Elementary Teachers' Attempts to Shift Their Social Studies Instruction Toward Inquiry

• In Event: The Who, What, When, Where, and Why of Inquiry in Elementary Social Studies

Abstract

This project seeks to understand what ideas, attitudes, and concerns elementary teachers have about the shift towards an inquiry model to teach social studies, what efforts they make towards this transition, and what sense they make about their attempts to teach using an inquiry model.

We employ a situated perspective on teacher learning as defined by the process of increasing participation in particular practices and knowledges, keeping in mind the multiple contexts in which teachers participate that influence this process (Borko, 2004). We also rely on an understanding of teacher pedagogical content knowledge as a form of teacher understanding that combines content, pedagogy, and student identities (Gudmundsdottir & Shulman, 1987). Lastly, we based our workshops on the C3 Framework as well as the NCSS statement on powerful and purposeful elementary social studies teaching in conjunction with Picower’s (2012) six elements of social justice curriculum design.

After their state adopted new social studies standards based on the C3 Framework, grade level teams at River Run Elementary (a suburban elementary school) requested the help of nearby university faculty and graduate students (the co-author and others) to help transition their practice. We designed workshops to introduce the inquiry arc of the C3 Framework and provided constructive feedback as grade level teams designed new unit plans. In addition to notes from the workshops, data is currently being generated from classroom observations and multiple interviews with the teachers (n=9).

Teachers expressed a range of emotions and fears about transitioning to inquiry. While some became immediately excited, others felt nervous and confused as they expressed concern about each dimension of teacher pedagogical content knowledge (content, pedagogy, and student identity). In the paper, we explore these three categories of concern with a focus on how the orientation towards social justice seemed less problematic for the teachers than shifting towards inquiry. To do so, we dive into the resistance of a mid-career teacher who resolutely did not believe any kind of curriculum with first graders should be inquiry-based. Data collection and analysis is still underway with regards to these teachers’ efforts towards shifting their practice and their sensemaking about these efforts.

Ultimately, we seek to map out elementary teachers’ journeys towards becoming justice-oriented inquiry-based educators in order to account for why some teachers embrace this challenge while others do not. This work promises to offer recommendations for teacher educators as well as school and district leaders overseeing the transition towards inquiry teaching of social studies in the primary grades.

Borko, H. (2004). Professional development and teacher learning: Mapping the terrain. Educational researcher, 33(8), 3-15.

Gudmundsdottir, S., & Shulman, L. (1987). Pedagogical content knowledge in social studies. Scandinavian Journal of Educationl Research, 31(2), 59-70.

Picower, B. (2012). Using Their Words: Six Elements of Social Justice Curriculum Design for the Elementary Classroom. International Journal of Multicultural Education, 14(1), n1.

Authors

• Jenny Sinclair, Lakewood Elementary School

• Sarah Pamperin, Iowa State University