Content Area Teaching Assignment - Research Paper Example

Content Area Teaching Assignment Social studies is a discipline which deals with a variety of s relevant to human behavioral responses to events in history or even during the modern times. History, be it world history or history of a specific region or civilization, has always been of profound interest to the social scientists, as history is the basis for policy development or even strategization. However, a lot of instructors have now been complaining that the students, especially those acquiring a elementary education, have lost interest in subjects related to history and rather find studying it as boring and monotonous (Pangrazi 12). However, this paper aims at stressing the flaws in the education system and teaching practices which contribute to the loss of interest amongst the students. The paper will focus on at least three web lessons, which would then be taken as a reference to explain how the teaching practices can be improved and the students’ motivation increased. One of the most important topics of study in world history is the relations between the superpowers – the relations marked by the cold war; this is an essential course for almost all students enrolled for elementary education level courses. For this reason, a lesson designed for students from Grade 9-12 will be taken as a reference; it has been published by the Oregon Public Broadcasting1. Apparently, the chapter has been designed in a very appealing yet credible manner for the students to become aware of the origins and major concepts relevant to the cold war. The chapter has been effectively divided into headings and subheadings to enhance the interest of the students in the content. The chapter opens with the narration describing how the US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which began what is termed as the cold war era. The chapter also in the latter sections stresses the military and strategic dimensions of the motives behind the bombings, and explains how this event was the beginning of the cold war. Moreover, the chapter explains the policy of containment followed by the US in response to the policy of expansionism being pursued by the Soviet Union. It also stresses important dates where several events took place, explains how the concept of iron curtain was introduced and was a sole reason behind the origins of war. Moreover, this chapter sheds light on some of the reports which are crucial in this context. Though this is a well quoted and a well explained chapter, some of the students may find in monotonous and rather boring if not taught in an engaging manner. For this reason, some of the recommendations can prove to be of great help. Firstly, the use of images can portray a clear idea for the students for what is being implied. For instance, a graphic with “origins” being placed in the middle can have branches dividing the origins into agreements, changes in relations, strategic reasons, etc; and can help give a clear idea to the students. Thus, once the students have an idea in mind, they will be more interested in the details. Also, the students of this new generation are engaged in the daily use of new and modern tools, and the instructors should make use of these tools to make education interesting. For instance, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube are some of the mediums where students spend most of their time. Thus, teachers can ask students to create interesting memes about any event during cold war they like, after which a Facebook competition between the entire class can take place to choose the best meme; this way the students will automatically do some background research on the events, which will make the course interesting for them. Similarly, the teacher can hold a Tweetathon on Twitter amongst students to quote interesting facts about the war; this will also enhance the interest of the students and they will take learning more like extra-curricular activities. Another important history lesson which is also often taught at elementary level to students is one on Italian Renaissance. Sparknotes.com offers great explanation of such topics, for both students and teachers, and is often used as a source for teaching by the instructors as it can even be cited. The chapter on Renaissance is also a well-organized one – it starts off with the summary and then moves on to each era with all the relevant dates and essential content, which is quite helpful for technically anyone researching on the topic. This era is basically marked by the fourteenth, fifteenth, and even sixteenth century, when some of the most distinguished artists and painters like Di Vinci contributed – which is appreciated even today. This was the era of intellectual cultivation when the most reputable scholars and philosophers lived; they took a shift away from godly appraisals to everything which existed. This period has been explained in the text of the Sparknotes.com very conveniently, with details of every period, which is significant in this regard. Though this source is quite an enriching resource for education, the teachers can still alter their teaching methodologies and tools to further meet the interests of the students. With internet being such a valuable resource, the instructors can offer a virtual tour to the places which are most significant in this context, after which the teachers can ask the students to write an account of an event which may