Teaching+for+Meaningful+Learning+in+Social+Studies

Teaching for Meaningful Learning in Social Studies _e_X_Pl~!t:JyoP,rcw~VJInfY't:Jducfton _ Read the following sample passage, which is similar to those found in some fifthgrade social studies textbooks. Several important explorers were sent by different countries in Europe to find a route to the Far East that was shorter than sailing from Europe around Africa. They came to the New World, even though they were trying to find the Far East. Some of these explorers were Christopher Columbus, John Cabot, Ferdinand Magellan, and Jacques Cartier. In 1492, Christopher Columbus was the first of these explorers to try to find a route to the Far East by sailing west across the Atlantic Ocean from Europe. Instead of finding the Far East, he explored the Caribbean and the coasts of Central and South America. Five years after Columbus's first voyage to the New World, John Cabot sailed west across the Atlantic Ocean, but farther north than Columbus. He explored parts of eastern Canada, thinking he was in Asia. He tried again on another voyage and ended up in Greenland. Later, in 1519, Ferdinand Magellan sailed across the Atlantic Ocean, heading west and south with five ships, and was able to sail all the way around South America to the Pacific Ocean. He crossed the Pacific and landed in the Philippines, where he died. But one of his ships got back to its home port in Spain, managing to go all around the world. In the mid- 1500s Jacques Cartier left France to find China by traveling northwest across the Atlantic Ocean. He explored the St. Lawrence River, but did not get to the Far East. Respond to the following questions. 1. What is the main idea ofthis passage? 2. Does this passage provide conditions that encourage student thinking in social studies? Why or why not? 3. What additions can you suggest that might motivate students to use higherorder thinking skills and understand the concept more meaningfully? Your response to questions 2 and 3 should include a consideration· of further concerns. The goal of a social studies lesson on the efforts of Europeans to find a shorter route to the Far East involves several ideas. One is that resources that were much desired and expensive in Europe, such as spices, were to be found in abundance in the Far East. Another is that through lots of experimentation and testing, Europeans had developed sailing ships that could manage a long and dif-. ficult journey. AB we consider this passage and any other topic we plan to teach, it is important to consider some questions: How can teachers help students learn important social studies content so that it is meaningful to them? What social studies teaching procedures are based on an understanding of how students learn? How would you begin the lesson? What would you do next? How would you end the lesson? The planning, design, and implementation of your social studies lessons should demonstrate answers to these basic concerns and questions. Teachers strive to increase meaningful learning in social studies and to help students correct their alternative conceptions about the social world. This chapter focuses on how teachers plan lessons facilitating students' meaningful learning of social studies, developing an awareness, appreciation for, and ability to make decisions and participate successfully in everyday life (National Council for the Social Studies, 1994b). Teaching social studies effectively requires teachers to help students know, for themselves; how to obtain information and use it to make decisions supporting a democratic society. How do students begin to learn about their social world in a meaningful way? How can teachers create conditions that help students learn powerful social studies content so that it will be meaningful to them? How can teachers structure social studies lessons to apply what is known about how students learn? These questions form the focus of this chapter. As you read and respond to this chapter, you will be provided with a flexible structure for developing lessons. The same lesson structure can be applied to learning all levels and types of social studies information and inquiry skills and to developing attitudes, values, and morals. 1. Explain the importance of understanding students' prior knowledge about the social studies content and skills to be taught. 2. Describe the effect of prior knowledge on learning new social studies knowledge. 3. Explain how rote memory learning of social studies differs from meaningful social studies learning. 4. Describe how students begin to understand social studies content, skills, attitudes, and dispositions. 5. Describe a planning strategy that can be used to facilitate meaningful social studies learning. 6. Select activities for the various phases of a powerful social studies lesson. 7. Describe the essential parts of each phase of the learning cycle. 8. Explain why each phase of the learning cycle lesson must be included for successful student learning. 