Social Studies Archives - Page 4 of 4

Index

Ang Hui Xia

Social Studies

Structured Academic Controversy for Upper Secondary Social Studies

Author/s:

Ang Hui Xia (Hong Kah Secondary School, Singapore) Keywords Social Studies Secondary School Controversy Structured Academic Controversy Discussion This article will describe the use of Structured Academic Controversy (SAC) as a teaching strategy to help a class of Secondary Three Express students in Social Studies analyse issues from multiple perspectives and to strengthen their explanation, questioning […]

Ang Hui Xia (Hong Kah Secondary School, Singapore)

Keywords
Social Studies
Secondary School
Controversy
Structured Academic Controversy
Discussion

This article will describe the use of Structured Academic Controversy (SAC) as a teaching strategy to help a class of Secondary Three Express students in Social Studies analyse issues from multiple perspectives and to strengthen their explanation, questioning and listening skills.

The SAC lesson was implemented in a class of twenty Secondary Three Express students with above average ability who are able to work well together in a group setting. The duration for the SAC lesson was 70 minutes. It was the first time that they had experienced a SAC lesson. Generally, this class possesses good inference skills and are able to critically analyse sources that are provided to them. However, a quarter of the class tends to be soft-spoken and is reluctant to speak up in class. I decided to adopt the SAC as a teaching strategy for this class as I wanted to provide students who are less vocal an opportunity to speak up in a small group setting. At the same time, I wanted to help other students to be more aware of themselves and others in terms of practising their empathetic listening skills when their classmates are presenting. As SAC focuses on student-centred learning, it helps to promote and strengthen cooperative learning in class, which will help students to create new knowledge in the process.

Importance of Getting Students Prepared before SAC
A two period lesson was conducted prior to the SAC lesson to provide students with a better understanding of the challenges that Singapore faced in fostering social cohesion and maintaining harmony as a multi-ethnic society. Students were directed to engage in self-study using the textbook to find out about the measures that Singapore took to promote social cohesion and maintain harmony. After which, they recorded their key findings into a mind-map. It is essential for students to acquire the pre-requisite knowledge on the controversial issue, apart from their personal experiences, so that they are able to contribute meaningfully and participate in the SAC discussion in a constructive manner.

Download Full Article

Designing Classrooms of the Future Now!

Author/s:

Ron Starker

Ron Starker (Singapore American School) Mark Baildon (National Institute of Education (Singapore)) Keywords Geography History Social Studies Junior College Secondary School Primary School Learning Environments Classroom Design In this article we showcase the work of three teachers in redesigning classroom learning environments to enhance student learning. Through short interview excerpts, a video, and classroom photos we feature […]

Ron Starker (Singapore American School)
Mark Baildon (National Institute of Education (Singapore))

Keywords
Geography
History
Social Studies
Junior College
Secondary School
Primary School
Learning Environments
Classroom Design

In this article we showcase the work of three teachers in redesigning classroom learning environments to enhance student learning. Through short interview excerpts, a video, and classroom photos we feature ten design ideas they used to redesign their classrooms. In the article we also argue that despite lofty rhetoric espousing pedagogical innovation and 21^st century learning, classroom design provides the most visible sign of what schools and educational leaders actually believe and value. We call for greater attention to the ways classroom spaces constrain and enable teaching and learning that can better support important 21^st century educational outcomes.

Introduction
Every year, thousands of educational studies seek to find the best methods and conditions under which students learn. As educators we are constantly looking for ways to adapt new approaches to teaching and learning and improve our teaching methods and curriculum. Many educational leaders call for classroom practice that is more student-centered, innovative, collaborative, inquiry-based or project-based, and for teachers who are empowered to help students develop 21^st century competencies (e.g., see MOE, 2014).

However, school culture can often constrain or inhibit new and innovative classroom practice. Cornbleth (2001) has described different school cultures that often interfere with educational innovation or make teachers reluctant to use innovative instructional strategies. She has described these school cultures as often highly bureaucratic (emphasizing order and control), conservative (to maintain the status quo), and excessively competitive with a great deal of attention given to student testing, accountability, and school rankings. This puts teachers in a sort of double bind in which they receive conflicting messages about the need for innovation while school culture and classroom environments remain quite conservative or place an emphasis on order, accountability, and stasis (Baildon & Sim, 2009).

