TE 914: Teaching Social Studies in the Secondary School
School of Teacher Education, San Diego State University
Professor: Ron Evans, 223A EBA, revans@mail.sdsu.edu
Office hours by appointment only.
Purpose and Themes: This course is designed to provide you with an introduction to the
theoretical background and practical skills needed to teach social studies in secondary
schools. My intent is to provide you with a foundation for long term growth. Becoming
a social studies teacher requires broad knowledge, reflection on educational theory and
purposes, an understanding of schools as institutions, and an ability to transform
knowledge into meaningful learning experiences for students. Throughout the semester
we will consider the following central questions:
1. What is the teaching of social studies about? Why bother? What should our
purposes be?
2. What general questions should we lead our students to ask about
their world? About our society? About their lives?
3. What overarching pedagogical approaches should we choose? What are the main
alternatives? Each teacher must ask: Which specific approaches are most
consistent with my beliefs? Who am I? What are my commitments? What
approach to social studies teaching should I choose? What might the
consequences be of my choice? What if everyone chose this alternative?
4. What content should we include in the curriculum?
The course is divided into three segments: foundational perspectives on social studies,
teaching practices, and theory into practice. During the first segment, foundational
perspectives, we will evaluate multiple perspectives on the purposes and practice of
social studies teaching. Each student will develop an initial pedagogic creed
embodying beliefs about teaching social studies. During the second segment, teaching
practices, we will examine and experiment with a variety of methods for designing and
implementing thoughtful, reflective teaching practices with emphasis on interactive and
stimulating classroom activities. These methods will be useful for all creeds. The final
segment of the course is focused on theory into practice. Your creed will help you
decide the purposes and mix of activities to be embodied in your teaching plans, as
included in the unit assignment.
Structure and Requirements: You will be expected to attend class, complete required
readings, and come prepared for class discussion. For each weekly session everyone will
read required items and a minimum of one optional item from the course materials. You
can expect to be called on from time to time to summarize or discuss your reading.
*** Note: Prior to each class session prepare a written thesis statement on the central
topic for that session and a brief, one paragraph reflection supporting or discussing your
thesis. Also, prepare at least one written discussion question. Please complete this prior
to attending class. Weekly thesis papers will not be returned. Please keep a copy for
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your records.
Attendance: Because this is a once-a-week seminar attendance is crucial. I expect you to
be present every week for the entire session. Be sure to allow enough time for your
commute and parking. I consider class time sacred. Please be here on time. Attendance,
tardies, and early exits will be a recorded part of course evaluation. More than one
absence may affect the evaluation of your participation in the course. More than two
absences may affect your status in the course.
Evaluation: Evaluation of your work will be based on attendance, active participation,
and completion of required assignments. You will be asked to prepare a statement of your
social studies creed, two lesson implementation/analysis papers, a teaching unit plan on a
topic of your choice. Most of your written work will be shared during class discussion.
All written assignments must be typed (except the weekly thesis and reflection).*
Format: Most class sessions will include 1) introductory comments; 2) small group
discussion of issues or methodologies addressed by readings; 3) large group
discussion. Many of our sessions will also include demonstrations or workshops.
Please bring your assigned course reading materials to class.
Participation Guidelines: Because we will use a seminar/discussion format it will
be very important to keep in mind the following simple guidelines.
1) An Open and Supportive Environment. All members of the class should have the
freedom to participate in a supportive environment without fear of rejection or
recrimination. We will discuss ideas, not personalities.
2)Appropriate Focus. We will follow common courtesy: one person will speak at a
time; when one person talks, everyone else listens. Please give your undivided attention
to the speaker. Please do not engage in side conversations or whisper conversations.
This applies to all presentation and discussion formats including lecture, demonstrations,
small group discussion, large group discussion, workshops, videos, etc.
3) Food Policy. Please do not eat during class. Save food for breaks, or before or after
class. Non-alcoholic beverages are permitted.
4) Electronic Devices. Please de-activate all cell phone ringers and other electronic
devices during class. Laptops may be placed on “sleep” and opened only during small
group discussion for the purpose of consulting assigned electronic readings. Please print
selected pages from electonic readings as needed to prepare for class discussion.