9. Construct appropriate activities for each phase of the learning cycle lesson. How Is Social Studies Best Taught in Today's Classrooms? Social studies educators have long advocated that students must form meaning in their own minds by their own active efforts (Fraenkel, 1977; Saunders, 1992; Taba, 1967). Meaning cannot be pushed or poured into the mind by someone else. The meaning of cooperation with others, the process of identifying types of governments, the understanding of why citizens should vote, are examples of the range of social studies knowledge for which students must develop their own conception. To do so, students must work with so~ial studies ideas until these ideas mean something to them. Teachers facilitate meaningful learning by planning and using social studies experiences that engage students in working through social studies ideas in their own minds. Development: Applying What We Know about Meaningful Learning to Social Studies Curriculum When confronted with a new idea in social studies, a student generally responds in a learning sequence that begins with recalling prior knowledge of a seemingly related idea or skill. Then, the student makes observations of the context in which the problem is set. Next, the student attempts to solve the problem. Most of these early actions result in confusion and even failure at understanding the new idea. However, if the teacher has set up conditions that enable the student work toward understanding, the sequence of activities in the lesson will help the student solve the problem and generate the satisfaction that comes with solving a problem. Meaningful social studies learning is an active construction process. It creates a network of experiences, ideas, and relationships that educators call knowledge. Figure 2.1 illustrates the experiences students have as they construct their knowledge, skills, and attitudes in social studies. Starting with the earliest experiences in life, social studies idea t that is combined / with new "'"r''' I-Ex-p-er-ie-n-ce-~i'"" Leading to changes in the old idea Creating opportunities for incorporating more experiences with the social studies idea I Experience -II Experience -\,1Experience Experience Leading to a more complete, accurate social studies idea -F--I-G--U---R--E2-.-1- Knowledge Network of Experiences and Ideas leading to a Person's Current Social Studies Idea we begin building ever more complex networks of social studies knowledge. Meaningful social studies learning is a process of integrating and building various social studies ideas by adding, modifying, and connecting relationships between ideas. Making relationships also includes the abilities to explain, predict, and apply social studies information to many events (National Council for the Social Studies, 19948:). Learn'ing SOClat S\unl~1;Th.'B'a~\user:aarth521\.\~\''lJ,user:aarth521%<i <iuser:aarth521\\.<il;l<, m..the Qrior knowledge the learner brings to a situation, whether the learner's attention is focused on the ideas being presented, and the mental and physical actions oflearners as they interact with events, people, and objects during instruction. The following are conditions teachers put into place to facilitate learning in social studies: • Concepts (e.g., change and continuity) • Generalizations (e.g., predicting relationships between the amount of diversity in a society and the degree of potential conflicts that might be found among its people) • Higher-level thinking skills (e.g., social studies inquiry skills, such as classifying different political positions, and higher skills, such as critical thinking, decision making, and problem solving) • Attitudes and dispositions about the social world (e.g., willingness to suspend judgment until a sufficient amount of evidence is available to form a reasonable conclusion) Using Behavioral Learning Theory in Social Studies Instruction Teaching for active learning differs from traditional and behavioral orientations to social studies teaching. Traditional teaching views knowledge as transmitted by the teacher or textbook. When the teacher asks questions or gives an assignment, it is primarily to find out whether students have received the message. Such traditional social studies teaching is viewed as transmission and begins with the teacher or textbook presenting summarized information the student is expected to "recite" at a later time. Sometimes, this telling is followed by a highly teacherguided activity designed to show the "truth" of the information. Telling students that cities are often located on rivers or asking them to repeat the definition of a city are examples of the traditional transmission view of instruction. The transmission view of the social studies curriculum is focused on a list of items to be transmitted, a catalog offacts. Traditional teaching uses strategies that enhance memorization and recall. Students often enjoy memorizing facts they view as useful. The issue is whether the goal of the social studies curriculum is committing to memory a list of facts or whether it is meaningful learning that enables individuals to personally explain relationships and decide how to be involved with social events in ways that are consistent with their values and those of their culture. A traditional program centered on memorizing facts does not encourage students to find meaning in what they are learning, nor does it help them make and test their decisions. Memorization is useful for recalling facts such as that 50 states make up the United States or that the name of one type of government is monarchy. But if students do not understand the meaning of those facts, they cannot connect them to form a bigger idea. Teaching social studies in this way fails to make connections with what a student already knows about the world. Direct teaching narrows learning objectives and limits social studies learning to the particular solution explained. When direct instruction dominates lessons, teachers often find it necessary to devote much attention to motivating and disciplining students because students can become bored and distracted rather than engaged in social studies learning. Teaching for meaningful learning does not replace all traditional strategies. Traditional social studies methods and behavioral teaching methods are appropriate for encouraging the recall and comprehension of information and the initial teaching of skills, that is, spelling social studies