SUCCESSFUL STRATEGIES FOR SOCIAL STUDIES TEACHING AND LEARNING

F I V E P R I N C I P L E S O F T E A C H I N G O F E F F E C T I V E T E A C H I N G A N D L E A R N I N G

Education for Learners with Special

Needs

 - Means the special educational arrangements

which are in place for people with disabilities.

All children including children with disabilities

and children with special needs.

Foundations for Effective Instruction

- Treat students with the same respect you expect

from them, keep confidences.

- Get to know your students. Learn their names

quickly and recognize his or her individual qualities..

- Be fair, positive, and consistent. Be the kind of

person young people can like and trust – firm, fair,

friendly, courteous, enthusiastic, and confident.

Admit your mistakes and keep your sense of humor..

- Let the students know you care. Determine

jointly with the class what is and isn’t acceptable

in terms of behavior and achievement.

- Begin class on time and in a businesslike

manner. Have routines to follow each day as

students enter and leave your room.

Strategies for Collaboration

- There are three essential strategies for collaboration.

They are: focus on results, shape relationships, and

structure for resilience. Use of these key strategies

will enable your collaboration to move quickly and

respond effectively to changing environments. Next, the

module will help you examine how to apply these key

strategies to help your collaboration make decisions,

accomplish tasks, and work through problems.

Results - Many grant programs focus on the results that projects will

have specific to their target population. In AFL grantee’s case those

populations are adolescents and their families, which is undoubtedly

very important. However, if you do not have specific objectives you

want to accomplish to help the system improve, then all you have

achieved could be forgotten. Keeping the larger picture in mind is vital.

As you and your partners come together to discuss desired outcomes, it

will become clearer how your collaborative can actually accomplish

your goal. Following are some key components for determining your

desired results and moving your partnership forward.

Relationships - Entering into collaboration also means you are

entering into a relationship with another agency. Some of the

ways you can go about strengthening your relationship is to

build trust. To build trust, each agency will need to discuss their

self-interest. What do they want to get out of the collaboration

and what will make the collaboration a success for all involved?

Defining and clarifying roles within the collaboration and

building a communication plan are also important elements to

building the relationship between agencies.

Resilience - Resilience is the capacity to

keep on doing the work throughout the life

of the program. Some people use the word

“sustainability” 

Written Language

Will be concerned with linguistic, psycholinguistic, educational and

sociolinguistic accounts of the structure and functions of written

language, the processes and acquisition of reading and writing, and

the use and development of literacy in different social and cultural

settings. The journal focuses on scientific reports in areas such as

theoretical linguistics and cognitive models of written language

processes, reading and writing in educational contexts and in

literacy campaigns, literacy and technology, and literacy as a

marker relating to gender, ethnicity, and class.

Study Skills

study skills must be practiced in order for you to improve. It is

not enough to simply "think about" studying; you have to actually

do it, and in the process use information from what you do to get

better. This is the central idea of this page. All that follows

depends on this single concept. There is a saying that goes like

this: "Practice doesn't make perfect; perfect practice makes

perfect." If you want to be an achiever, take this saying to heart.

DIRECT INSTRUCTION STRATEGIES

Instructional Principle: When teachers

explain exactly what students are expected to

learn, and demonstrate the steps needed to

accomplish a particular academic task,

students learn more.

Direct instruction rejects (or at least sets aside)

the assumption that students will spontaneously

develop insights on their own. Rather, direct

instruction takes learners through the steps of

learning systematically, helping them see both the

purpose and the result of each step. The basic

components of direct instruction are:

1.Setting clear goals for

students and making sure

they understand these goals.

2.Presenting a sequence of

well-organized assignments.

3.Giving students clear,

concise explanations and

illustrations of the subject

matter.

4. Asking frequent

questions to see if the

students understand the

work.

5. Giving students frequent

opportunities to practice

what they have learned.

Direct Instruction

- best to use when teaching knowledge acquisition involving facts,

rules, and action sequences

- teacher-centered (teacher provides information, facts, rules, action

sequences)

- teacher is lecturer (most often)

- common form: lecture-recitation with explanations, examples, and

opportunities for practice and feedback

- instructional methods: lecture, collaboration

- uses the first three of Bloom’s taxonomy: Knowledge,

Comprehension, and Application

- largely verbal, lecture and teacher-student

question/answer practice for understanding

- steps: present objectives and goals (may use a set

induction), present content sequentially in small steps (may

use a graphic organizer), model skills or processes with

specific and concrete methods (use an advanced organizer

to access prior knowledge), check for understanding before

moving from one point to the next (with corrective

feedback), ask students questions and have them

summarize in their own words or re-teach a partner (give

period practice and feedback)

- full-class instruction

- organize learning around questions you pose

- provide detailed and redundant practice

- present material sequentially so students can

master a new fact or rule before moving on

- classroom is formally arranged to facilitate

recitation and assessment during practice

When to use: If there is a workbook and

textbook that help student practice, you

would more likely use direct instruction if

the material within required much breaking

down or subdividing the material. Another

reason is to spark student’s interest (ie if

they think the textbook looks boring): make

it relevant to real-life or explain any

questions or misunderstandings they have.

In order for students to master learning they

need additional instruction from the teacher

to give clarity to the information and to

ensure their comprehension of it.