Download Full Article

How to Help All Students with Evidence-based Reading and Writing During an Inquiry Activity

Author/s:

Jackie

A Postmodern Analysis of a Primary 5 Social Studies Chapter

Author/s:

Brenda Ng

Brenda Ng (Rivervale Primary School, Singapore) Keywords Social Studies Primary School Curriculum Postmodern theory helps us examine how and why particular pasts are constructed, legitimated and disseminated (Segall, 2006). Postmodern theory includes deconstructionism, whereby meaning and values are constructed using binary oppositions that represent certain ideologies and the role of power in the society to privilege […]

Brenda Ng (Rivervale Primary School, Singapore)

Keywords
Social Studies
Primary School
Curriculum

Postmodern theory helps us examine how and why particular pasts are constructed, legitimated and disseminated (Segall, 2006). Postmodern theory includes deconstructionism, whereby meaning and values are constructed using binary oppositions that represent certain ideologies and the role of power in the society to privilege certain terms over others (Khezerloo, 2010). In this article, I use postmodern theory to analyze the Primary 5 Social Studies chapter, “Singapore’s Journey to Self-Government.” I focus on the binary opposites presented in the text, the relevant political and social contexts, and the language used to persuade readers.

The chapter discusses David Marshall’s government, its lack of full control over Singapore’s internal affairs, and the problems it faced due to the lack of support from the British powers and the Communist challenge. In particular, the chapter features the Hock Lee Bus Riots in order to highlight the seriousness of the problems caused by the Communists. The chapter goes on to talk about David Marshall’s quest to gain full internal self-government from Britain through the Merdeka talks. The next section of the chapter highlights Lim Yew Hock succeeding Marshall as Singapore’s Second Chief Minister and the strict measures he took against Communist-led organizations. His tough stand against the Communists pleased the British who granted full internal self-government to Singapore in the 1959 election. Subsequently, the PAP under Lee Kuan Yew emerged victorious with the most votes and formed the new government. The chapter then concludes by explaining the areas of responsibility of the Elected Government and the British Government.

Binary Opposites in the Chapter
A few binary opposites can be identified in the chapter, such as colonialism and communism, the British government and the Singapore government, the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) and other political parties, and lastly, an active government and its passive people. In this section, I focus on two binary opposites: (1) the idea of an active government and a passive people; and (2) the PAP and other political parties.

Active government versus passive people
Hong and Huang (2008) state that Singapore’s history is narrowly focused on leadership struggles that emphasize the triumph of the morally upright PAP over the communists. Focusing on Singapore’s struggle for government, the text presents the government’s perspective and highlights the actions taken at the bureaucratic level to achieve full internal self-government. It neglects the people’s voices and portrays voting as their only passive means of participation in the journey of self-government. The chapter, however, leaves out the issue of how self-government can affect and benefit its people. Notably, despite the absence of the peoples’ voices, a question appears on page 29 asking pupils to discuss how they think the people of Singapore felt during the election rallies in 1959. Given the omission of sources representing different perspectives, it is unlike that primary school pupils would be able to relate to the 1959 experience simply via the official perspective and conduct a meaningful discussion of this issue.

Download Full Article

“Their Minds Must Be Improved to a Certain Degree”: A Learning Cycles Approach to Inquiry

Author/s:

Walter Parker

Parker, Walter (University of Washington) Keywords Social Studies Secondary School Primary School Inquiry Introduction This article introduces a learning cycles model of conducting inquiries with students. It is based on the thinking of philosopher John Dewey (How We Think, 1910) and also on insights from contemporary learning science (e.g., John Bransford et al., How People Learn, […]

Parker, Walter (University of Washington)

Keywords

Introduction

This article introduces a learning cycles model of conducting inquiries with students. It is based on the thinking of philosopher John Dewey (How We Think, 1910) and also on insights from contemporary learning science (e.g., John Bransford et al., How People Learn, 2000). It is applicable in school settings from kindergarten through high school, college, and graduate school; it is also applicable in nonacademic settings: everyday life, at work and play.

This model takes inquiry seriously, which is to say it takes evidence, reasoning, and argumentation seriously. It lets inquiry be what it is: a rigorous, enjoyable, sometimes exhilarating, and, above all, useful process for anyone who deploys it. It is both an intellectual training and an intellectual tool: It is a sharp instrument we use to cut through a problem, but in the process we ourselves are sharpened, too. This is because inquiry is a particular way of being intelligent, a method of intelligence. Furthermore, it is also a literacy training and a literacy tool. This is because writing is its primary medium of communication while reading—close, interpretive reading—is its primary means of perception.

