Tag Archives: Social Studies

Global Citizenship

Today we had our first lecture on the third part of Social Studies ‘People in Society, Economy and Business’ and focussed on the idea of what it is to be a ‘Global Citizen’.

To me, a global citizen is someone who is aware how their actions can impact other people and holds the values of respect and diversity.

As an activity we watched a clip from the Paddington movie where you see Paddington meeting the Brown family for the first time. We were then to pick a theme from this scene and develop an activity you could use in the classroom. Paddington has found himself homeless and is sitting in the train station wondering his next move when the Brown family get off their train. Mr Brown makes assumptions about Paddington straight away and says things such as ‘stranger danger’, ‘keep your eyes down’ ,’ he’s probably selling something’ and is not happy when his wife goes back to approach Paddington. He then continues to be hostile towards Paddington as he explain how he came to be homeless. Therefore I choose to look at the theme of making judgements and ignorance.

I brainstormed the various ways we can make judgements in society. For example about: homeless people, refugees, people of different nationalities and race, criminals, celebrities and politicians. I then began to think about why we may hold these judgements, for example influence from the media and our family. My activity idea involved presenting pupils with a photo of different people in society and get them to write down the words that come to mind. As a class we would then discuss, challenge and begin to explain where these ideas have come from. The main outcome of the lesson would be to encourage pupils to be critcal about what they are told by the media and other people in their lives before making up their own opinion with he values of respect and diversity in mind.

I took this further at home by watching a Ted talk about something called the ‘Ignorance Project’ conducted by GapMinder. The project conducted studies on peoples answers to stereotypical questions and then analysed why people were giving the stereotypical answers. They discussed how all we see on the news is the bad and we forget that the majority of the society/people/the world are not experiencing this ‘bad’. They suggested the way to lessen these judgements is to teach positively, that the ‘bad’ is getting better. For example poverty levels have reduced, defences against natural disasters are increasing and that refugees bring valuable skills.

Ted Talk: https://www.gapminder.org/ignorance/ (Accessed 1/10/18).

Overall I found this lesson extremely motivating and helpful. I feel I have benefitted as learner by taking a minute to challenge the judgements I may personally make which will in-turn positively impact my professional values. While I have also developed an understand of how to teach a Global Citizenship lesson and have gathered some useful resources for this.

 

 

The Child’s Voice

In this weeks lecture we looked at the child’s voice in the classroom, how this can be incorporated and the advantages of this.

Arguments for encouraging children’s voice in the classroom. 

  • Stimulates development of skills ( accountability, resilience , confidence, turn taking, debating )
  • Children can bring in their personal experiences, making the learning more relevant to them
  • Children can be ‘co-teachers’ and can help other children understand concepts using ‘child’s language’
  • This also benefits the ‘co-teacher’ as by talking through a concept it will help consolidate it in their own learning
  • Children can steer direction of learning, which in turn increases motivation
  • Can add knowledge the teacher didn’t know
  • Shows the child that their voice is valued which can be vital in relation to child welfare issues

(Catling, 2014)

How can we encourage children’s voice? 

  • Involve them in planning of new topics
  • Set up projects or clubs and make them leaders and decision makers
  • Help them develop a critical eye and skills on forming arguments
  • Organise debates
  • Organise ‘co- teaching’

(Cartling, 2014)

Arguments against children’s voice in the classroom (with solutions)

  • Not all children are able to articulate their voice – Give them other ways to be heard, eg drawing, acting etc.
  • Puts unnecessary pressure and stress on the child, especially with decision making – ensure that participation is voluntary.
  • Could develop a lack of respect for parents, teachers, elders – ensure that rules are in place for these discussion times.

(UNICEF, n.d)

How does a teacher’s educational philosophy influence the implementation of approaches that encourage children’s voice? 

  • Teachers can struggle with giving away full control as they feel it is their job, however if the child does not feel their voice is not actually going to make a difference they will lose motivation to contribute again. Therefore it is not enough to just listen to the child, we must allow them to steer decisions too.
  • It is part of teachers philosophy to be the educator, however in order to get the most out of the child’s voice we must sometimes be ‘co- learners’ and learn with the child.
  • As teachers we are so busy and sometimes go for the quickest method of learning. However, so much more can be learnt for example during classroom discussions.

