931, “Every man a historian)

– History Consumers– History Appliers– Historical Actors and Meaning-makers