Sherry L. Field
Arkansas Tech University
 Traditional-university or college baccalaureate (in
colleges of education, colleges of liberal arts, or
collaborative programs) or a Master of Arts in Teaching
(MAT) degree
 Alternative Certification Programs (ACPs)
−
−
−
−
−
University-based
School district
Regional state-funded education service center
Community college
Privately-managed programs
 Distinguished by organization of courses
 Requirements for field work
 How students assessed and by whom
 The Social Studies Methods Course
− Pedagogy
− Theory
− Practice
 What should be the depth versus breadth of methods taught?
 How much emphasis should be given in this class to the needs
of diverse learners?
 How much time should be spent preparing preservice teachers
to work with state-mandated assessments?
 What emphasis should be placed in the methods course on
developing a sufficient background in the social science
disciplines?
 What is the nature of knowledge?
 Is knowledge transmitted by experts or is it constructed
by each learner?
 How does the course embrace social construction of
knowledge and what opportunities will there be to see
this in practice?
 What readings and assignments will be required for the
course?
 How much of an emphasis will be placed on the
diverse needs of learners?
 How will lesson plans be constructed and assessed?
 What disciplinary emphases will be made?
 Integrated curriculum
 Content coverage
 Resources
 Technology
Integrated Curriculum
 Decades-old concept to integrate social studies content with
content from another subject area (Hinde, 2005)
 Integration popular in primary grade classrooms, especially
social studies with English-language arts
 Problem arises in already-marginalized content when social
studies goals and aims become secondary to the lessons
(Alleman & Brophy, 1993)
 Content integration can be done skillfully and successfully
(Field & Bauml, upcoming; Field & Bauml, 2012; Bellows,
Bauml, Field, & Ledbetter, 2012)
Content Coverage
 What curriculum should be taught?
 Breadth vs. depth?
 How are the NCSS and state social studies standards
to be considered? Common Core State Standards?
 What happens to content coverage when teaching in a
high-stakes tested grade level?
Resources for Teaching
 Textbook
 Ancillary materials
 Digital resources: music, video, on-line
 Primary and secondary sources
 Literature
 Community resources
 Arizona State University
 The University of Georgia
 The University of Texas at Austin
 White 61%
 African American 5%
 Hispanic 19%
 Asian 6%
 American Indian 2%
 Other 7%
Elementary (Grades 1-8)
 Social Studies Methods course
 Service Learning course
 Junior year: 75 hours/semester in field (two placements)
 Senior year residency (one year student teaching)
 Supervision by School Site Coordinators/Mentor Teacher
 Four performance assessments and eight walk-though
assessments during the year
Secondary (Grades 7-12)
• Two Social Studies Methods courses
• Junior year: 75 hours/semester in field (two placements)
• Senior year residency (one year student teaching)
• Supervision by Clinical Professors/Mentor Teachers
• Four performance assessments each semester
 White 76%
 African American 7%
 Asian 8%
 Hispanic 4%
 Other 5%
Elementary (Pre-K through Grade 5)
•
Social Studies Methods course
•
Semester two and three: short placements (two and four weeks)
•
One semester student teaching
•
Supervision by University Supervisor/Mentor Teacher
•
Approximately five to six assessments during student teaching
Secondary (Grades 6-12)
 Social Studies Methods course, Social Studies Curriculum course,
Social Studies seminar
 Initial Field Placement and Senior Field Placement: short
placements (three to four hours a week)
 One semester student teaching
 Supervision by University Supervisor/Mentor Teacher
 Approximately three to four assessments during student teaching
 White 50%
 African American 5%
 Hispanic 20%
 Asian 18%
 Other 7%
Elementary (Pre-K through Grade 6)