words, identifying names of presidents, citing an example of a propaganda technique in a commercial, learning to measure distance on a map, or recording data from a survey on a chart or graph. Traditional teaching is sometimes appropriate, but it deserves a small portion of students' and teachers' time and efforts. An Effective Strategy to Assist Students in Conceptual Change Social studies knowledge begins when the learner actively works with events found in everyday life, both in and out of a classroom. It is saved in the learner's mind as a new construction made from sensory information obtained in the world and reconstructions of prior knowledge. For meaningful learning to occur in school, classroom experiences must first be perceived by students. Then, students mentally reconstruct the perception in their minds. This representation is transformed by each student to fit his or her own prior knowledge. Figure 2.2 illustrates the mental processes involved in meaningful learning. Conceptual change occurs when students change their concepts. This is not easy to do. Students form their existing ideas from the experiences they have had. Student perceives stimulus that has been encountered I Application I Application I Application Lr--- Student explores the stimulus and the resources from which it comes Student expands the meaning of the learning experience by applying what has been learned elsewhere L.-- Student examines and gathers evidence from the resources .-J Student has experienced meaningful learning Lr---J Student organizes evidence and interprets it so it has meaning .F--I-G--U--R--E2--..2- The Processof Meaningful Learning during a Social Studies Lesson These ideas make sense to them. They do not give up their ideas without being convinced that the new idea is better and more useful in their lives. So teachers involve students' in meaningful social studies activities that foster conceptual change. They plan lessons that • Motivate students to recall related prior knowledge • Connect the new social studies idea to students' prior knowledge • Allow students to compare and confront their prior knowledge with the new social studies idea • Encourage students to use metacognition, to think about their own thinking (Costa, 2002; Pintrich, Marx, & Boyle, 1993) Go to the Mount Vernon website (www.mountvernon.org).Click the Mount Vernon virtual tour and complete the online tour. Return to the homepage. Click "Dig Into George!" and then select "Biography." As you read the biography, consider the pictures used. Do the pictures convey a sense of George Washington's world at the time of his presidency and the 10 to 20 years following it? The learning sequence represented in the lesson on scale uses a research-based teaching strategy called the learning cycle that is effective in planning social studies lessons that promote conceptual change and increase students' powerful and meaningful learning (Sunal, Sunal, & Haas, 1996; Sunal & Sunal, 1999). The learning-cycle approach is designed to sequence the key elements, or conditions, implied by constructivist learning theory so that all students: • Become aware of their prior knowledge • Compare a new social studies idea to their prior knowledge • Confront their prior knowledge as they encounter a new social studies idea • Resolve their confrontation by constructing their "new" social studies idea • Connect the new social studies idea to what they already know • Apply and transfer the new social studies idea in novel situations (see Table 2.1 on page 37) (Appleton & Asoko, 1996) Because the learning cycle incorporates these constructivist elements, it is better able to foster meaningful learning in social studies than are traditional teaching approaches. The carefully selected active experiences of the exploratory introduction phase ofthe learning cycle enable students to become more aware oftheir own reasoning. As this occurs, they recognize shortcomings in their prior knowledge. During the lesson development phase ofthe learning cycle, students are engaged in experiences that enable them to search more effectively for new patterns in their Grade Level: Fourth or Fifth NCSSStandards: People, Places, and Environment This learning cycle on scale is an example of a lesson plan promoting meaningful learning by students by incorporating strategies for conceptual change. Materials: For each group, provide two objects that are the same except for size(e.g., two blocks of wood with one larger than a half sheet of paper and one smaller) and three half-sheets of drawing paper per student. 1. Students identify reducing the scale of two objects as a means by which both can be drawn on paper that is too small to draw both at full scale. 1. Placestudents in small groups. Havea group materials manager get drawing paper and two objects that are the same except for size. Give students the task of drawing the smaller object on the half sheet of paper. Then, ask students to draw the bigger object. 2. Discussthe problems that arose. Ask, "Is there any way you can think of to draw both of these on just one half sheet of paper?" Discuss. 3. Ask students to tryout their ideas on another sheet of paper. Discussresults of their efforts. 1. Reviewfinal drawings to determine whether they (a) reduced both objects to a smaller size in their drawings and (b) used the same scalefor both objects, using a checklist to identify successful students in each task. Materials: Provide pairs with 5 to 7 sheets of graph paper, plain paper, wood block or other square object (6 x 6 inches), scissors,and glue 1. Students defi ne scale asa ratio where one square represents more squares (e.g.,1 to 5). 