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The Centrality Of Claim-Making In The Social Studies Classroom: Teaching For Claim-Making With The Persuasive Claim Framework, Ryan Anders Lewis

Theses and Dissertations--Curriculum and Instruction

This dissertation includes three articles that focus on the importance of claim-making and argumentative writing in social studies classrooms. Each article highlights various aspects of the claim-making process by introducing ways for teachers to help students write better claims, highlighting the importance of claim-making within the extant social studies literature, and analyzing the results of centering the claim-making process in a preservice teaching methods program.

Article One, “What’s in a Claim: A Framework for Helping Students Write Persuasive Claims?” (2021), is an article written for practicing teachers. As part of a larger discussion on the challenges of implementing the dimensions …

Beliefs, Identity, And An African American Cemetery: An Exploratory Study Of Difficult History Curricular Decision- Making, Shannon Peck-Bartle

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this qualitative exploratory study, I examine the influence of administrative curricular decision-makers’ beliefs and values towards race and ethnicity, heritage, and place on curricular aims for the inclusion of local difficult history associated with the erasure of a racialized cultural landscape, The Ridgewood Cemetery. I additionally examine the influence of contemporary issues on beliefs and values as administrative curricular decision-makers navigate ways to incorporate local cemetery history into secondary social studies curriculum. Through semi-structured interviews, document analysis, and research’s reflective journaling I shed light on ways beliefs, values, and contemporary issues influenced administrative curricular decision-making for local difficult history. …

There’S Action In Silence: An Action Research Study On The Impacts Of Diverse Narratives In An Advanced Placement United States Government Class, Ashley Kristen Wright

Theses and Dissertations

In this action research study, I facilitated and evaluated student exposure to politically, socially, and economically diverse source material within my Advanced Placement United States Government classroom, seeking to resolve students’ apparent disconnect from experiences that differ from their own, which had made connections to topics like civil rights challenging to grasp. Because the supplemental material I had chosen for my government classes failed to provide opposing narratives for my students to make these connections, this study arose as a way to research and ultimately correct this problem from within my government classroom.

Over the course of a semester, I …

The Development Of The Soft Skills Within Social Studies Curriculum, Bradley G. Boven

Culminating Experience Projects

The project being done has the objective to bring attention to teachers of the lack of soft skills being taught within the social studies curriculum. This project's end goal is to use research that covers the importance of soft skills for students to develop as well as project based learning to implement it. The key findings are that project based learning when being used within the classroom can develop soft skills for students to critically think, collaborate with others, and problem solve while developing intrinsic motivators for their own work. The project that had been instituted was for a professional …

Standards Do Not Happen In A Vacuum: Local, State, And National Influences On Kentucky Academic Standards For The Social Studies And Curriculum Development, Ryan Douglas New

Theses and Dissertations--Curriculum and Instruction

This dissertation includes three articles that focus on local, state, and/or national influences on the development and implementation of state standards for social studies. Each article provides insights into how external influences at various levels can mediate the enactment, understanding, and/or adhering of state-level standards.

Article One, “The State of Social Studies Standards: What Is the Impact of the C3 Framework?” (2021) is a national case study that examines the impact the C3 (College, Career and Civic Life) Framework had in influencing the development of fifty state standards and the District of Columbia. The C3 framework pulls together content, concepts, …

Heroes Like Harvey Milk: Using Lgbtq-Themed Literature To Promote Critical Literacy And Social Justice In Fifth Grade English Language Arts And Social Studies, Jamie Carmack

Masters Theses/Capstone Projects

The purpose of this curriculum development project is to help practicing English Language Arts and Social Studies teachers in grade 5 construct and develop content-area curriculums that reinforce and support both critical literacy and social justice pedagogical frameworks for teaching and learning. This particular curriculum development project also addresses the ways in which English Language Arts and Social Studies teachers in grade 5 can use LGBTQ-themed curricular materials to not only promote critical literacy and social justice frameworks for teaching and learning but to also meet the Common Core State Standards (CCSS, 2010) for English Language Arts, Ohio’s Learning Standards …

“What’S Happening?” Assessing The Sustainability Of Virtual Professional Learning Communities On Social Media: A Quantitative Study Of ‘Sense Of Community’, Matthew Hensley

Doctoral Dissertations

While research has highlighted the multifaceted benefits of Twitter as an informal professional learning resource, there remains a lack of literature that adequately teases apart the dynamic underpinnings of these types of informal professional learning communities (Thacker, 2017; Visser et al., 2014). Greenhow & Gleason (2012) posited that there is a need to better understand Twitter’s place within the education profession, as well as “how participants understand their experiences and place within the Twitter community and beyond” (p. 473).

