Pinning for Profit? Elementary Preservice Teachers' Critical Analysis of Online Social Studies Resources

• In Event: Simulating Justice? Technology, Simulation, and Online Pedagogies

Abstract

Elementary pre- and in-service educators increasingly rely on online instructional resources to supplement their curriculum. This qualitative study of undergraduate students in a Midwestern teacher preparation program examined how future elementary educators critically analyzed the instructional resources found on for-profit marketplaces like Pinterest and Teachers Pay Teachers. Findings revealed resources with problematic historical narratives, assumptions about creator expertise and resource credibility, and the challenges of relying on a checklist for critical analysis. While a critical media literacy tool was helpful in directing pre-service teachers’ attention toward meaningful social studies content, it was insufficient as assigned, as it failed to deeply contextualize racial platform capitalism and how students’ lack of content knowledge impacted their assessment of online resources.

Authors

• Noreen Naseem Rodriguez, University of Colorado - Boulder

• Michael Brown, Iowa State University

• Amanda Elizabeth Vickery, University of North Texas