Secondary Social Studies Education, College of Education
Name and Number of Course: SSE 4383 Perspectives in Social Studies
Education Time/Location Tuesday 5:00 – 7:40 Architecture 165
Department Teaching and Learning
Credits 3credit hours
Instructor Dr. Sarah Mathews
E-mail address
Office hours Weds: 3:30 – 6:00 or Thurs: 3:30 –
6:00; or by appointment
Office Address ZEB 158A
Telephone/fax (305) 348-3223
Resources for course (texts, etc.)
Required Texts
Cruz, B. C. & Thornton, S. J. (2013). Teaching social studies to English language learners (2nd
ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
Michie, G. (1999). Holler if you hear me: The education of a teacher and his students. New
York, NY: Teachers College Press.
FTCE. (2015). Professional Education Test (6th Ed). Piscataway, NJ: Research and Education
Association, INC.
Grading criteria
All assignments and final grades are based on the following scale:
A 100-93 A- 90-92
B+ 87-89 B 83-86 B- 80-82
C+ 77-79 C 73-76 C- 70-72
D+ 67-69 D 63-66 D- 60-62
F 0-59
1
, Final grades will be determined based on the following points
Assignment Due Date Points Possible Your Points
Technology Wiki Entry See Syllabus 6
Ethics Essay 01/26 15
Assessment Project 03/22 27
Social Studies Unit Plan 04/05 36
Quizzlet/Kahoot! Practice 04/26 9
Module
Reader Responses 7 out of 8 See Syllabus 14
Diligence and Responsibility 18
Total 125
The College’s Conceptual Framework (Vision/theme, Mission, Unit Outcomes)
The College of Education believes that it is one in which candidates, faculty, and staff embrace
the shared experiences of a diverse, international, and professional learning community. (Vision
Statement of the Conceptual Framework of the College of Education – Revised, 2007). The
theme for the College of Education is: facilitating personal, intellectual, and social renewal
within diverse populations and environments (Theme of the Conceptual Framework of the
College of Education – Revised, 2007). Our charge is to prepare professionals who have the
knowledge, abilities, and habits of mind to facilitate and enhance learning and development
within diverse settings; promote and facilitate the discovery, development, documentation,
assessment, and dissemination of knowledge related to teaching and learning; and, develop
professional partnerships in the larger community (Mission Statement of the Conceptual
Framework of the College of Education – Revised, 2007).
Three major outcomes become the lens through which each program organizes learning
experiences and contributes to the vision and aim of the College. These outcomes include: a)
Unit Content Outcome: Stewards of the Discipline (Knowledge); b) Unit Process Outcome:
Reflective Inquirer (Skills); and c) Unit Dispositions Outcome: Mindful Educator (Dispositions).
The desired performance learning outcomes are aligned with state and other professional
standards.
The learning outcomes for all candidates in the COE unit (initial and advanced) are guided by
content, process and dispositions outcomes. These outcomes may be considered as the road map
for the unit to achieve its vision; they provide the conditions through which the unit strives to
reach its ends. The learning outcomes, therefore, may be construed as the characteristics of the
way of life the unit envisions for its graduates.
The Content Outcome – the concepts, knowledge and understandings candidates must have in
their respective field of study. This may be visualized metaphorically as stewards of the
discipline in which candidates are expected to:
• Know their content and pedagogical content.
• Know how to use this knowledge to facilitate learning.
• Engage in cross-disciplinary activities to ensure breadth and depth of knowledge.
2
, • Know how to experiment with pedagogical techniques through inquiry, critical
analysis, synthesis of the subject, and the integration of technology.
• Know how to evaluate the results of their experimentation.
The Process Outcome – the requisite generic skills needed to be able to apply the content and
pedagogical content -. - reflective inquirers. This means that candidates’ professional
development in the unit as reflective inquirers is shaped by their ability to:
• Reflect on practice and change approaches based on own insights.
• Reflect on practice with the goal of continuous improvement.
• Think critically about issues through a form of inquiry that investigates dilemmas
and problems and seek resolutions that benefit all involved.
• Be sensitive to and understand individual and cultural differences among students.
• Collaborate with other professional educators, families, and communities.
• Foster learning environments that take into account technological resources.