Grounded in ‘sense of community’ theory, this study examined ‘sense of community’ as a construct supporting the #SSChat community’s sustainability. Additionally, …

Reconciling The Civics Test With Inquiry-Based Instruction: Making The Best Of What Seems Like Just One More Thing, Jennifer Leeanna Fraker

Theses and Dissertations--Curriculum and Instruction

This dissertation consists of three articles that focus on teaching, learning, and testing in civic education. Each article provides insights into how instructional practices in teaching and learning intersect with a state-mandated civics test.

Article One, “Is the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services Test Worthy of Being Included as a High School Graduation Requirement? A Closer Look at Implications for Kentucky,” is mixed methods sequential explanatory study on the implementation of the civics test requirement within two specific Kentucky school districts using student-level assessment data. Findings indicate that opportunities not only to learn civic content, but also learn it …

Are You Listening? How Listening Skills Help Students Become Informed And Engaged Citizens In A Culturally Diverse World, Nicole Schwaben

Honors Projects

The ability to listen is vital for good communication to exist and flourish. Without properly developed listening skills, one may unintentionally create roadblocks when communicating with others. Good communication will allow for the spread of differing ideas and perspectives. The social studies classroom is a place in which students have the opportunity to develop skills to become good citizens. These skills include the ability to make reasoned and informed decisions and interact with a culturally diverse and interdependent world. In order to achieve these skills, students must engage in discussion with their peers. While there is a focus on the …

The Impact Of A Blended Learning Rotational Model On Student Achievement In An Eighth-Grade Social Studies Class, Amanda Mings

Theses and Dissertations

One of the biggest determining factors of effective education is the implementation of standardized testing as a way to access students and hold schools accountable. Some educators argue that this system of accountability has done more harm than good. Many teachers have adopted a teach to the test approach to learning as they succumb to the pressures of high stakes testing linked to performance evaluation. Many educational scholars agree that instructional practices must cater to the needs and interests of the learner in order to yield positive results. The so-called, Net Generation, learns differently from their predecessors and these students …

The Impact Of Inquiry-Based Learning On Academic Achievement In Eighth-Grade Social Studies, Lindsey A. Bailey

Theses and Dissertations

The problem of practice described in this paper was identified by varying academic performances of students in a middle school located in South Carolina. The identified problem led the researcher to formulate a research question: What is the impact of inquiry-based learning on academic achievement for eighth-grade students in social studies? The purpose of this study is to determine if implementing inquiry-based learning will affect the academic achievement of students in social studies. Action research allows teachers to study their own classrooms to better understand them and to be able to improve their quality or effectiveness (Mertler, 2014). Action research …

Breaking The Mold: Personalized Learning’S Impact On The Development Of Higher-Order Thinking Skills, Mark Jon Hladek

Theses and Dissertations

Personalized learning (PL) is a pedagogical model designed to focus on meeting students where they are in the learning process, tailoring an individual instruction plan, varying the learning experience to prepare students for life beyond school, and creating a flexible environment that allows for student ownership and voice in the learning process (Rickabaugh, 2016). A PL model is designed to better address 21st century competencies and higher-order thinking skills as well as the inclusion of agency and self-efficacy development deemed necessary for success in the modern society (United States Department of Education [USDE], 2010). The purpose of this action research …

The Play’S The Thing: Engaging 6th Grade Social Studies Students Through Movement, Karen Clinkert Paggi

Theses and Dissertations

This paper is a description of a proposed action research study driven by a problem of practice. The problem for this action research is that the teacher-researcher’s sixth-grade social studies students lack critical thinking skills. Critical thinkers are engaged and learners who analyze complex issues and challenges within society. The teacherresearcher observed her students performing well on standardized benchmarks that rely on recalling facts, while simultaneously struggling to analyze explicit and implicit information from primary and secondary sources in order to make relevant and logical conclusions. After observing sedentary teaching practices in her classroom, the teacherresearcher began to review a …

Implementing Proficiency-Based Learning: Perspectives Of Three Vermont High School Social Studies Teachers, Catherine K. Toland

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

ABSTRACT

The passage of Act 77 in June 2013 and the Educational Quality Standards passed in April 2014 are significantly changing the way education is being conceptualized in Vermont. These two policy mandates called for all Vermont high schools to shift to proficiency-based learning (PBL), also known as standards-based, competency-based or mastery-based learning, by 2020. Yet scant research exists on how to implement PBL. This qualitative study addresses this need by examining the perspectives of three exemplary high school social studies teachers who were early adopters of proficiency- based instruction and learning in their classrooms. The research centered on questions …

