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Full-Text Articles in Education

Maximizing Learning And Engaging Students In Elementary Social Studies, Autumn Handin, Jessica Leeman Jul 2018

Maximizing Learning And Engaging Students In Elementary Social Studies, Autumn Handin, Jessica Leeman

Journal of Practitioner Research

Social studies has historically been marginalized in elementary school classrooms, with little instructional time devoted to the subject (Houser, 1995; VanFossen, 2005). Pressed for time, teachers frequently turn to teacher-directed methods that promote passive learning and perpetuate the perception that social studies is a boring and irrelevant subject in the lives of students (Zaho & Hoge, 2005). If social studies instruction is to be meaningful, teachers must utilize active learning strategies that encourage social interaction and discourse. Brain-based learning strategies connect pedagogy with cognitive neuroscience, allowing students to “learn more quickly, retain and recall more, and enjoy learning” (Kagan, 2016, …


Social Studies In The Elementary Classroom: Helping Students Make Sense Of Their World, Lauren Clark, Angela Hooser Jul 2018

Social Studies In The Elementary Classroom: Helping Students Make Sense Of Their World, Lauren Clark, Angela Hooser

Journal of Practitioner Research

This paper documents my journey as a preservice teacher engaging in practitioner inquiry to make social studies more meaningful for my first grade students. I begin by briefly introducing my background with social studies as an elementary student and my growing interest in making improvements to my own social studies instruction. Next, I provide information on the data I collected and the social studies lessons that I designed and taught. Then, I discuss three themes identified from the data that encapsulate the most important learning related to planning and engaging students in meaningful social studies lessons. Finally, I share reflections …


"We're Not Going To Talk About That:" A Qualitative Case Study Of Three Elementary Teachers' Experiences Integrating Literacy And Social Studies, Rebecca L. Powell Apr 2018

"We're Not Going To Talk About That:" A Qualitative Case Study Of Three Elementary Teachers' Experiences Integrating Literacy And Social Studies, Rebecca L. Powell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this interpretive, qualitative multi-case study (Merriam, 2001; Stake, 1995) was to describe the experiences of three elementary classroom teachers as they integrated literacy and social studies during their literacy instruction. This study was grounded in an interpretivist paradigm and a theoretical lens of symbolic interactionism. The guiding questions were: What are the experiences of three elementary teachers when integrating literacy and social studies instruction? What information do teachers use when making decisions about integrated instruction? How do teachers’ beliefs align with their practices? How do teachers organize, plan for, and provide integrated instruction, including how they use …