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Vision for Social Studies Education

Missouri State Capitol Building

Contact Information

Melissa Andersen
ELA and Social Studies
Curriculum Coordinator
Email
314-983-5395

SOCIAL STUDIES EDUCATION WILL INVOLVE LESS:	SOCIAL STUDIES EDUCATION WILL INVOLVE MORE:
Rote memorization of facts, dates, and terminology.	Facts, sequence, and terminology are learned as part of a larger, interrelated story.
Teacher ‘telling’ about history	Students take an active role in their learning. Students engage in the skills of a historian: examining primary and secondary sources and looking at diverse perspectives on historical and social events. Experts are brought in when applicable to provide knowledge and expertise.
History from a single story.	History is studied from multiple viewpoints. Students will study the voices of people who have historically been silenced.
Teachers pose questions with only one right answer	Students engage in inquiry-based learning where they generate and discuss open-ended questions that focus on the strength of evidence used to generate claims with teacher guidance.
Worksheets	Students engage in interactive, hands-on learning to make content relevant and personal. Students have frequent opportunities for active, thoughtful participation and application in their community.
Students read textbooks and answer questions at the end of the chapter	Students acquire knowledge by evaluating evidence from a wide range of sources; students explain relationships between events and people by citing evidence to support their understanding.
Students learn ideas disconnected from real world events	Learning is authentic and students are able to make connections between the past and the present. Students are allowed opportunities to discuss current events and develop a strong sense of civic engagement and responsibility.
Oversimplification of activities for students who are perceived to be less able	Teachers provide multiple access points to the curriculum with supports so that all students can access and engage with content/ curriculum.
Memorization based recall tests	Teachers incorporate project-based learning, performance tasks, open ended questions, writing tasks, student discourse, and other assessment strategies in their instruction. Students are given opportunities to reflect on their performance.
Unit creation driven only by content standards	Units have an equal balance where content and skills are both explicitly taught.
Teachers work alone in a vacuum to plan instruction	Teachers are given opportunities to learn and continue their education in the various content areas. Support is provided to teachers to continue to change and improve their instruction by providing time to collaborate with other professionals.