• Use the richness of diverse communities and an understanding of the urban
environment to enhance learning.
• Use knowledge to help learners foster global connections.
The Dispositions Outcome – the dispositions, that is, habits of mind (intellectual, and social) that
render professional actions and conduct more intelligent. These dispositions, i.e., habits of
pedagogical “mindfulness” and thoughtfulness (reflective capacity) create a form of
interconnectedness by which the unit’s candidates have a disposition toward enhancing the
growth of all learners through the application of their thinking to things already known (content,
process skills) for the purpose of improving social conditions. This requires that teachers and
other school personnel demonstrate commitments to patterns of intellectual activity that guide
their cognitive and social behavior in educational settings with students, colleagues, families, and
communities, thus enhancing their conduct in the world of practice – mindful educators.
These dispositions/habits of mind that make professional conduct more intelligent include
candidates:
• Adopting a critical eye toward ideas and actions (Being Analytical).
• Withholding judgment until understanding is achieved by being thoughtful in
his/her actions. (Managing Impulsivity).
• Working to see things through by employing systematic methods of analyzing
problems (Persisting).
• Thinking about his/her own thinking (Reflective Thoughtfulness).
• Thinking and communicating with clarity and precision (Communicating Accurately).
• Showing curiosity and passion about learning through inquiry (Being Inquisitive).
• Showing a sense of being comfortable in situations where the outcomes are not
immediately known by acting on the basis of his/her initiative and not from needing
a script (Taking Responsible Risks).
• Recognizing the wholeness and distinctiveness of other people’s ways of
experiencing and making meaning by being open-minded (Being Open-minded).
• Taking time to check over work because of his/her being more interested in
excellent work than in expediency (Striving for Accuracy).
• Abstracting meaning from one experience and carrying it forward and applying it to a
new situation by calling on his/her store of past knowledge as a source of data to
solve new challenges (Applying Past Knowledge to New Situations).
• Showing sensitivity to the needs of others and to being a cooperative team
member (Thinking Interdependently), and,
3
, • Showing a sense of care for others and an interest in listening well to others
(Empathic Understanding) (Costa & Kallick, 2004).
Purpose of Course
This course is designed to help candidates integrate social science content knowledge with
pedagogical knowledge in productive ways. Course content and experiences provide candidates
with the opportunity to examine current perspectives, issues, and aspects impacting the social
studies field. It reflects the principle that effective educators create a culture of high expectations
for all students. The course includes content and strategies for effective social science instruction
in diverse settings as well as effective strategies for assessing student’s learning. Candidates
should bring to the course the desire to explore issues from multiple points of view, the
willingness to challenge one’s own values, the commitment to interdisciplinary teaching and
learning, and the courage to believe that everyone can learn.
There is a required field experience component that aligns with course content and
assignments. Students must spend at least 15 hours in a middle or high school setting
spread out over at least three days. Field placements will be arranged by the social studies
department and office of teaching and learning field assignments. Candidates must go
through the process to obtain security clearance to enter local high schools prior to the start
of the semester. It is the candidate’s responsibility to inform the cooperating teacher of
the field requirements as soon as the cooperating teacher is identified
Course Outcomes:
Content Outcomes: Becoming Stewards of the Disciplines (Knowledge): The
students will become familiar with:
1. Terminology, concepts, facts and applications in both the disciplines of the
social sciences and education
2. Various strategies for effective social sciences instruction in the middle and
senior high school in diverse settings
3. National, state, and district curriculum standards and frameworks
4. Various instructional materials, including the computer and other
multimedia technologies, for teaching social sciences
5. Various approaches for assessing and evaluating student progress and
program effectiveness
6. The ways in which students differ and strategies for teaching diverse learners
in middle and high school
Process Outcomes: Reflective Inquirer (Skills) The students will:
7. Apply pedagogical knowledge to social science content knowledge
8. Strengthen critical thinking and decision-making skills by engaging in
reflective reading, planning, and instruction
9. Develop social sciences instructional materials and demonstrate their use in
the classroom
10. Develop and incorporate appropriate assessment and evaluation techniques
in lessons.
11. Determine how to use student performance data to adapt instruction to better
meet students’ needs.