Thomas Jefferson, if I may draw a rough analogy, is the Lee Kuan Yew of American society. Jefferson is responsible for America’s independence from England and helped set the new nation’s early course. I mention him here because he was America’s first great advocate for public education’s role. He wrote, “Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves therefore are its only safe depositories. And to render them safe their minds must be improved to a certain degree. This indeed is not all that is necessary, though it be essentially necessary. An amendment of our constitution must here come in aid of the public education.”

Theory

To “do inquiry” is to use the mind well and, thereby, to improve it. To do inquiry is to read, write, and think critically about something. That something is a problem or curiosity: Why does she not like me? What sorts of people become religious zealots? How long will Singapore’s prosperity last? Will it become more or less democratic? Will the U.S. decline and fall as did Rome? When? Why are small nations so often strong nations? How do you find a ripe pear at the market? Is now the right time to buy an electric car? Can humans learn to live sustainably?

Download Full Article

Authentic Assessment in Social Studies

Author/s:

Janet Alleman

Janet Alleman (Michigan State University) Keywords Social Studies Primary School Assessment Introduction Just when the tendency to ‘measure’ entered education and the schools is not definitely known. We do know, however, that even early teachers including Socrates challenged their students with carefully prepared questions which undoubtedly were used to determine students’ intellectually capacity and abilities to […]

Janet Alleman (Michigan State University)

Keywords
Social Studies
Primary School
Assessment

Introduction
Just when the tendency to ‘measure’ entered education and the schools is not definitely known. We do know, however, that even early teachers including Socrates challenged their students with carefully prepared questions which undoubtedly were used to determine students’ intellectually capacity and abilities to exercise higher order thinking. No outstanding advancements in educational measurement were reported until about the middle of the nineteenth century. By the 1920s, quantitative measurement appeared in literature associated with educational tests and a little later the quality of tests became a part of the conversation. In 1922, the first edition of the Stanford Achievement Test was published. Initially the emphasis was on mastery, however, later attention was directed toward student strengths and weaknesses and the use of data for enhancing the learning process (Loeck, 1952).

Now fast forward to 2012. The discourse about assessment and testing has exploded, primarily due to standards and high stakes testing with a dramatic shift from almost exclusively student performance and accountability to include teacher performance and accountability. In some school districts, teachers have lost their jobs due to poor student performance and in other instances teachers’ salaries are determined, in part, by student performance. While this article will not enter the debate about where the emphasis should be or who is to be praised or blamed, this author advocates a balance and argues that attention to student ongoing assessment correlates with teacher performance if the assessments are multi-facets and aligned with curricular goals and if the results are used to inform planning and modify instruction.

Assessment: Integral Part of the Learning Cycle
Imagine assessment as an integral part of the learning cycle that takes multiple snapshots of each student. The teacher needs a host of data types in order to create a profile of each learner. Think of the profile as telling a story of each student – his/her assets/successes as well as areas that need attention. While the renewed interest in assessment seems to be based on the onslaught of standards and standardized tests, it behooves the teacher to avoid this narrow perspective and instead seize this opportunity to rethink assessment within the content of curricular goals. Consider it in terms of its potential for determining students’ progress in learning, for curricular improvements, for instructional planning, and for grading.

Assessment should be a natural part of teaching and learning with the student in the loop and acquiring skills to self-monitor. Assessment should be ongoing, frequently cast as preliminary formative, and summative. Different forms and times for assessment should be determined according to the purpose of the learning situation, the kind of information sought, and how the assessment will be used to accomplish the subject’s goals. Since assessment is ongoing, many instructional activities can be used as assessment tools. The key is for the teacher to realize the difference between using an activity for teaching (processing information, etc.) and for “testing” a student’s performance.

Download Full Article

HSSE Online

Index

Ang Hui Xia

Authors List

Authors List

Structured Academic Controversy for Upper Secondary Social Studies

Designing Classrooms of the Future Now!

How to Help All Students with Evidence-based Reading and Writing During an Inquiry Activity

A Postmodern Analysis of a Primary 5 Social Studies Chapter

“Their Minds Must Be Improved to a Certain Degree”: A Learning Cycles Approach to Inquiry

Authentic Assessment in Social Studies

HSSE Online

HSSE Online