Exceptions to this policy may be granted on a case by case basis as appropriate to the
activity.
Grading: Grading will be based on mastery of the concepts and approaches we study.
Minimum requirements include attending all class sessions and completing written
assignments. I expect thoughtful, complete papers written in clear prose. Assignments
will be evaluated as "accepted/not acccepted." Unacceptable papers will be returned for
revision. A reflective teaching unit plan is also required. Assuming a student has
successfully met all requirements for a passing grade, the course grade will reflect the
quality of the completed unit assignment and the aggregate of the student's work in the
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course. A grade of "B"will be recorded for students who successfully complete all
assignments and meet other course requirements and whose units reflect a good
understanding of course materials. A grade of "A" will be recorded for
students who successfully complete requirements and whose unit reflects an
excellent understanding of course material.
Course Readings:
1. Evans, R. W. The Social Studies Wars. Required.
2. Loewen, J. Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History
Textbook Got Wrong. Required.
3. Obenchain, K. and Morris, R. 50 Social Studies Strategies for K-8 Classrooms.
3rd edition. Required.
4. Evans, R. and Saxe, D. The Handbook on Teaching Social Issues. Optional.
5. Zinn, H. A Young Peoples History of the United States. Optional.
6. Reilly, K. The West and the World. Optional.
7. Additional course readings are available on Blackboard under course
documents. These materials are also available in a course reader on sale at KB books.
Materials are also available on reserve. I may add materials during the semester via
blackboard and e-mail attachment.
Assignments:
1. My Social Studies Pedagogic Creed. In this assignment I ask you to develop your own
personal statement of your social studies creed, your beliefs on the proper purposes,
content and methods for teaching social studies. In essence, I am asking you to define
social studies. Please complete this assignment in a careful and thoughtful manner
because your decision regarding your creed will have implications for all of the
remaining assignments.
In writing your creed, it is important to connect your thinking to the philosophical
tradition with which you have greatest affinity. Your creed will reflect a consideration of
a number of alternatives during the first few weeks of the course. It will also include
some reflection on the implications of various forms of diversity (race, class, gender,
language and culture) for social studies theory and practice.
 4-6 pages, typed and double spaced
 Please include a reference list with at least five sources
Due: week 6 __________
2. Lesson Implementation/Analysis Assignments: Because this is a field-based program
you should have the opportunity to experiment with the teaching methods we will study.
You will be required to develop and field test a minimum of two lessons that you feel
represent the kind of teacher you want to become and that embody your pedagogic
creed, and then reflect on your experience in writing. For this assignment, the lessons
chosen must embody higher order thinking skills. See the guidelines and evaluation
criteria in the syllabi appendix (p. 10).
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I highly recommend that you experiment with each methodology we study during
our time together this semester so that you can ask questions. It's probably a good idea to
start with the simple and traditional, then move toward the more difficult. For example, I
sincerely hope that each of you will develop didactic lessons (lecture), discussion lessons,
inquiry or decision-making lessons, socratic seminars, and role-playing and simulation
activities. Of course you will learn a great deal more about each of these approaches by
doing them than by simply reading about them or observing demonstrations.
Note: Both lesson implementation/analysis papers must apply your social studies creed
in a meaningful way, and both must embody higher order thinking skills
(top three levels of Bloom’s taxonomy: analysis, synthesis, evaluation).
Due dates:
week 9 ________________
week 12 ________________
3. Microteaching Demonstrations: Each student will also assume responsibility for
collaborating by committee on a microteaching demonstration lesson twice during the
semester, up to twenty minutes in length. At our second or third meeting, you will sign up
for specific times and types of lessons. Microteaching sessions will be held during our
second hour on weeks 7, 8, 9, 10, and perhaps more. At each of these sessions, your
demonstration lessons will model the teaching technique scheduled for that week. These
sessions will provide an opportunity for you to practice application of ideas from the
course in a supportive and reflective environment. I recommend that you schedule
committee meetings before or after class, or in your field placements. In addition, I
require that you meet with me the week before your lesson to discuss your preparation.