12. Develop a plan for continuous improvement of one’s teaching.
4
Name and Number of Course: SSE 4383 Perspectives in Social Studies
Education Time/Location Tuesday 5:00 – 7:40 Architecture 165
Department Teaching and Learning
Credits 3credit hours
Instructor Dr. Sarah Mathews
E-mail address
Office hours Weds: 3:30 – 6:00 or Thurs: 3:30 –
6:00; or by appointment
Office Address ZEB 158A
Telephone/fax (305) 348-3223
Resources for course (texts, etc.)
Required Texts
Cruz, B. C. & Thornton, S. J. (2013). Teaching social studies to English language learners (2nd
ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
Michie, G. (1999). Holler if you hear me: The education of a teacher and his students. New
York, NY: Teachers College Press.
FTCE. (2015). Professional Education Test (6th Ed). Piscataway, NJ: Research and Education
Association, INC.
Grading criteria
All assignments and final grades are based on the following scale:
A 100-93 A- 90-92
B+ 87-89 B 83-86 B- 80-82
C+ 77-79 C 73-76 C- 70-72
D+ 67-69 D 63-66 D- 60-62
F 0-59
1
, Final grades will be determined based on the following points
Assignment Due Date Points Possible Your Points
Technology Wiki Entry See Syllabus 6
Ethics Essay 01/26 15
Assessment Project 03/22 27
Social Studies Unit Plan 04/05 36
Quizzlet/Kahoot! Practice 04/26 9
Module
Reader Responses 7 out of 8 See Syllabus 14
Diligence and Responsibility 18
Total 125
The College’s Conceptual Framework (Vision/theme, Mission, Unit Outcomes)
The College of Education believes that it is one in which candidates, faculty, and staff embrace
the shared experiences of a diverse, international, and professional learning community. (Vision
Statement of the Conceptual Framework of the College of Education – Revised, 2007). The
theme for the College of Education is: facilitating personal, intellectual, and social renewal
within diverse populations and environments (Theme of the Conceptual Framework of the
College of Education – Revised, 2007). Our charge is to prepare professionals who have the
knowledge, abilities, and habits of mind to facilitate and enhance learning and development
within diverse settings; promote and facilitate the discovery, development, documentation,
assessment, and dissemination of knowledge related to teaching and learning; and, develop
professional partnerships in the larger community (Mission Statement of the Conceptual
Framework of the College of Education – Revised, 2007).
Three major outcomes become the lens through which each program organizes learning
experiences and contributes to the vision and aim of the College. These outcomes include: a)
Unit Content Outcome: Stewards of the Discipline (Knowledge); b) Unit Process Outcome:
Reflective Inquirer (Skills); and c) Unit Dispositions Outcome: Mindful Educator (Dispositions).
The desired performance learning outcomes are aligned with state and other professional
standards.
The learning outcomes for all candidates in the COE unit (initial and advanced) are guided by
content, process and dispositions outcomes. These outcomes may be considered as the road map
for the unit to achieve its vision; they provide the conditions through which the unit strives to
reach its ends. The learning outcomes, therefore, may be construed as the characteristics of the
way of life the unit envisions for its graduates.
The Content Outcome – the concepts, knowledge and understandings candidates must have in
their respective field of study. This may be visualized metaphorically as stewards of the
discipline in which candidates are expected to:
• Know their content and pedagogical content.
• Know how to use this knowledge to facilitate learning.
• Engage in cross-disciplinary activities to ensure breadth and depth of knowledge.
2
, • Know how to experiment with pedagogical techniques through inquiry, critical
analysis, synthesis of the subject, and the integration of technology.
• Know how to evaluate the results of their experimentation.
The Process Outcome – the requisite generic skills needed to be able to apply the content and
pedagogical content -. - reflective inquirers. This means that candidates’ professional
development in the unit as reflective inquirers is shaped by their ability to:
• Reflect on practice and change approaches based on own insights.
• Reflect on practice with the goal of continuous improvement.
• Think critically about issues through a form of inquiry that investigates dilemmas
and problems and seek resolutions that benefit all involved.
• Be sensitive to and understand individual and cultural differences among students.
• Collaborate with other professional educators, families, and communities.
• Foster learning environments that take into account technological resources.