have taken place at that location of tour. Also, the teachers can plan an interesting play for the students to make them aware of the complicated plots being characteristic of that era. Also, elementary level education resources like mrdowling.com may be helpful, as the complex ideas can be explained in simple words with lively images of interest to the students. Youtube.com can turn out to be a very helpful resource in this regard, as it contains very interesting animated and other well documented videos, which the students will be very fascinated to explore (Graham 65). Another lesson, which is the most pressing one in world history and is essentially taught to all elementary level students, is the French revolution. There are various sources from where this very subject can be taught, but for the reference a very well quoted lesson is the one available on faculty.ucc.edu, which compiles the relevant material in the form of a summary which can be used to teach the students. This reference can be considered as a database of all the important dates and events that took place. Basically, French revolution began when King Louis XVI took over at a very young age, and the death of King Louis XV and the Queen`s lavish spending left the economy of France in economic turmoil. The people belonging to the third estate, i.e. the ordinary people, fought a bloody civil war to acclaim their rights, and once they overthrew the first and second states, the great Napoleon Bonaparte became a notable person as he was a great military leader (“French Revolution”). Since this topic contains many complicated themes, which can be quite tricky to absorb for elementary level students, certain strategies need to be incorporated to enhance learning for the students. In this regard, the art of storytelling is very important, as it would be quite monotonous for a student to learn a web of dates and a timeline of events. Rather, if the content is narrated in the form of a story, it would be much more impactful. Also, a chart explaining the importance of each event, in the form of a graphical representation of the events, can also be of great use. Also, the significance of social media and internet should also not be undermined in this context. Websites like Facebook.com can turn out to be a great discussion forum, which can be connected to an official blog, which the class can use. As an activity, the instructor can ask all students to contribute to the blog in the form of text or graphical contributions, by which future generations can also benefit. Online resources like neok12.com and abookintime.com can also be of great help in this regard, as the students would most definitely love to explore these sources. Therefore, teaching methods should also be updated to sync with the changing needs of time, as students’ modes of engagement are now changing. Since students now love to utilize internet for all kinds of activities, if education is also imparted via this medium, learning will be fun for them and, consequently, its quality will increase. The instructor should ensure that the strategy used for imparting education is an interactive one, where the student not only engages and initiates conversations but also projects, which might turn into long-term visions for these students. Lesson Plans Strengths Weakness Best approaches connected to the concept Worst approaches Quantitative information Qualitative information They help to cover a lot of issues such as boredom It limits the teacher since he or she has to teach on the specified topic Use of Facebook and Youtube Repeating same issue without putting students’ opinions in mind A lot of students take part in observation Interviews It helps the intended topics to be covered in time It drives the students to be focused only on what is being taught Use of narrations Teacher-centered approach Researches on the Internet Analysis of the people who are against them It helps the students to grasp what they are being taught It makes topics to be covered in a hurry; therefore, less is done Use of Images Being complicated and intense Assessment of students It is boring Make it simple No planning Teachers to give their views on what should be done It is monotonous Adequate planning No connection with the learners Evaluation Students easily lose interest Give a summary of what is to be covered, then content Individual interaction with the teacher Contingency Rotation of teachers Adequate teaching and learning materials Concepts Key concept Related teaching Learning ideas connected to the concept Method s Social Studies Super power Questions in class Internet History Italian Renaissance Projects Human behavior French revolution Discussions Researches Students assessment Drama Being objective Proper planning Works Cited Pangrazi, Robert P., and Victor P. Dauer. Dynamic Physical Education for Elementary School Children. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1995. Print. SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on Italian Renaissance (1330-1550)”. SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. n.d. Web. 10 Jul. 2012. “French Revolution”. Faculty.ucc. n.p., n.d. Web. 13 July 2012. . Graham, George, Shirley A. Holt/Hale, and Melissa Parker. Children Moving: A Reflective Approach to Teaching Physical Education. Mountain View, Calif: Mayfield Pub. Co, 1993. Print. "Educational Videos, Lessons and Games for K-12 School Kids." NeoK12. n.p., n.d. Web. 13 July 2012. . Read More