Social Studies Methods course

ESL endorsement

Semester one: 12 hours/week

Semester two: 16 hours/week

Semester three: full semester student teaching

Supervision by University Facilitator/Mentor Teacher

Approximately six to seven assessments during student teaching
Secondary (Grades 7-12)
 Social Studies Methods course and Advanced Social Studies Methods
seminar
 Semester one: (10 hours elementary)
 Semester two: (20 hours middle school)
 Semester three: (45 hours high school)
 Semester four: full semester student teaching
 Supervision by University Facilitator/Mentor Teacher
 Approximately five assessments during student teaching
E LEMENTARY
Schools
Required courses
ASU
Social Studies Methods
Service Learning
UGA
UT
Social Studies Methods
Social Studies Methods
Semester two: 2 weeks
Semester three: 4 weeks
One semester student teaching
Semester one: 12 hrs./week
Semester two: 16 hrs./week
Semester three: full semester
student teaching
Fieldwork/
Student teaching
75 hrs./semester (2 placements)
Senior year student teaching
Supervisors
School Site Coordinator
Mentor Teacher
University Supervisor
Mentor Teacher
University Facilitator
Mentor Teacher
Assessments
4 performance
8 walk-through
5 to 6 during student teaching
6 to 7 during student teaching
S ECONDARY
Schools
ASU
UGA
UT
Required courses
2 Social Studies Methods
Social Studies Methods
Social Studies Curriculum
Social Studies Seminar
Social Studies Methods
Advanced Social Studies Methods
Social Studies Seminar
Fieldwork/
Student teaching
Junior Year: 75 hrs./semester
(2 placements)
Senior Year: one year student
teaching
Initial Field Placement
Senior Field Placement
(3-4 hrs./week)
One semester student teaching
Semester one: 10 hrs. elementary
Semester two: 20 hrs. middle school
Semester three: 45 hrs. high school
Semester four: full semester student
teaching
Supervisors
Clinical Professors
Mentor Teacher
University Supervisor
Mentor Teacher
University Facilitator
Mentor Teacher
Assessments
4 each semester
3-4 during student teaching
5 during student teaching
Role of Doctoral Students in
Teacher Preparation
 As valued employees of the university, they
may:
 Supervise student teachers
 Teach methods courses
 Lead seminars
 Often conduct research related to social
studies teacher education
Research on SS Teacher
Education
 How student teachers make curricular decisions
 How Latino student teachers understand and teach about
citizenship
 How a new learning program is implemented
 How and why do preservice teachers use discussion in their
classrooms
 How do preservice teachers apply historical thinking skills in
their classrooms
 How do preservice teachers teach about controversial
issues

Castro, A.J., Field, S.L., Bauml, M. & Morowski, D. (2012). I want a multicultural
classroom:” Preservice teachers’ perspectives on teaching social studies in a
culturally diverse world. The Social Studies 103(3), 97-106.
 Webeck, M.L., Field, S.L. & Salinas, C. (2004). Tell me more: Boundaries,
expectations, challenges and possibilities for civic education in preservice
methods of teaching courses. In Gregory E. Hamot, John J. Patrick, & Robert
S. Leming (Eds.), Civic learning in teacher education: International
perspectives on education for democracy in the preparation of teachers, Vol. 3
(pp. 147-166). Bloomington, IN: ERIC Clearinghouse for Social Studies.
 Kohlmeier, J. & Saye, J. (2012). Justice or care? Ethical reasoning of
preservice social studies teachers. Theory & Research in Social Education
40(4); 409-435.
Traditional SS teacher preparation programs vary across the
country.
Social studies methods courses vary in number required from
1-3.
Field experiences range from 2 to 4 semesters and in amount
of time required each semester; Student teaching ranges from
1 semester to 1 year.
Number of assessments varies from program to program.
Doctoral students play an important role in the preparation of
social studies teachers and in research being generated on
social studies teacher education.
Following the excellent work already being done by Japanese researchers, such as that of
yourselves, other questions for consideration might be:

How do preservice teachers in Japan understand the social studies curriculum?

What methods and/or resources do preservice teachers in Japan use to teach the
curriculum and for what purposes?

How do preservice teachers in Japan understand their roles to teach civic understanding
and engagement? How are these roles enacted in the classroom?

How do preservice teachers in Japan learn about historical thinking and how to teach
historical thinking?

What role does discourse play in the learning experiences of preservice teachers and in
how they eventually teach?

How do preservice teachers in Japan learn about multicultural issues, and how do they
teach about them?
Thank you JERASS
 Dr. Kazuhiro Mizoguchi and Dr. Hiroko Taguchi:
Investigation of elementary textbook content about the
“other”
 Dr. Kazuhiro Mizoguchi and Dr. Hiroko Taguchi:
Future investigation planned on Japanese and U.S.
children’s thinking about economics, geography, and
government
 Dr. Masato Ogawa: Investigations of middle grades
history textbook content and elementary schooling in
Japan