1. Usecommon classroom materials, such as pencils and books, to discuss differences in size as a common aspect found among many ordinary objects. 2. Refer back to the exploratory introduction problem, reviewing solutions tried. 3. Assign pairs. Give each pair a sheet of graph paper and a wood block. Ask the pair to position the wood block so its sides are on lines. Havethe students draw the outline of the block, count the squares within it, and write down the number found. Have them cut out the square outlined and glue it to a piece of paper. 1. On a checklist, record whether students produced a scaled drawing of an object that is larger than their sheet of graph paper and identified the scale used. ~ - .' continued' '. ;' ., . . . . 2. Students draw the same object in two different scales. 4. Have the students cut a square from the graph paper that is three rows by three rows and glue it on to a sheet of paper next to the six by six square. Have students cut out a one-half by onehalf row square and glue it near the other two squares. Talk about whether this activity suggests ideas for how they can draw something large onto a smaller piece of paper. 5. On a sheet of graph paper, ask each pair to draw a scaled drawing of a desktop or of a book that is larger than the graph paper. Work with students to establish a scale, such as 1 square = 5 inches, of the item. Encourage pairs to usedifferent scalesas long asthey are successful at the task. Have pairs identify their scale on the drawing. 6. Discussscaled down drawings and write scalesused on the board. 7. Give each student a sticky note. Have each draw it on graph paper to size, then reduce the scale in another drawing, and label the scale for each drawing. 8. Closure. Define scale, as used here, as a ratio so that one square represents more squares (e.g., 1 to 5). Discussthe different scalesused in class,emphasizing that the same object can be drawn with different scales. 2. On a checklist, record whether students used two different scales to draw an object and labeled the scale for each drawing. Materials: Provide each pair with a yardstick and two sheets of graph paper; for each student provide graph paper and pencils 1. Students draw a room at home to scaIe and accurately identify the scale used. 1. Have one pair measure the classroom's length and another pair measure its width using a yardstick. Write the measurements on the board. Ask the student pairs to draw it to scale on graph paper and to indicate the scale used. Discusstheir choices and drawings. ,, continued I 2. Ask students to measure a room at home, draw it to scale, and identify the scale used. 3. Discuss drawings of a room at home and the scale used. 4. Lesson summary. Ask students to briefly describe their activities and what they think was the main idea of the learning cycle. 1. Use a checkl ist to record whether students accurately ind icated the seaIe used on a drawing made of a room at home. Have each student draw a scaled plan of another room in the school (e.g., library, cafeteria) using length and width measurements for the room and a door into the room, which you provide. Ask them to indicate the location of the door to the room and identify the scale used. Consider whether (1) the scale used was appropriate, (2) the scale was used consistently in the drawing, (3) the door was in the correct location, and (4) the door was drawn to scale. experiences. They reconstruct their prior knowledge into these new patterns, which represent concepts, generalizations, inquiry skills, attitudes, values, or dispositions. As this reconstruction occurs, students practice with the new pattern to better understand its characteristics and use. This practice stabilizes this new thought pattern in their mind so that it can be accessed from long-term memory when needed. M!_~_f.~Y:~!'..~__!:~.1337185975~t! Geography in Literature Many children's books have connections to geography and can be used to expand on lessons teaching geographic concepts and related skills. Teachers who look for geographical elements in a children's literature selection often are able to identify one or two elements that are important to the story. Bringing such elements to children's attention helps them expand their understanding of these elements. For very young children, oral literature in the form of nursery rhymes often has geographical elements. "Mary had a little lamb," "Jack and Jill went up the hill," and "Hickory dickory dock," for example, incorporate basic spatial directions such as "up" and movement. Some of the many books that have geographical elements include Peter's Place by Sally Grindley and Michael Foreman; Billy Goats Gruff, Three Little Pigs, and Goldilocks and the Three Bears, all by Fran Hunia; Little Red Riding Hood by Tony Ross; Hansel and Gretel by Joan Cameron; The Enormous Crocodile by Roald Dahl; Have You Seen Stanley? by Pat Edwards; 1'1/Take you to Mrs. Cole by Nigel Gray and Michael Foreman; My School by Sumiko; On the Way Home by Jill Murphy; The joggers by Pat Edwards; Can't Catch Me by John Prater; The Power of One: Daisy Bates and the Little Rock Nine by Dennis Brindell Fradin and Judith Bloom Fradin; Escapefrom Saigon: Howa Vietnam War Orphan Became an American Boy by Andrea Warren; Grandma Moses by Alexandra Wallner; Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo; and Remember: Thejourneyof School Integration by Toni Morrison. Consider the learning cycle lesson plan on scale. Respond to the following questions. If possible, discuss you r responseswith a peer. 1. How does the task in the exploratory introduction present students with a challenge? 2. How does the key question used by the teacher in the exploratory introduction engage students' prior knowledge? Around which concept is this lesson focused? 