EDUC543  - Issues, Methods, and Materials in Teaching Social Studies

This course examines the purposes, significant issues, and current trends which affect social science and history subject matter in the elementary and secondary schools. It includes an exploration of the materials and techniques for effective teaching of the social studies with an emphasis on the selection and organization of classroom methods and materials to accelerate the preadolescent and adolescent child’s understanding of their social and global environment; the criteria to select appropriate social studies content, skills, and attitudinal objectives; teaching strategies; the inclusion of instructional technology in the classroom setting; and the evaluation procedures that facilitate the social learning of young children and adolescents. It also addresses the cultural, economic, political, and social development of students living in a multicultural and global environment, as well as the scope and sequencing of history and social studies courses in the school curriculum.