We The People: A Simulation For Young Voters, Jessee Hankins

Honors Projects

This project discusses the evolution of my project from its inception through its completion. As a pre-service teacher in student teaching, my experiences directly influenced the development of this project. The project is one that discusses the use of simulations in a social studies classroom, and includes a lesson plan of the lesson that I used within my student teaching experience. The lesson plan also comes with materials that teachers may take advantage of the lesson plan, using it in their classroom to teach their students about the compromises that were created at the Constitutional Convention.

Multiple Intelligences In The Text: Examining The Presence Of Mi Tasks In The Annotated Teacher's Editions Of Four High School United States History Textbooks, Carey Mullican

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The current state of the social studies classroom comprises one of uninspired students using unexciting textbooks as their guide for learning U.S. history (Hope, 1996; NCES, 1993; Banks, 1990; Wakefield, 2006). With multiple intelligences gaining popularity in education, renewed hope exists for social studies to produce quality textbooks with differentiated instruction to reach all learners. The purpose was to design a rubric for measuring the presence of multiple intelligences structured tasks in teacher's editions of four 11th grade U.S. history textbooks. Using 1995 to 2007 as a purposeful sample of consistent authorships and similar publications, the study looked at teacher's …

A Story Well Told: Rich Narrative Engages California Fifth Grade Students In American History, Julie Alice Huson

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

The educational publisher Pearson/Scott-Foresman in 2006 introduced curriculum to address California History/Social Studies standards. Fifth grade students have difficulty comprehending non-fiction text that is informative enough to have historical accuracy. The publisher promotes a program that features a standard in every lesson, and promises no extraneous content. An examination is conducted as to how this program approaches the required California History/Social Studies elements of providing "A Story Well Told" which should include, according to specifications by the California State Department of Education, "forceful personalities, controversies, issues of the time, and primary sources."(CDE, 2003) Literature on the topic of history education …

"Make It Real": A Guide To Implementing And Connecting State Madated Classroom-Based Assessments With The National History Day Curriculum At The Middle School Level, Richard Reuther

All Graduate Projects

This manuscript is intended to provide a framework for teachers to use the National History Day curriculum as a qualifying classroom-based assessment which will be required for all Washington State gth Grade Social Studies classes in 2008. A review of the literature of National History Day as well as classroom-based assessments is included. A plan for a preliminary assessment of available resources is explored, as well as a sequential topic-bytopic plan for implementing National History Day. Possible variations of student-centered activities are included; student roles in the research process and self-assessment are discussed. Alignment with Washington State Essential Academic Learning …

The Relationship Between Teacher Attitudes Toward Florida History And The Methods And Materials The Teachers Use To Teach Florida History, Elizabeth Dewey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Reacting to an impression that history is not viewed as significant as other curricular subjects such as reading, math, or science, there were multiple purposes for this research: first, to document the attitudes of the fourth grade teachers in one county in Florida towards the subject of Florida history. The teachers' perceptions of the importance of the topic to and for the students, to the administration, and to them personally was surveyed in addition to the perceived preparation of the teachers to teach Florida History. The second purpose was to ascertain the perception of fourth grade teachers regarding preference and …

A U.S. History Model For Enhancing Essential Academic Learning Requirements In Reading, Christopher Matthew Jorgensen

All Graduate Projects

The relationship between reading strategies that enhance essential learning in both · reading and history was studied. A U.S. History model has been developed to make connections between the teaching of history content and reading comprehension. Research has been obtained that indicates a direct correlation between student learning in a content area classroom and the integration ofreading strategies within daily lesson plans. Secondary teachers must be taught by teacher preparation programs and coached by administrators on how to develop lesson plans based on their students' need to use effective reading strategies. Secondary teachers must align their daily lessons and assessments …

A Model Curriculum And Intructional Program For Native American Studies Grades 11-12, Terry Cosentino

All Graduate Projects

The purpose of this project was to develop a model curriculum and instructional program for Native American Studies, grades 11 - 12 at Tenino High School, Tenino Washington. To accomplish this purpose a review of related literature was conducted. Additionally, information and materials from selected sources was obtained and analyzed.