• Use the richness of diverse communities and an understanding of the urban
environment to enhance learning.
• Use knowledge to help learners foster global connections.
The Dispositions Outcome – the dispositions, that is, habits of mind (intellectual, and social) that
render professional actions and conduct more intelligent. These dispositions, i.e., habits of
pedagogical “mindfulness” and thoughtfulness (reflective capacity) create a form of
interconnectedness by which the unit’s candidates have a disposition toward enhancing the
growth of all learners through the application of their thinking to things already known (content,
process skills) for the purpose of improving social conditions. This requires that teachers and
other school personnel demonstrate commitments to patterns of intellectual activity that guide
their cognitive and social behavior in educational settings with students, colleagues, families, and
communities, thus enhancing their conduct in the world of practice – mindful educators.
These dispositions/habits of mind that make professional conduct more intelligent include
candidates:
• Adopting a critical eye toward ideas and actions (Being Analytical).
• Withholding judgment until understanding is achieved by being thoughtful in
his/her actions. (Managing Impulsivity).
• Working to see things through by employing systematic methods of analyzing
problems (Persisting).
• Thinking about his/her own thinking (Reflective Thoughtfulness).
• Thinking and communicating with clarity and precision (Communicating Accurately).
• Showing curiosity and passion about learning through inquiry (Being Inquisitive).
• Showing a sense of being comfortable in situations where the outcomes are not
immediately known by acting on the basis of his/her initiative and not from needing
a script (Taking Responsible Risks).
• Recognizing the wholeness and distinctiveness of other people’s ways of
experiencing and making meaning by being open-minded (Being Open-minded).
• Taking time to check over work because of his/her being more interested in
excellent work than in expediency (Striving for Accuracy).
• Abstracting meaning from one experience and carrying it forward and applying it to a
new situation by calling on his/her store of past knowledge as a source of data to
solve new challenges (Applying Past Knowledge to New Situations).
• Showing sensitivity to the needs of others and to being a cooperative team
member (Thinking Interdependently), and,
3
, • Showing a sense of care for others and an interest in listening well to others
(Empathic Understanding) (Costa & Kallick, 2004).
Purpose of Course
This course is designed to help candidates integrate social science content knowledge with
pedagogical knowledge in productive ways. Course content and experiences provide candidates
with the opportunity to examine current perspectives, issues, and aspects impacting the social
studies field. It reflects the principle that effective educators create a culture of high expectations
for all students. The course includes content and strategies for effective social science instruction
in diverse settings as well as effective strategies for assessing student’s learning. Candidates
should bring to the course the desire to explore issues from multiple points of view, the
willingness to challenge one’s own values, the commitment to interdisciplinary teaching and
learning, and the courage to believe that everyone can learn.
There is a required field experience component that aligns with course content and
assignments. Students must spend at least 15 hours in a middle or high school setting
spread out over at least three days. Field placements will be arranged by the social studies
department and office of teaching and learning field assignments. Candidates must go
through the process to obtain security clearance to enter local high schools prior to the start
of the semester. It is the candidate’s responsibility to inform the cooperating teacher of
the field requirements as soon as the cooperating teacher is identified
Course Outcomes:
Content Outcomes: Becoming Stewards of the Disciplines (Knowledge): The
students will become familiar with:
1. Terminology, concepts, facts and applications in both the disciplines of the
social sciences and education
2. Various strategies for effective social sciences instruction in the middle and
senior high school in diverse settings
3. National, state, and district curriculum standards and frameworks
4. Various instructional materials, including the computer and other
multimedia technologies, for teaching social sciences
5. Various approaches for assessing and evaluating student progress and
program effectiveness
6. The ways in which students differ and strategies for teaching diverse learners
in middle and high school
Process Outcomes: Reflective Inquirer (Skills) The students will:
7. Apply pedagogical knowledge to social science content knowledge
8. Strengthen critical thinking and decision-making skills by engaging in
reflective reading, planning, and instruction
9. Develop social sciences instructional materials and demonstrate their use in
the classroom
10. Develop and incorporate appropriate assessment and evaluation techniques
in lessons.
11. Determine how to use student performance data to adapt instruction to better
meet students’ needs.
12. Develop a plan for continuous improvement of one’s teaching.
4