4. Workshops: Beginning week seven we may hold in-class workshops during which
you will apply the approaches to teaching discussed in that week's readings to a
particular set of topics. Details will follow.
5. Problem Solving Sessions. Two or three times during the course we will reserve
time for discussion of successes and difficulties in your student teaching practice.
6. Unit Plan. The culminating project for the course is to prepare a social studies
unit plan for thoughtful teaching. See the reading selections for week eleven.
Regardless which option you choose (see below), your unit must include focus
questions and examples of at least five to ten different teaching methods from the
teaching practices portion of the course. (See appendix)
Option A.: Mini-Unit Implementation and Analysis. In this assignment you will
develop in advance a unit for two weeks of lessons (or longer), applying the general
principles of unit planning and teaching methods consistent with your social studies
pedagogic creed. You will then implement the unit plan in your current field assignment,
conduct an assessment of student learning, collect student feedback on your teaching,
and write a reflection on the results of the entire project. Planning for this should be done
in cooperation with your master teacher. Please inform your master teacher of this course
requirement at the earliest possible date. Your unit and reflections will be shared with the
class at our final meeting. You will receive a grade for your unit presentation as well as
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the written unit. Please prepare 5-10 copies of one-page unit summary to distribute at
your presentation.
Option B.: Written Unit Assignment: Units should demonstrate your ability to apply
the ideas and techniques from the course, and present a thoughtful application of your
social studies pedagogic creed. You may want to choose a topic that you plan to teach
during student teaching next semester, or at some later time. Completed units will be
shared with the class at our last class meeting. You will receive a grade for your unit
presentation as well as the written unit.
Due: week 14 _________________
Note: If you would like your unit returned with written comments please submit
a self-addressed stamped envelope.
7. Portfolio: (Optional). Your portfolio will contain your social studies pedagogic creed,
your lesson/implementation papers, and your unit plan. It may also include a vitae or
resume, a videotape of your teaching, sample lesson plans, and examples of your
student's work. The aim is to create a professional portfolio that will represent you to
your colleagues and potential employers. Portfolios may be shared with the class at our
last class meeting.
Course Schedule: Required Readings are marked with an asterisk.* All readings listed
may be found in the course reader. Please Note: I have put together the course reader
with the intent of creating a sourcebook which should prove helpful over the years.
Because our time in this course is limited, we will read only selections. You are asked to
read all required items and one optional item each week, then skim other articles and read
as time allows.
Part One: Foundations of Social Studies
Week One: Course Introduction
Date _________
What is social studies? What is the current status of the field? Why teach social
studies? Who am I? What are my commitments? What approach to social
studies shall I choose? What is the rationale for each approach?
Week Two: The Discipline-Based Approaches _______________________
(Sign up for microteaching topics)
A. Preface: Reflecting on Choices
* 1. Herndon. The Way It Spozed to Be.
2. Dynneson & Gross. "A Century of Encounter."
B. Traditional History
*
1. Evans. Social Studies Wars. Introduction, Chapter 1, and pp. 152-158.
2. AHA Committee of Seven. The Study of History in Schools.
3. Ravitch. "Decline and Fall of History Teaching."
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4. Committee. California Framework for History and Social Science.
5. Evans. "Diane Ravitch and the Revival of History: A Critique."
6. Amherst. "What Happened on Lexington Green."
Bradley Commission on History in the Schools
Gagnon. Historical Literacy.
Ravitch & Finn. What Do Our Seventeen Year Olds Know?
C. Social Studies as Social Science
* 1. Evans. Social Studies Wars. Chapters 5 and 6.
* 2. Obenchain & Morris. “Discovery Learning.” 50 Strategies.
3. Fenton. The New Social Studies.
4. Bruner. "The Importance of Structure."
5. Krug. "Bruner's New Social Studies: A Critique."
6. Newmann. "Questioning the Place of S.Sci. Disciplines."
7. Obenchain. “Archeological Digs,” and “Artifacts.” 50 Strategies.
8. SRSS/HSGP. "Metfab."
9. Ruby. “Review of Through These Eyes”
SRSS/HSGP. Experiences in Inquiry
Hertzberg. Social Studies Reform.