Standards-Based Education: Lessons For The Essential Academic Learning Requirements In The Seventh-Grade Social Studies, Karl Anton Schelbert

All Graduate Projects

This project focuses on aligning seventh-grade social studies with Washington State's Essential Academic Leaming Requirements, the state's curriculum guide. In the last decade standards-based education has swept across the United States and the results in Washington have changed the face of education. The project itself presents a variety of lessons that are aligned with the seventh-grade standards for social studies. Lessons are separated into the four disciplines in social studies: history, geography, civics, and economics. Each lesson teaches some aspect of a selected social studies requirement. The review of literature examines the standards-based reform and its resulting affects in Washington …

Designing A United States History Curriculum: A Thematic Approach, David Paul Willecke

All Graduate Projects

A cun-iculum framework for a one-year eleventh grade United States History course was designed. The Framework included the development of nine themes at the unit level and one theme at the lesson level. Goals and objectives were developed at the course, unit, and lesson level. The potential for thematic instruction to improve history teaching was discussed, as well as the challenges of designing thematic curriculum.

An Integrated Curriculum For Music And Social Studies, Carol Jane Alldredge

All Graduate Projects

Music exists as a discipline that often enhances other subjects. An integrated curriculum can provide students with connections to the real world, greater depth of study, and can generate enthusiasm. Through integration, many boundaries can be crossed. The purpose of this project is to create an integrated curriculum for music and social studies for the fifth grade. The curriculum is for the period of the Renaissance and the American Revolution. Topics explored relate to the subject of integration. Guidelines from Washington State Commission on Student Learning as well as national standards for music and social studies are used as the …

The Holocaust: A Text Set To Extend Beyond The World History Text, Stacie Lynn Deason

All Graduate Projects

This project examined the use of trade books, particularly historical fiction and nonfiction, in the social studies curriculum. Through the development of this project, a text set was designed to extend and enrich the students' knowledge of the holocaust beyond the world history textbook. The literature revealed strong support for the use of trade books as a vehicle to learn more than the names, dates and facts presented in the textbook. Trade books allow the students to learn about the human experience of historical events, specifically the Holocaust for the purpose of this project. Through historical fiction and nonfiction trade …

Values Education: Using The Washington State Essential Academic Learning Requirements In Social Studies To Teach Values, Elizabeth Smith

All Graduate Projects

The development of a Values Education curriculum included with the Social Studies curriculum was studied. Related literature was reviewed. The review of literature showed that school systems that have tried a comprehensive values education plan are finding some pro-social results from their programs. Lessons were developed for West Valley (WA) fifth grade students using the Washington State Essential Learning requirements in Civics. A summary, conclusions and recommendations are included.

A Look At The Middle Ages: Tying Together Social Studies And Language Arts, R. Eric Despain

All Graduate Projects

This project presents a thematic interdisciplinary unit. Fifteen social studies lessons are focused on the middle ages and tied together with the book, The Castle in the Attic. There is also a companion language arts unit for The Castle in the Attic. This project was developed to help sixth-grade students apply information taught in social studies to language arts and help them to see natural connections that occur in learning.

Three Units Incorporating The Use Of Tradebooks On The Third Grade Social Studies Curriculum, Jeanne Hargreaves Rogers

All Graduate Projects

Social studies has traditionally been taught using textbooks. Many of these textbooks pose different problems for the students who use them. One reason for this is because the textbooks lack units that are literature-based. For this project, three social studies units were written incorporating literature. They were, Women in History, North American Indians, and Communities. These units include activities for creating interest, teaching the lesson, and evaluating the students' learning. Also included at the end of each unit is an annotated bibliography.

Globalizing The Curriculum: A Workshop, Eugenia Allen-Schmid

All Graduate Projects

Globalizing the Curriculum is the design for a workshop for high school history and social studies teachers. The written project includes a description of how the workshop has actually been presented and a discussion of how it may be presented again. This workshop focuses on the following:

1. Why a global approach is important and the goals for taking this approach.

2. Problems and concerns teachers have incorporating a global approach and how these can be overcome.

3. Specific teaching strategies for globalizing the curriculum.

4. Resources available for global studies and how to access them.

Hispanic Cultural Activities In The Social Studies Curriculum For Grades 4-5, Janell Ann Ramos

All Graduate Projects

The purpose of this project was to integrate Hispanic cultural activities into a Social Studies curriculum using student learning objectives for grades four and five. Six cultural activities were designed and implemented. An informal evaluation of the activities as they related to areas of multicultural education was included. This project demonstrated that Hispanic cultural activities could be successfully integrated into an otherwise monocultural environment, and through this integration positive changes in attitudes and behaviors of all students could be achieved.