Elementary Education and Teaching Commons^™

Examining Elementary Teacher Perceptions And Experiences Of Transitioning From Knowledge-Based To Inquiry-Based Social Studies Standards, Benjamin Stephen Pinnick

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Elementary educators are responsible for the earliest years of student learning in a public setting. The amount of content students are expected to master continues to grow in scope, and the methods that are utilized shift to align with educational research and social momentum. After a decade of Common Core policies, social studies education in elementary schools has become a deemphasized subject. Reading and math, as well as science, have taken a greater precedence in today’s classrooms.

Yet, expectations for the creation of knowledgeable and participatory citizens continue to serve as a goal in elementary schools. Conceptualization of citizenship form …

The Common Core State Standards And The Elementary Social Studies Curriculum: A Case Study Of Teacher Perceptions In Florida, Kacie M. Nadeau

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The most recent phase of curriculum reform in the era of accountability is the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) which have essentially reshaped the landscape of public education. Its objective of preparing K-12 students for college and career upon high school graduation have prioritized English language arts, mathematics, and science over social studies, which is not part of widespread high-stakes testing for elementary students. This qualitative case study investigated eleven intermediate elementary teachers’ perceptions of alignment between CCSS and the elementary social studies curriculum. Data gathering analysis included two semi-structured interviews and an archival analysis of the mandated curriculum. The …

“Those Events Really Happened!” How Elementary Students Transact With History And Historical Fiction While Reading The American Girl Series, Sarah Lewis Philpott

Doctoral Dissertations

This qualitative study examines how elementary readers transact with history and historical fiction while reading the American Girl series. A review of literature revealed a lack of educational research about the AG series and a need for research concerning how elementary students transact with historical fiction. The researcher attempted to answer the following questions:

1. How do fourth grade students transact with history while reading the AG series of historical fiction?
2. How do fourth grade students transact with the AG series of historical fiction?

The researcher interviewed, observed, and participated in a book club with seven public school females. Data were …

Using Writing To Explore Human-Environment Interactions: An Integrated Approach, Lindsay Prettyman

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

This Honors Thesis includes a literature review on integrated curriculum for a third grade class. It also includes 22 lessons which, along with the literature review, explore the idea of integrating inquiry based social studies with language arts, especially informational narrative writing in the classroom Other subjects are integrated as well, including math and science. The curriculum development was, in part, pilot tested at Edith Bowen Laboratory School. It uses McTighe's Backward Design curriculum model and focuses on the settlement of the pioneers in Cache Valley.

Inquiry-Based Instruction In The Social Studies: Successes And Challenges, Crystal Maree Beshears

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate teachers' perceptions, understanding, and use of inquiry-based instruction in the Social studies, to assess the impact of inquiry-based units on instruction, to detail implementation successes and challenges reported by teachers when implementing inquiry-based instruction, and to provide recommendations for future efforts. Teachers' perceptions of teaching and learning, particularly their beliefs about inquiry-based instruction, changed during the study. Throughout the study, teachers' perceptions and beliefs about teaching Social studies had an impact on how they planned, implemented and reflected on inquiry-based instruction. Many of the teachers changed their perceptions and began regularly teaching …