Fenton. Teaching the New Social Studies.
Haas. The Era of the New Social Studies.
Week Three: The Issues-Centered Approaches ______________________
A. Meliorist/Progressive
* 1. Evans. Social Studies Wars. Chapters 2, 3, and 4
* 2. Obenchain. “Inquiry Learning.” 50 Strategies.
3. Engle. "Decision Making: Heart of Social Studies..."
4. Evans, Newmann, Saxe. "Defining Issues-Center'd Education."
5. Rugg. "On Reconstructing the Social Studies."
6. Hunt and Metcalf. "Rational Inquiry on Soc. Closed Areas."
7. Oliver. "The Selection of Content in the Social Studies."
8. Engle & Ochoa. Education for Democratic Citizenship.
9. Dewey. "My Pedagogic Creed."
10. Adler. "Progressive Education? No!"
11. Evans. “It’s the Issues, Stupid!”
Evans & Saxe. Handbook on Teaching Social Issues. 1996.
Engle and Ochoa. Education for Democratic Citizenship.
Oliver & Shaver. Teaching Public Issues in the High School.
Hunt & Metcalf. Teaching High School Social Studies.
CRSE. Report of the Committee on Social Studies. 1916
B. Critical/Social Reconstructionist
* 1. Freire. Pedagogy of the Oppressed.
* 2. Bigelow. "In the Class: Social Vision & Critical Pedagogy."
3. Stanley & Nelson. "Social Educ. for Social Transformation."
4. Counts. Dare the Schools Build a New Social Order.
5. Stanley. Curriculum for Utopia.
6. Wink. Critical Pedagogy: Notes From the Real World.
Rethinking Schools. The New Teacher Book.
Ayers. Teaching for Social Justice.
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Zinn. You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train.
Evans. This Happened in America: Harold Rugg and the Censure of Social Studies.
Beard. AHA Commission: Conclusions and Recommendations.
Apple. Ideology and Curriculum.
Gutman. Democratic Education.
Week Four: Other Traditions ___________________________
A. Education for Social Efficiency
* 1. Bobbitt. "Elimination of Waste in Education."
* 2. Evans. Social Studies Wars. Chapter 7 & Conclusion.
3. Broder. "Life Adjustment Education."
4. Huleskamp. "Perspectives on Education in America."
5. Government. "America 2000."
6. Howe. "America 2000: A Bumpy Ride on Four Trains."
7. U.S. News. The Case for Tough Standards.
8. Evans. "Thoughts on Redirecting a Runaway Train."
B. Eclectic Approaches
* 1.Wesley. Teaching Social Studies.
2. NCSS. Curriculum Standards for Social Studies.
Begin to prepare for presentations: "My Soc. St. Pedagogic Creed."
Form groups by camp.
Week Five: Social Studies in a Culturally Diverse World ______________________
What are the implications for teaching practice of issues related to diversity?
What should social studies teachers know about teaching in
culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms?
Video: "The Color of Fear.”
*
1. Loewen. Lies My Teacher Told Me. Int., 1, pic, 11, 12, Aft.
*
2. Churchill. "White Studies."
*
3. Ravitch. "A Culture in Common."
4. Tyson-Bernstein. "The Great Textbook Machine."
5. Martinez. "Distorting Latino History."
6. Ladson-Billings. "Multicultural Issues in the Classroom."
7. Hernandez & Metzger. "Issues Ed. for Language Minority St."
8. Cruz & Thornton. “Soc. St. for ELL” Students.
Zinn. A Peoples History of the United States.
Week Six. Social Studies Creed/Getting Started _______________________
A. My Social Studies Pedagogic Creed
 Presentations by groups and by individuals
 Critics assigned to each camp to pose critical questions
• Discussion of each creed and implications for practice
B. Getting Started in the Classroom
What problems are you having in your teaching experience? How
should we plan for teaching social studies? What are some of the
basic methods social studies teachers employ? How can each of these
techniques be used effectively? What are the keys to developing a
positive classroom atmosphere?