3. How does the teacher help students develop the concept of scale as a ratio through the lesson development activities? How do these activities help students recognize scale as a ratio? 4. On what two components of the concept of scale does the teacher bring closure, after students have had time to further develop their concept of scale in the middle portion of this lesson7 5. How does the teacher work with expanding students' use of scale during the expansion? What procedures in the plan indicate that the teacher first involves all the students in a carefully guided practice activity with the concept? What procedures describe an individual activity with the concept? What benefit might there be to the students when they are first involved in a carefully guided practice activity then in an individual practice activity? TABLE 2.1 The Learning Cycle Strategy Helps Students Reconstruct Their Prior Knowledge • Become aware • Compare social studies ideas • Exploratory introduction learning experiences enable students to reveal and confront their own representation of a social studies idea, attitude, disposition, or inquiry skill. • Lesson development learning experiences explain an alternative, new social studies idea, attitude, disposition, or inquiry skill. • Expansion learning experiences enable students to apply and transfer the new idea, attitude, disposition, or inquiry skill, extending the range of applicability and helping to make it permanent. • Confront prior knowledge • Resolveconfrontations • Connect new social studies idea • Apply what they learn • Transfer to new settings During the expansion phase of the learning cycle, students apply the new thought pattern to solving related problems. Students are asked to transfer the new thought pattern to contexts different from that in which it was originally learned. The order of phases used in the learning cycle addresses the conditions needed to help students modify or discard prior knowledge, promoting conceptual change. Teaching is a process of continuous decision making that involves planning, implementation, and evaluation. If teachers base their decisions on an understanding of how students learn social studies effectively, they can increase their ability to develop social studies lessons that work. Figure 2.3 (on page 38) outlines the components of each of the three phases of the learning cycle lesson. The criteria for making planning decisions vary with each phase of the learning cycle. When planning each phase of the learning cycle, teachers should ask themselves questions derived from constructivist learning theory to ensure they are addressing each element important to that phase (see Figure 2.4 on page 39). These questions demonstrate that the learning cycle process is not a blueprint or cookbook that teachers follow, but rather a set of decision points using important criteria that help teachers address important conditions for students' meaningful learning of powerful social studies. Exploratory introduction: Social studies learning experiences are designed to encourage students to • Recall and relate prior knowledge to the new idea by focusing attention, making observations, and collecting data • Respond to a "key" open question, involving students in trying out the new social studies idea • Make public their prior knowledge related to the new social studies idea • Confront their prior knowledge with the new social studies idea Lesson development: Social studies learning experiences are designed to encourage students to • Discussthe results of the exploratory introduction activity, providing connections to the new social studies idea that is the focus of the lesson • Explain the new idea, describe it in context, how to use it, when to use it, the purpose for which it is used, and/or how to know when it is used appropriately • Practice clear examples or model the new idea • Practice activities for the new idea in interesting examples, not repetitive practice • Provide closure for the new idea, describing the steps necessaryto use it appropriately Expansion: Social studies learning experiences are designed to encourage students to • Apply the new idea in several new and relevant contexts • Transfer the new social studies idea to real-world events • Provide a learning summary of the development of the new social studies idea in the completed lesson _F~I_G--U---R- E-2-.-3-- learning Cycle Format The learning cycle sequences its three phases beginning with the exploratory introduction, working through development, and ending with expansion. Each phase has a different purpose, and, therefore, requires different student and teacher actions and interactions. All three phases need to be completed in a lesson before a single idea can be meaningfully learned. If one phase of the learning cycle social studies lesson is inadequate or missing, or if the sequence of phases is changed, significant loss in achievement ofthe new social studies idea is expected. Teachers make a number of decisions when planning a lesson, such as what social studies content to include, what new social studies skill the lesson will teach, and what previously learned skill and information will be reviewed. Teachers consult national standards and state guidelines for suggestions for appropriate topics and skills. These are weighed against students' experiences. Objectives are developed that incorporate the guidelines and students' past experiences. The entire lesson usually has a primary objective and a number of secondary objectives. A teacher The following questions are designed to help adapt social studies instruction to assist student learning in a social studies lesson. Exploratory Introduction • What