Digital Primary Sources

Digital primary sources are useful resources for teachers and students. Primary sources can be difficult to use with students because it is hard for them to connect to the material. Students often struggle to understand the significance behind a document or picture. The opportunity to use them through a digital context will help to engage students as there are more opportunities to help scaffold students’ knowledge. For example, digital primary sources can be displayed in ways that are more engaging and the teacher can edit parts of the resource that might confuse students. Teachers can also transcibe the digital primary resource so that students can read them. Ultimately, the teacher wants to help students extract the important information from the primary source. The accessibility of digital primary sources is unbelievable. It is easy to obtain pictures, songs, photos, posters, letters, etc. While this is an obvious strength, teachers need to make sure to have a focus in mind when retrieving these sources and using them in the classroom.

I have and will continue to incorporate digital primary sources in my teaching. In the past, I included digital primary sources in the Power Points that I use during my lectures. It is helpful to include them while you are going over a topic because they provide students with a visual representation (ie. a picture of a protest to help understand a student movement). I have also located newspapers from digital primary source websites and had students look at advertisements from certain time periods. This is useful as it helps students understand what kinds of items people were buying during different time periods in history (which can lead to discussions about culture, economy, etc). Digital primary sources, if utilized correctly, can humanize social studies for students and help them connect to the material. Overall, they are excellent resources that should be utilized in the classroom!

Tolerant Classroom

I am a huge advocate for the creation of the “tolerant classroom”. I believe that it is vital for student success and establishes an ideal learning and teaching environment. Tolerant classrooms are valuable because they allow students to express their opinions, learn from others and work together without fear of ridicule. I believe that students will not learn if they are not comfortable. Tolerant classrooms give students comfort, security and trust (with other students as well as the teacher) which will enable them to actively engage in discussion and activities.

In my first two years of teaching, I tried to create this environment but I found it to be harder than expected. Upon reflection I realize that an essential component of a tolerant classroom is consistent classroom management. Consistency was something that I struggled with as a new teacher. I found myself constantly changing classroom rules and expectations as I learned what did and did not work. Unfortunately, if the rules are constantly changing then the students will not learn to adjust their behavior. As a result, when I tried to have an open discussion about controversial issues it would often result in ridicule, put-downs and bullying from other students. After several class periods, which resulted in inappropriate comments, I found myself steering away from discussing controversial topics simply because it was to hard to manage.. My inexperience and lack of consistent behavior expectations prevented me from creating the tolerant classroom and open atmosphere that I wanted to create.

My goal is to teach a class where the students can challenge each other in a respectful way. I want the students to be able to share their opinions about topics. Most importantly, I want to be able to teach and discuss controversial issues because they provide valuable learning opportunities. The Teachers’ Curriculum Institute provides great approaches that will help to establish an open and engaged learning environment. One of the strategies that TCI incorporates is the value of teaching basic student skills. For example, one approach is on the importance of teaching students how to work effectively in groups of different sizes. I realize that teaching these skills will take time away from my curriculum at the beginning of the year; however; ultimately I think they will be beneficial as they will allow me to carry out activities (such as discussion) effectively and efficiently.

Social Studies Autobiography

I do not think I understood who I really was until I experienced my first year of teaching. Before I began my career in education I felt confident in myself and what I valued. I never questioned, however, where those values came from or how that influenced my decisions. My values are centered around my belief in the importance of education. I grew up in an environment where school and academics were the priority. I received assistance and guidance from my parents as they set the foundation for working hard to achieve my goals. When I went into teaching I felt confident going into schools as I believed that I could help every student understand and value education. I was disappointed when I could not reach every student. I think this is why teaching, especially the first year, can be so difficult. Whether I wanted to or not working with students forced met to answer questions that I might not otherwise have answered about myself. Through teaching, I began to understand how my culture, socioeconomic background and experiences in school influenced my own philosophies. In addition, I learned that these influences will inevitably create differences between other students and myself. I believe that awareness of these differences is vital in order to be an effective teacher to every type of student and learner.

My two years of teaching experience has allowed me to develop my philosophy of education which has at its core some fundamental beliefs. Some of these beliefs include the idea that a teacher has a responsibility not only to speak knowledge but also to provoke learners to think. I believe that all human beings and thus students are essentially good and capable of learning pending the right conditions. Since students are constantly changing and come from different backgrounds I believe that knowledge is cultural and therefore a human construction. As a constructivist I agree that multiculturalism is an essential and mandatory asset to the curriculum. Most importantly I believe that teachers should develop a strong consensus of their beliefs because it will ultimately account for purposeful decisions regarding what and how to teach.

My love for teaching is highlighted by my enthusiasm for the content that I teach. Social studies is a subject that I value as it studies human interactions. It involves teaching about different cultures, perspectives and ideas which can be made relevant to every student In the past I have encountered social studies teachers who only emphasize rote memorization of facts. While I do not underestimate the value in learning fundamental facts, I believe that an effective social studies teacher connects the material to the student. As a social studies teacher I hope to promote students to think critically about what has happened in the past so they can make decisions about the future. I believe that social studies teachers should have a passion for their subject. I think this is important because it has an impact on how you teach. Students will feed off of your enthusiasm about a topic. I also believe that social studies teachers should have a desire to work and connect with students. It is important for teachers to understand the cognitive and developmental stages of students in order to teach the material. In the classroom a teacher will inevitabily encounter diverse learners and multiple intelligences. In order to be an effective social studies teacher, I believe he or she should be knowledgeable about learning styles and desire to promote learning for all students.