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*
*
*
1. Cuban. "What I Learned... About Teaching..."
2. Slavin. “The Hunterization of America’s Schools.”
3. Evans. “Pyramid of Growth.” “Surviving, Getting Started.”
4. Adler. “Didactic Instruction.”
5. Warner. “Discipline…” Unauthorized Teacher Survival Guide.
6. Obenchain & Morris. 50 Strategies. “Rule Making.”
6. Evans. “Classroom Management, Cases, Etc.”
7. Stacy. “Interactive Lecturing.”
8. Gibboney. “Critique of Hunter.” The Stone Trumpet.
9. Mehta. “Controlling a Classroom Isn’t as Easy as ABC.”
Problem Solving Session: Successes and Difficulties
Part Two: Teaching Practices/Skills
Week Seven: Reflective Teaching
What is reflective thinking? How can a teacher facilitate it?
*
1. Engle and Ochoa. "Reflective Teaching Practices."
*
2. Obenchain & Morris. 50 Strategies. “Inquiry.” “Discovery.”
*
3. Brown Univ. "Crisis in the Gulf."
4. Evans. "The Ludlow Strike."
5. Sweeney. Massialas and Cox Inquiry.
6. Oliver & Shaver. "Jurisprudential Inquiry."
7. Evans. Notes: “Lesson Planning Forms.”
8. Evans. "Reflecting on Inquiry."
9. Rossi and Pace. "Issues Ed. & Low Achieving H. S. Students."
Postman and Weingartner. Teaching as a Subversive Activity. "The Inquiry Method."
Evans & Saxe. Handbook on Teaching Social Issues. "Materials and Resources."
Workshop: Developing Effective Probing Questions
Microteaching Demonstration: Engle and Ochoa Reflective Model
Week Eight: Discussion Strategies ________________________
What methods should we use to stimulate and structure discussion? Can I really use
a socratic seminar method in secondary schools? What role should a teacher's
beliefs play in a class discussion?
*1. Evans. "Reflections on Reflective Teaching." "More Reflections ... "
*2. Passe and Evans. "Discussion Methods . . ."
*3. Hess. “Skillful Discussion: Town Mtg., Seminar, Public Issues Model.”
4. Obenchain. 50. “Case Studies,” “Reflective Choices,” and “Decision Trees.”
5. Evans. Discussion Methods.
6. Mumford. "Roberts Rules of Order."
7.Adler. "The Conduct of Seminars."
8. Bunte. "The Paideia Seminar in a High School Setting."
9. Lasch. "The Lost Art of Political Argument."
Microteaching Demonstration: Socratic Seminar, alternate format
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Week Nine: Designing and Using Groupwork in Social Studies ________________________
What role should groupwork play in the social studies? How? What are the
key elements of effective groupwork?
* 1. Cohen. Designing Groupwork.
* 2. Obenchain. 50 Strategies. “Learning Centers.”
3. Obenchain. 50. “Folk Art,” “Folk Music,” & “Literature Book Clubs.”
4. Cooper. "Mick Jagger as Herodotus & Billy Joel as..."
5. Saunders. Classroom Questions: What Kinds?
Microteaching Demonstration: Cohen's Groupwork, alternate format
Problem Solving Session: Successes and Difficulties
Lesson Implementation/Analysis Due
Week Ten: Large Group Activities, Role Playing & Mock Trials ___________________
What are the options when designing large group activities? What are the key
ingredients for role-playing and mock trials? Panel discussion? Fishbowl
discussion? How should we use these techniques in social studies?
* 1. Evans. "Large Group Activities."
* 2. Obenchain. “Role Play,” & “Mock Trial.”
* 3. Gatto. “Against School.” (Prepare to discuss in panel discussion format).