activities will enable my students to become aware of and make public their prior knowledge and reasoning about the new social studies idea in a safe environment? • What activities will provide my students with the opportunity to tryout their prior knowledge in the new setting? • What activities will enable my students to compare their prior knowledge to the new social studies idea and recognize shortcomings in their prior knowledge? Lesson Development • What activities will provide my students with a clear explanation and sufficient practice examples or model to allow them to connect the new social studies idea to what they already knew7 • What activities will enable my students to construct their own "new" social studies knowledge based on the new idea and to search more effectively for the new patterns in their environment? Expansion • What activities will enable my students to apply the new social studies knowledge in relevant contexts? • What activities will help my students develop successful procedures for making decisions and solving problems while transferring the new social studies idea to other and novel settings, especially in settings more relevant to students' personal needs? ~F-I.G~U_R~E_--_.2--.-4-- Brief Outline of Questions for learning Cycle Planning Decisions also may want to use a particular activity or set of resources. These can assist in lesson planning, because it is often possible to write a lesson objective that combines the content and skills required for use of the desired activity or material. After identifying the lesson's objectives, the teacher begins planning the lesson, starting with the first phase, the exploratory introduction. The teacher's role during the exploratory introduction involves confronting students' thinking, raising questions, and facilitating students' exploration. The students' role involves controlling much of their own leaming behavior through exploring, observing, recording, and testing prior knowledge (see Table 2.2 on page 40). -T-A--B--L--E2--.-2. Consistent and Inconsistent Exploratory Introduction Activities Createsinterest in topic Generates curiosity Raisesquestions Elicits responsesthat uncover what the students know or think about the concept/topic Encouragesstudents to work together without direct instruction from the teacher Observesand listens to students as they interact Asks probing questions to redirect s\",M\\\c,'i\\'.j~s\i~o\i~\\s,'N\\~\\ \\~Cessary Provides time for students to solve problems Acts as a consultant to students Respond with interest to the stimulus crcres-cfc?rP, dxYr<!; c?r c?rcfd?cc" Ask questions, such as "Why did this happen" or "What do I already know about this?" Show interest in the topic Think freely, but about the topic Test new predictions and hypotheses Form new predictions and hypotheses Try alternatives and discussthem with others Record observations and ideas Suspend judgment Explains concepts Provides definitions and answers Statesconclusions Lectures Provides answers Tells or explains how to work through the problem Provides closure Tells the students that they are incorrect Gives information or facts that solve the problem \...~orNf'r c".?c> ';PC'?? -af y c=". Insist on answers or explanations Seekone solution Let others do the thinking and exploring Work quietly with little or no interaction with others (only appropriate when exploring ideas or feelings) "Play around" indiscriminately with no goal in mind Stop with one solution During the exploratory introduction, students get involved with a social studies idea that is new to them. They do this by engaging in an open-ended activity that makes their prior knowledge public and enables the teacher to diagnose their existing ideas. Finally, the activity begins to relate their prior knowledge to the new social studies idea. The three questions in Figure 2.4 guide the teacher's deCisions in selecting instructional activities for this exploratory phase ofthe lesson. By answering the questions, the teacher identifies several open-ended activities that promote a safe environment in which students control the direction of their responses and specific responses are not expected. The activities are focused with a carefully planned open-ended key question or two. The key question (see the scale learning cycle) enables students to understand the topic or direction of the lesson. During the exploratory introduction activities, the teacher uses cooperative learning groups and pairs to encourage social interaction as students work with materials and share ideas. Students interact as they collect and organize data, select resources, discuss their tasks and observations, and argue the evidence they have at hand. To accomplish all this, the teacher must allow sufficient time. If enough time is not provided, students will not be able to relate their prior knowledge to the new knowledge. Many types of activities work well during the exploratory introduction phase, including student observation and exploratory introduction of an event, problem solving, a discovery field trip, an inductive demonstration, a task for which decisions are to be made, drawings and discussions of students' understanding of a concept, and question-and-answer discussions about evidence observed in small groups. Chapter 7 describes several of these types of activities in depth. During the lesson development phase of the learning cycle, the teacher provides more guidance than was provided in the exploratory introduction phase (see Table 2.3). During the lesson development phase, the teacher's role is to provide an explanation for the key idea or skill, to interact with students, to promote student practice of the idea, and to provide closure on