Teacher conceptions and practice of discussion in lower primary social studies
Learning about issues through discussion in the primary social studies classroom: A shared inquiry approach
This article looks at how primary school children can learn about issues in their social studies lessons through discussion. It first spells out the importance of introducing issues in the social studies curriculum for the development of students to be informed, participative and concerned citizens. It focuses on the selection of suitable issues for primary school children and discussion as a pedagogy for shared inquiry to help teachers achieve academic understanding and citizenship outcomes for their learners. The Walsh and Sattes’ (2015) framework for quality discussion is described as a useful guide for teacher planning and implementation. Research findings on teacher belief and practice of using discussion of controversial issues and the implications on teacher professional development are also discussed. The article concludes with how to be skilful in the facilitation of discussion of issues for shared inquiry.
Teaching geographical concepts and skills in primary social studies
Geography is a subject that helps children understand and appreciate the world they live in. The subject enables them to make thoughtful decisions and take responsible actions towards sustainable living. This article focuses on the teaching of geographical concepts and skills in the primary social studies curriculum. Questions on what is geography, why teach geography, what are the key geographical concepts and skills in the primary social studies curriculum and how can these concepts and skills be taught will be elaborated.
Using stories for teaching primary social studies
Stories are often used by teachers to transmit knowledge, values and dispositions, deepen understanding and develop critical thinking in children. The power of stories and storytelling is highlighted in this article which focuses on why and how stories can be used for teaching primary social studies concepts and generalisations, how to choose suitable story books for children, and how to use some of them in the classroom. Three teaching approaches, namely, the shared book approach, the integrated biographical inquiry and storytelling are featured along with ideas of how these may be applied during lessons.
Let’s have cooperative learning for lessons!
One cannot assume that learning will necessarily take place just because children are doing group work. To ensure that productive learning takes place, there is a need to infuse elements of cooperative learning into the group activities. In this article, the key principles and structures of cooperative learning as well as the benefits of using cooperative learning are discussed. Some suggestions on the use of cooperative learning, together with classroom examples are also presented.
Exploring the use of WebQuests in the learning of social studies content
WebQuest is an approach which uses the Internet as an integral part of teaching any subject at any grade level. Developed by Bernie Dodge at San Diego State University in 1995, it has generated lots of interest. There are now numerous examples of WebQuests available on the World Wide Web. WebQuest has the potential in bringing about more critical thinking and student engagement. This article will (1) explain what WebQuest is all about and explore examples in primary social studies to show its applicability in achieving important instructional goals in social studies teaching and learning, (2) demonstrate how WebQuests were used in a pre-service course for primary social studies teachers at the National Institute of Education, Singapore; and (3) share the responses of pre-service teachers towards the use of WebQuests in learning primary social studies content.
The analysis, design and development of a social studies instructional package for a primary school
The focus of this dissertation is the creation of an instructional package, which is based on the new Ministry of Education Social Studies syllabus, for the Primary 4 Social Studies teachers of the XYZ school. The purpose is to help the teachers overcome the obstacle of insufficient resources for effective teaching.
The theoretical framework for the design of the instructional package, which comprises the lesson plans, teaching resources and pupil's activity sheets, is based on the instructional design model by Jonassen, Grabinger and Harris (1990). The analysis is central in the model and the various stages of instructional design are constantly checked against the analysis findings. During the analysis, data on the needs of the school, users' characteristics, content, instructional objectives as well as the learning context are collected. The data is obtained from the interviews with the school administrators and teachers; test for the pupils; school visits and the examination of school documents. The analysis data forms the inputs for the design stage, which focuses on the instructional framework adopted and the instructional approaches, activities and media selected. The development stage involves the production of the alpha version of the instructional package and evaluating it formatively by a group of reviewers with the aim of improving it. The reviewers are made up of three teachers from XYZ school and a content and pedagogy expert from an institute of higher education. They are given a questionnaire comprising a checklist and some open-ended questions about the strengths and weaknesses of the instructional package to answer and the package itself to vet. Their comments and feedback are incorporated into the revision of the instructional package. The revised version of the instructional package, known as the beta version, is judged by the reviewers to be effective, efficient, motivating, usable and acceptable.
Primary social studies fieldwork in children’s localities and beyond
Children’s localities and beyond offer potential for young learners to connect with and understand their world. This article explores what children’s localities and the merits of doing fieldwork are. It identifies the different children’s localities and themes for fieldwork, examines the inquiry fieldwork approach and suggests how to plan such fieldwork for effective learning. The article also provides two examples of fieldwork in children’s localities based on student teachers’ fieldwork packages.
Storytelling for social studies in the primary classroom
This paper focuses on the rationale for storytelling in Social Studies, the difference between story reading and storytelling, how to choose a story, learn and tell it. The paper also provides a list of stories that are suitable for Primary Social Studies and suggests ways of how to integrate stories into Social Studies lessons.
Using investigation and discussion to inquire about issues in primary social studies
This article begins with the inquiry teaching approach for primary social studies and the rationale for its inclusion in the 2013 syllabus by the Ministry of Education, Singapore. It compares traditional instruction and inquiry-based teaching and describes the two types of inquiry that can be implemented in the primary classroom – discussion and investigation. Three useful inquiry models for primary children - Colin Marsh’s (2001) investigation model and two discussion models - Diana Hess’ (2009) town meeting model (TMM) and David Johnson and Roger Johnson’s (1999) structured academic model (SAC) - are elaborated. The application of these models is illustrated in two issue-based, inquiry centred packages designed for primary children by student teachers from the National Institute of Education. The article also discusses the challenges teachers may face when implementing such inquiry centred packages and suggests ways of how they can be overcome.