4. Shaftel. Role-Playing for Social Values. (May be adapted for older students)
5. Evans. "Sample Role-Playing Debates, Mock Trials"
Microteaching Demonstration: Role-Playing and Mock Trial
Week Eleven: Unit and Course Planning _______________________
How's it going in the field? Successes? Problems? How do you plan? How should
we plan for teaching social studies? What approach to planning units and courses?
* 1. Onosko & Swenson. Designing Issue-Based Unit Plans.
* 2. Caron. “Using Central Questions to Design Issues-Based Units.”
3. Evans. "The Societal Problems Approach and Teaching History."
4. Evans. "Reflective Teaching Unit Assignment." (see syllabi appendix)
5. Evans. "Unit and Course Planning."
Workshop: Developing a unit plan outline reflecting your creed
Week Twelve: Simulations ________________
Simulation Demonstration
How can we best use simulations to enhance our teaching?
* 1. Nesbitt. Simulations in Social Studies.
* 2. Obenchain. “Model Factory,” & “Mini Society.”
3. Shirts. “Starpower.”
4. S. D. City Schools. "Race and the Workplace."
Problem Solving Session: Successes and Difficulties
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Lesson Implementation/Analysis Due
Part Three: Theory into Practice
Week Thirteen: Assessment/Unit Development _____________
A. The social context of assessment
* 1. Berliner & Biddle. The Manufactured Crisis.
2. Evans. Social Studies Wars. Review Chapter 7.
B. Assessment in Social Studies Classrooms
* 1. Parker. "Assessment."
* 2. Parker. "Assessing Student Learning in an Issues Curriculum."
3. Harris. "Assessing Discussion of Public Issues."
C. Unit Development Workshop (if time allows)
Present draft of unit outline, focus questions, rationale, sample lesson(s)
Week Fourteen: Mini-Conference _______________
(Presentation of units using roundtable format)
Please prepare 5-10 copies of a one-page unit summary to distribute at your presentation.
Units Due at Class
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Lesson Implementation/Analysis
The term “lesson plan” is used here in a broad sense. The lesson you choose to
analyze can be a single class session or a series of related class sessions. If you teach the
lesson to more than one group, report on your experience with each group. For the lesson
you choose to discuss, include the following:
1. What was (were) the central aim(s) or objective(s) for the lesson?
2. What procedures did the lesson follow? What did you do as teacher? What did
students do?
(hand in lesson plan and materials you actually used)
3. What was your purpose or rationale for teaching the lesson in the way you did?
Why did you choose this particular approach or sequence of learning activities?
How does this relate to your pedagogic creed and your conceptions about what
it means to be a social studies teacher?
4. Assess the materials employed in the lesson in terms of content accuracy and
appropriateness for your students.
5. What did students learn from this lesson? What evidence did you gather on
student learning? Why did you choose this particular means of assessing
student learning?
6. How did students feel about the lesson? What means did you use to gather
evidence on student attitudes toward the lesson?
7. How well did the lesson live up to your intended purposes and to your conceptions of
what it means to be a social studies teacher? What would you do differently if you
teach the lesson again?
We can learn from our failures as well as our successes.
Lesson (and Unit) Evaluation Criteria
1. To what extent did the lesson engage students in higher order thinking skills?
2. To what extent did the lesson require students to reflect on evidence in a meaningful
way?
3. To what extent did the lesson involve materials beyond the textbook?
4. To what extent did the lesson live up to the intended purposes?
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Unit Assignment: TE 914 Social Studies Methods
A unit is a series of lessons on a central topic, problem, or issue. It may be set in a particular time (The
Civil War), a particular place (Sub-Sahara Africa), may explore a particlar concept (Presidential Power), or
investigate an issue (Immigration). A unit is typically from three to five weeks in length.
Regardless of the topic, problem, or issue you choose for your unit, the unit must be held together with a
central unit focus question. The question should be broad enough to encompass the full topic, and narrow
enough to be fully explored in a span of from three to five weeks. The question must be an open-ended,
probing question. Other pertinent questions, related to or subsumed under the focus question, may serve as
the basis for particular lessons or segments of the unit. I recommend that you see the guidelines suggested
in the chapter by Onosko and Swenson.