the key idea or skill. The students' role is to construct, question, and practice the alternative explanations. In the development phase, the teacher explains and provides examples and nonexamples of the key social studies idea or skill. The teacher guides students in reconstructing their prior knowledge. Although the teacher is a stronger guide in this phase of the lesson, a variety of instructional strategies can be used. The teacher may have students use a WebQuest, listen to a short lecture, watch and discuss a video, read a textbook, or participate in a simulation. When students give evidence of having reconstructed their prior knowledge, the teacher brings this phase of the lesson to a close by clearly defining and describing the idea or skill, often involving the students in arriving at a consensus statement that defines the new idea. The two questions in Figure 2.4 for the development phase guide the teacher's decisions in selecting instructional activities for this phase of the lesson. -T-A---B--L--E2---.3 The learning Cycle: Consistent and Inconsistent Actions during the lesson Development Phase [ ~ ~ Inm!(tIi . --~~--,_._.~-~--_._---=-._---'--~-~--~-=--._-_._-_.__._~.-.-.-•-...--_-user:aarth521--_. -~~--- Teacher'sActions Encouragesstudents to explain Accepts explanations that have no ideas in their own words justification Asksfor justification, evidence, and Neglectsto solicit students' explanaclarification for statements tions Provides definitions, explanations, Introduces unrelated concepts or and new labels skills Helps students link previous experiencesto social studies learning Explain possible solutions or answers to others Listen critically to others' explanations Question others' explanations Listen to and try to comprehend ex· planations offered by the teacher Referto previous activities Examine maps, charts, pictures, and narrative data resources Support explanations with data Propose explanations from "thin air" with no relationship to previous experiences Bring up irrelevant experiences and examples Accept explanations without justification Do not attend to other plausible explanations The teacher recognizes that the development phase continues the develo_ ment of the new social studies idea or skill through directed reflection and d.:3~--= sian, following up on the activities in the exploratory introduction phase. 1.:'---~ exploratory phase's activities challenged students' prior knowledge by co =-~ it or by puzzling the students, the development phase's activities communica-- =- formation about the new idea to help students resolve the confrontation or To resolve the confrontation, the students will work through a variety _~- tivities, investigating all of the important aspects, ranges, contexts, and the new social studies idea or skilL Such activities are sequenced in {) a ~-= - ture that organizes data related to the new social studies idea or skill = ---~ the students see how the various components fit together. Students n clear examples of what the new social studies ideas or skills represent. A:: - _ students' practice of an idea or skill is guided or modeled by the teach€!: --::--=: enables them to receive feedback. Without such guidance, the students ma. :- - - tice errors creating alternative conceptions that require a great amoun o:--=- to unlearn. One or more examples demonstrating the idea or skill are prEat this point in the lesson. Sometimes this consists of demonstrating a social studies idea or skill through guided practice, analogies, or working models. It also can involve taking the students through a step-by-step process. The more ways in which an idea or skill is modeled for students, the more meaningful it will be to them. The development activities, as noted previously, are varied. The focus is on providing more than one form of explanation, giving clear examples, using modeling, and checking for understanding. Using several activities enables students to question, tryout, and practice the new social studies idea. Because most students have limited short-term memories, the teacher provides important information as concretely as possible. When more concrete materials or visuals, such as hands-on materials, pictures, graphs, demonstrations, and modeling, accompany verbal explanations, more information can be stored efficiently. The use of concrete materials facilitates meaningful learning and long-term memory storage. After students have worked with an activity aimed at providing an explanation of the new social studies idea or skill, they need to practice using it in concrete activities similar to the situations just experienced in the explanation activity. Throughout this phase of the learning cycle, the teacher is a guide who helps students accommodate their thinking to new social studies ideas or skills, restoring the equilibrium lost during the Exploratory Introduction when their prior knowledge was confronted (Martin, Sexton, Wagner, & Gerlovich, 1994). Key terms should be provided and defined during the discussion, following up on activities carried out during the development phase. When terms are defined at the beginning of the phase, before students have worked with examples and explanations, they will have little meaning. Some students will discover the new social studies idea during the exploratory introduction phase and some will develop it during the development phase's activities. Still others may not be clear about the new social studies idea even after working with development activities. It is important to make certain that all students have closure, a clear description of the idea or skill with which they have been working that they will apply in the last part of the lesson, the expansion. Closure