INDIRECT INSTRUCTION STRATEGIES

Indirect Instruction- Indirect means that the learner acquires a

behavior indirectly by transforming, or

constructing, the stimulus material into

meaningful response or behavior that differs

from both (1) the content being used to

present the learning and (2) any previous

response given by the student

- best to use when teaching concepts,

abstractions, or patterns

- best to use when the learning process is

inquiry-based, the result is discovery, and the

learning context is a problem

- student-centered (student is an interactive

participant)

- teacher is facilitator

- small group instruction

- instructional methods: discovery learning,

cooperative learning, all student-guided

- uses all parts of Bloom’s taxonomy including

Analysis, Synthesis, and Evaluation

- Indirect instruction involves: organizing content,

inductive and deductive reasoning, examples and

non-examples, student experiences, questions,

student’s self-evaluation, and group discussion

When not to use: When objectives other than

learning facts, rules, or behavior sequences are

desired, direct instruction would be less efficient

than inquiry or problem-solving strategies. Direct

instruction relates more to lower levels of Bloom’s

taxonomy. Do not use if students already have a

grasp of lower-level learning concepts of the topic.

OBSERVATIONS ON INDIRECT STRATEGIES

Inductive Instructional

Approaches: 1. Inductive

Instructional Approaches the

inductive instructional approaches

can be used to help students

inductively process information.

Specific strategies for inductive

approaches include: Concept

attainment Inquiry lessons: project or

problem Projects, reports

Concept Attainment:  Concept

Attainment Concept attainment is a process

where students are given positive and

negative examples of an issue. Based on the

examples, the students form a hypothesis

that names the issue. More examples of

positive and negative are given. Students

eliminate some hypotheses that are not

appropriate.

Inquiry Lessons (problem

or project based learning): 

Inquiry Lessons (problem or

project based learning)

Students are given a question

or problem to solve. Based on

their prior knowledge and

guidance from the teacher,

they form a hypothesis.

Students gather data to prove

or disprove their hypotheses.

The data is analyzed to form a

strategy or answer.

Projects, reports:  Projects, reports Provide these

guidelines to ensure student success in giving oral reports:

Select a topic Research the topic at the library and on the

internet Decide on a thesis and find evidence to back up

your thesis statement Create a written outline on paper

Write notes to yourself on paper or on index cards on the

main points of the report Practice speaking the report to

yourself Practice the oral report in front of a mirror

Practice the oral report in front of a friend or family

member Select the appropriate attire for giving the oral

report Give the oral report with your notes in hand.

Social Instructional Approaches:  2. Social

Instructional Approaches These approaches are

interpersonal. They include strategies such as:

Discussions Cooperative Learning Panels and

Debates Role playing Simulations & Games

Roles within the group help keep

students accountable and on task. :  Roles

within the group help keep students

accountable and on task. Some roles or jobs

can include: Group facilitator Materials

manager Recorder Reporter Thinking monitor

Group rules might include:  Group rules

might include: You are responsible for your

own behavior and your own work. You must be

willing to help any group member who asks.

You may only ask the teacher for help when

everyone else in your group has the same

question. (This one helps students resolve

problems and not come to the teacher for every

issue)

Successful groups include the following

elements:  Successful groups include the

following elements: Group goals: the success of

the group depends on the efforts of all the

members: promotes a caring environment where

students help another learn. Individual

accountability: students are individually

responsible for learning material Equal

opportunity: interpersonal and communication

skills that promote successful group interaction.

Dryad (paired learning) is a form of

cooperative group learning. :  Dryad (paired

learning) is a form of cooperative group

learning. Peer tutoring – one classmate tutors

another Cross-age coaching – one student

coached by another from a higher grade level

Think-pair-share – two students examine a new

concept about to be studied Team learning –

students study and learn in teams of two

Flexible Grouping for the delivery of instruction is

the cornerstone of appropriate differentiation for the

gifted student as well as all students. The use of

Flexible Grouping assures Success for Every Student.

: Flexible Grouping for the delivery of instruction is the

cornerstone of appropriate differentiation for the gifted

student as well as all students. The use of Flexible

Grouping assures Success for Every Student.

Panels and Debates:  Panels and Debates Panels:

In a panel discussion, a small group acts as experts

to answer the questions of the people in the larger

group. In a classroom setting, students are selected

to become experts on a topic and are given at least a

day to prepare for the discussion. Panel discussions

can also be held using outside experts. Debates are

arguments carried out according to agree upon rules

and used in the classroom to engage students and

help them make connections to the curriculum.

Great Debates

Role Playing:  Role Playing Helps explore and

increase understanding of feelings and/or actions

Teacher provides background information that

explains the situation to be role played, identifies and

describes the roles that are needed, and sets the

stage for the role play Set up area and do the role

play Teacher then leads the reflection of the role play

SIMULATIONS & GAMES

Simulations & Games Promote problem solving and decision making in a seemingly real-life situation Provide the opportunity for students to experience consequences of their choices Can be purchased: example: www.interact-simulations.com

Independent Instructional Approaches: 

3. Learning centers and stations Contracts and

independent work, Independent Instructional

Approaches

Learning centers & stations:  Learning

centers & stations Centers can be an excellent

method for teaching students effectively. They:

Enhance student response. Provide a less

intimidating environment Allow teacher s to

focus on specific areas of study. Allow students

to work independently on a specific skill can

reinforce, a skill introduce new concepts, or

provide motivation. Can be used in any area of

study.

KARYLLE HONEYBEE

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