Units are due on the last day of class. Presentation of units at the mini-conference held on the last day of
class is required.
Recommended guidelines:
1. Write a unit introduction:
 clearly define the unit topic, problem, or issue
 pose the central focus question
 list pertinent sub-questions
2. Briefly summarize your social studies pedagogic creed, link your creed to your philosophic mentors
(reference them), and explain how the various components of your unit exemplify your creed in
action.
3. Develop an introductory "grabber" for the unit, an activity at the very beginning of the unit that draws
students into the material and introduces students to the unit's central issue. You may also want to
develop grabbers or hooks for other individual lessons at different stages of the unit. See Onosko and
Swenson for examples.
4. Develop an outline of lessons for the entire unit that connect to the central issue. Lessons may
address the central issue; competing arguments and perspectives advanced by opposing sides on
an issue; key concepts, events, persons, or other
terms that students need to effectively address the central issue; or, a pertinent subquestion or related
issue that needs to be analyzed in order to effectively address the central issue. The outline may take
the form of a calendar grid. See Onosko and Swenson.
5. Prepare from five to ten fully developed plans for particular lessons from the unit
that (a) best represent a thoughtful implementation of your pedagogic creed, and/or
(b) exemplify reflective teaching practices. Examples:
 decision-making (Engle and Ochoa model)
 inquiry (similar model, on explanatory question, may be drawn from a discipline)
 social studies inquiry model (Massialas and Cox)
 jurisprudential inquiry (Oliver and Shaver model)
 groupwork (identify Cohen or other source for your design)
 socratic seminar
• council
 quaker
• fishbowl
 panel discussion
• debate
 role playing debate
• mock trial
 role playing for social values (Shaftel)
• historical source method
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• simulation
• other inquiry or discussion formats
• other reflective lessons
(note: any of the above formats or models for inquiry may involve a variety of primary and
secondary source materials)
6. Develop separate sets of guidelines for student conduct appropriate for various activities: one set
for full class instruction, another for groupwork, etc.
7. Develop one or more culminating projects for the unit (this may apply to item #5 as well). This should
include an assessment component, and may include authentic assessment. See Onosko and Swenson
for examples.
8. Develop a bibilography of richly detailed source material for students to use in
studying the unit topic. This material must include non-textbook sources.
9. A brief reflection on the implementation of the unit using some of the guidelines provided for the lesson
implementation analysis (applies only to students who implement the unit prior to the due date).
Portfolio Development (optional)
One additional goal for the course is the development of a portfolio of your work to prepare you for the job
market and to aid in assessment (mine and your own). A portfolio is a collection of artifacts documenting
student work and activities over time.
There is no standard portfolio format. Please develop your own.
I recommend that you consider including the following items in your portfolio:
 a resume or curriculum vitae
 a statement of your pedagogic creed (with references).
 a sampling of exemplary lesson plans consonant with your creed, handouts, materials
(a variety of interactive plans, as above, and reflections on implementation)
 a unit plan demonstrating implementation of your creed with use of richly detailed
source materials (an outline is fine)
 a course outline implementing your creed (unit titles at minimum)
 examples of student work
 assessment components (may include authentic assessments)
 photographs, videotapes, other evidence of your teaching (PACT Teaching Event)
 classroom management plan with alternate models appropriate for activity
 evaluations from master teacher, supervisor, references
 student evaluations of your teaching
 teaching credential, test scores (Praxis, Cbest, GRE, etc.), transcripts
Portfolios may be presented during the mini-conference at the end of the course.
* A final note. Your work in this course is aimed to help prepare you for long term-growth into teaching.
As part of a state/national effort to improve teaching and learning, your growth will be assessed next
semester via a “Teaching Event” during which you will be required to design and implement a social
studies mini-unit and submit various kinds of related evidence. See the History/Social Science Teaching
Event Candidate Handbook 2008-09 developed by the PACT Consortium (Performance Assessment for
California Teachers). The Teaching Event Handbook for secondary social science teacher candidates is
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available on the PACT website and on blackboard. We will discuss and prepare for this requirement during
our work together this semester.