can occur by providing a brief clear description, demonstration, or modeling of the main social studies idea or skill orally, and in writing, at the end of the development phase. The closure states or shows clearly and concisely the main objective of the lesson. Alternatively, students state the main idea of the lesson orally, write the idea on the board, or demonstrate the skill. Following the development, or explanation, phase of the lesson, the teacher helps students apply and transfer the new social studies idea or skill to different situations. This is the purpose of the expansion phase of the learning cycle. During the expansion phase of the learning cycle, the teacher provides less guidance than during the development phase (see Table 2.4). The teacher's role in the expansion is to provide for, and encourage, students' application and transfer of the social studies concept or skill. The students' role is to attempt to apply and transfer their newly reconstructed idea or skill in new situations and contexts where it has not been previously used and to make connections to realworld experiences. Practice and application during the expansion phase helps students retrieye the social studies idea from memory. Providing additional experiences that help students transfer the new idea to other settings and contexts is necessary, because transfer does not automatically occur. Two questions (see Figure 2.4) guide the teacher's decisions in selecting instructional activities for this final phase 0 the lesson. During the expansion phase, the teacher helps students broaden the range of application of a new idea or skill. The teacher asks the students to differentiate the new idea from other related ideas. The teacher asks the students to describe no only the solution, but also the process used to find a solution and to relate prior knowledge to the new idea or skill learned. Have you ever thought you understood an idea, but later found that yo didn't really understand it, or were no longer able to remember it when needed? It is likely that either you did not construct a meaningful understanding of the idea or that you did construct it, but then had little or no practice in applying it. As a result, the idea was poorly, if at all, connected to your prior knowledge and to the knowledge structure in your mind. Sufficient application and tr "- fer experiences with a new idea and skill enable us to connect it to a relevanknowledge structure and to access it from our long-term memory. Expansion experiences are spaced out over time so the idea or skill is used in situations similar to, but different from, those experienced in the exploratory introduction ana development phases of the learning cycle. Students begin using and applying the new social studies skill or idea in settings similar to those experienced in the lesson. Then, they are ready to transfer it to different situations. This step ofte is omitted because students have given some evidence of learning the new idee. or skill earlier in the lesson. Although students seem to have reconstructed their prior knowledge, they need experience in using the social studies idea in a ne" context over a period of time before the new thought can be stabilized in E long-term memory (Perkins & Salomon, 1991; Baker & Piburn, 1997). Many types of experiences enable students to apply and transfer a new s cial studies idea or skill. These include reflecting on hands-on activities, taking field trips, problem solving, decision making, interviewing or surveying other", ,. dents, drawing events, playing a part in a simulation, playing a game where idea is needed to arrive at a successful conclusion, creating a analogy or mod~ of the new idea and describing how it works, using the Internet to fmd app':- cations of the new idea, completing paper-and-pencil exercises, and engaging :r TABLE 2.4 ...- .._- The learning Cycle: Consistent and Inconsistent Actions during the Expansion Phase ~ mn~'H __'. -= ~_1337185975 :.•. '_.'~_:~:.~_. Expectsstudents to use previously learned formal labels, definitions, and explanations Encourages students to apply or extend concepts and skills in new situations Reminds students of alternative explanations Refers students to existing data and evidence and asks: "What do you already know?" and "Why do you think ... ?" (strategies from the previous stage also apply here) looks for evidence that students have changed their prior knowledge Asks open-ended questions, such as "Why do you think ... ?" "What evidence do you have?" "What do you think about ... ?" and "How would you explain .. , ?" Apply newly learned labels, definitions, explanations, skills in similar situations Use previously learned information to ask questions, propose solutions, or make decisions Draw reasonable conclusions from evidence Record observations and explanations when perform ing activities Check for understanding among peers Demonstrate an understanding or knowledge of the concept or skill Ask related questions that encourage future investigations Provides defi nitive answers Tells students that they are incorrect lectures leads students step-by-step to a solution Explains how to work through the problem "Play around" with no goal in mind Ignore previous information or evidence Draw conclusions from "thin air" Usethose labels provided by the teacher in discussions only question-and-answer discussions in small groups (see Chapter 7 for a discussion of instructional strategies). When sufficient practice and application experiences have occurred, it is important to involve students in generating a brief chronological summary of the learning cycle. A summary is aimed at consolidating the lesson's experiences into a related