(Cartling, 2014)

If I am honest I have never put much thought into the role of children’s voice in the classroom, however now I feel I have a much greater understand of the benefits and how I can implement this in my practice.

References

  • Cartling, S (2014) ‘ Giving younger children voice in primary geography: empowering pedagogy – a personal perspective’, International Research in Geographical and Environment Education, 23(4), pp. 350-372.
  • UNICEF (n.d) Every Childs Right To Be Heard. Available at: https://www.unicef.org/french/adolescence/files/Every_Childs_Right_to_be_Heard.pdf (Accessed 18/09/18)

 

 

 

The Role of Knowledge in the Curriculum

After many hours of reading articles about powerful knowledge I was struggling to get a grasp on what this term means. However, I am hoping by combining my notes in this post, that by the end I will have a clearer understanding.

What is Powerful Knowledge??

Powerful Knowledge was a concept introduced by a curricular theorist named Michael Young who was on a mission to determine what should be included in a curriculum. What I believe Young means by this term is knowledge that you would not have access to out with formal education/ teaching (Roberts 2014). He also emphasised that this knowledge is specific to subjects and is not related to prior experiences or everyday knowledge (Young, 2013). He believed this knowledge was important as it give pupils access to new understanding and new ways of thinking.

What are the arguments for powerful knowledge in the classroom??

Some of the positives to powerful knowledge in the classroom is that it helps give stability to teachers and pupils. It clearly indicated what content is being learned and what subject it is related too. Secondly, this type of knowledge is usually taught in a hierarchical way meaning that it is easier to plan and see progression in (Young, 2013). Finally, Young argues that a curriculum made up of powerful knowledge would provide national coherence as it would ensure every child is being taught the same thing. He continues to explain that if teachers use children’s home experiences’ as a starting point for teaching then different things would be being taught across the nation. This could also lead to inequalities as he explains that some children would have access to ‘better knowledge’ (Young, 2013).

What are the arguments against powerful knowledge??

 Young believes that powerful knowledge should be separate from every day experiences. However, he acknowledges that the practical implications of not linking knowledge to children’s experiences could cause them to be less interested and less motivated to learn (Young, 2013). This links with Vygotsky’s theory of ‘Spontaneous Concepts and Scientific Concepts’ discussed in Roberts (2014). Vygotsky explains that a spontaneous concept is when a child learns something subconsciously through everyday experiences. On the other hand, scientific concepts are learnt through instruction from a teacher. Vygotsky proposes that these two concepts are linked and work together to consolidate concepts and enhance further learning (Roberts, 2014). This therefore supports the argument for linking knowledge with everyday experiences to support the child understanding and progress their learning. It could also be argued that it is not possible for a curriculum to put an end to educational inequalities and that there are many other factors that cause geographical educational inequalities.

 My thoughts on knowledge in the classroom/ curriculum…

 I am glad to say that I now feel I have a much better understanding of powerful knowledge and its place in the curriculum.

I acknowledge that powerful knowledge is fundamental to learning and therefore must be included in the curriculum and classroom. However, I do not agree that this knowledge should be kept separate from other important aspects of the curriculum such as every day experiences and the development of skills. From my own experience as a learner I know that if new concepts are linked to things I experience in everyday life I will find it much easier to understand and remember in the future.

The Curriculum for Excellences Experiences and Outcomes give perfect examples of how the two can be combined;

I explore and discover the interesting features of my local environment to develop an awareness of the world around me. SOC 0-07a  (Education Scotland, 2016)

 This incorporates knowledge such as the name of the features, how they came to be there etc but also links it to the child’s life.

Overall, I believe teaching should be meaningful and memorable. Nobody likes to sit and listen to facts all day…

 

 

References

  • Education Scotland (2016)  Experiences and Outcomes, Social Studies. Available at: https://education.gov.scot/scottish-education-system/policy-for-scottish-education/policy-drivers/cfe-(building-from-the-statement-appendix-incl-btc1-5)/Experiences%20and%20outcomes#soc ( Accessed 12/09/18)
  • Roberts, M (2014) ‘ Powerful knowledge and geographical education’ , The curriculum journal, Vol 25(2), pp. 187- 209.
  • Young, M (2013) ‘Overcoming the crisis in curriculum theory: a knowledge-based approach’, Journal of Curriculum Studies,45(2), pp.101-118.