Eastern Michigan University
College of Arts and Sciences

NCSS/Social Studies Education

Overview

1. Explanation of the knowledge base, philosophy, and goals and objectives of the program(s).

Degree overview:

Consistent with the State of Michigan’s conception of social studies, EMU trains students in both a combined Major/Minor in Social Studies, as well as in five individual disciplines. Each of these programs leads to state certification, with each student having a major and minor field in social studies for their license. Thus, a Social Studies major also has a minor in another social studies discipline, and each single discipline major has a minor in a related Social Studies field. All six of these programs share one methods class, HIST 481, Methods of Teaching History and Social Studies. This document treats the Social Studies major in the first section of the document, and the five disciplines in subsequent sections.

EMU Teacher Preparation

The EMU Teacher Preparation program’s conceptual framework is summarized as “caring professional educators for a diverse and democratic society.”

It is elaborated as follows:

Professional educators are knowledgeable regarding content and pedagogy, including developing technologies. They are reflective in their practice, taking into account a wide variety of factors in planning, implementing, and modifying teaching. They demonstrate professional dispositions and communication skills.

Caring educators are committed to all students' learning within supportive learning communities. They are student-focused and persistent in pursing high developmentally appropriate expectations for all students.

Educators for a diverse and democratic society celebrate diversity in schools and communities. They plan instruction to reflect a diverse society and work effectively with diverse students, parents, and community members. They prepare students for active participation in a democracy through nurturing critical thinking, creative thinking, and problem solving within communities.

E.M.U. Teacher Preparation Outcomes and Benchmarks

The program philosophy is operationalized in the following outcomes and benchmarks that have been developed to focus the teacher preparation sequence at EMU:

I. Caring educators are committed to all students' learning within supportive learning communities. They are student-focused and persistent in pursing high and appropriate expectations for all students.

A. Set realistic, high, expectations for learning and persist in helping all students to reach them.

B. Develop (K-12) student cooperation, interpersonal skills and self-esteem in a safe environment.

C. Know the importance of interacting positively with (K-12) students and their families.

II. Professional educators are knowledgeable regarding content, pedagogy, and educational technologies.

A. Understand the central concepts, tools of inquiry and structures of the disciplines he or she teaches. (Content)

B. Have knowledge of district, state and national curriculum standards or documents.

C. Establish learning goals that are appropriate for (K-12) students and emphasize critical thinking, creativity and problem solving.

D. Understand the theoretical and applied aspects of the teaching-learning process. (Pedagogy)

E. Create meaningful learning experiences that are appropriate for (K-12) students and guide students to successful achievement of critical thinking, creativity and problem solving goals both within and across disciplines.

F. Design activities using a variety of instructional strategies.

G. Use traditional and alternative assessment strategies, continuously, to ensure (K-12) student learning and refine teaching practices.

H. Use instructional technology to enhance learning and personal/professional productivity.

III. Professional educators are reflective in their practice.

A. Consider a wide variety of factors when making instructional decisions (e.g., context, students, content, methods, research, learning theory, policies, community, prior experiences, etc.).

B. Use systematic means to examine the relationship between teaching actions and student success.

IV. Professional educators demonstrate professional dispositions and communication skills.

A. Know the importance of fostering relationships with school colleagues and agencies in the larger community to support student learning and well being.

B. Communicate clearly and effectively in interpersonal situations.

C. Communicate clearly and effectively in writing.

D. Understand the ethical dimensions of teaching in a culturally diverse democratic society.

E. Demonstrate professional dispositions: adherence to professional ethics, collaboration, commitment to diversity, commitment to teaching, emotional maturity, initiative, responsibility, responsiveness to professional feedback, self-reflection, and student-focus.

V. Educators for a diverse and democratic society celebrate diversity in schools and communities. They prepare students for active participation in a democracy through nurturing critical thinking, creative thinking and problem solving within communities.

A. Adapt instruction and assessments to meet the diverse needs of learners (e.g., backgrounds, experiences, learning styles, developmental levels, etc.)

B. Create opportunities to encourage (K-12) students to value and respect diversity.

C. Articulate an informed and thoughtful position on the purpose of schools in a culturally diverse democratic society.

D. Clarify, monitor, and assist (K-12) students in achieving standards of student conduct in a democratic environment.

Social Studies knowledge base and philosophy

Within the larger EMU teacher preparation program, social studies education has a specific focus on preparing students to meet the needs of both our local and national communities for effective social studies teachers.

The past decade has been one of change and renewal in the field of social studies education. First, it has been recognized that the teaching of history and social studies is not a straightforward and obvious process, but one of cognitive complexity, requiring a high degree of skill on the part of teachers. Graduates of university programs need to understand the difficulty of this task before them. Second, revolutions in assessment of student learning mean that teachers must be able to demonstrate that learning is taking place as a result of their instruction, either through standardized tests or authentic assessment. Finally, profound demographic and social changes guarantee that students will teach a diverse population in terms of race, sex, class, sexual identity, learning styles, and special learning needs. Graduates of EMU need to be able to understand these differences and similarities in their classroom, and adjust instruction and assessment accordingly.

In the face of these massive upheavals, our program has changed dramatically and continues to be transformed to meet new challenges. The social studies program at EMU is the product of a series of changes over the past three years designed to bring the program into greater alignment with state and national needs for history and social studies teachers.

First, the Social Studies methods class has been retooled to reflect both national and state standards in history and social studies. Extensive consultation by social studies methods faculty with local social studies teachers and administrators has resulted in a focus on ensuring that students graduate with a firm foundation in standards, assessment, lesson and unit design, and the use of technology in the social studies classroom.

Second, involvement in the U.S. Department of Education’s Teacher Quality Grant has enhanced the program’s attention to students’ understanding of the importance of contextual factors in history and social studies teaching. This program has also focused on the need for students to be able to accurately assess and evaluate student learning in the social studies classroom.

Third, while the market for social studies teachers has been better than in recent decades, many of our students move out of state to take positions. With this in mind, the program teaches, assesses, and requires application of national disciplinary standards for candidates. This ensures that students who leave the program can teach anywhere in the nation.

Finally, the program has sought to build ties to local schools and districts in order to better understand what is expected of our graduates. These outreach efforts have helped build greater field opportunities for our students, and have also enabled us to gain feedback on how our student teachers and graduates are performing in the classroom.

There are four objectives of the EMU program in history and social studies:

1. To be a national leader in the preparation of quality social studies teachers;

2. To prepare our students for success in the classroom and leadership in the building, district, state, and national organizations;

3. To prepare students to make a positive impact in the lives of their students, both inside and outside the classroom; and

4. To provide students with the skills to teach in numerous contexts, from urban to rural schools, in high and low income areas.

2. Number of graduates of each program(s) at each level for the past three years.

3. Description of where the program is located within the professional education unit and its interrelationships with other programs in the unit and the university/college.

Social studies and history education are a shared responsibility of the College of Education and the College of Arts and Sciences. The College of Arts and Sciences faculty teach candidates all content, general education, and major/minor content classes. Faculty in the College of Education provide the professional education sequence and the field experiences. The Department of History and Philosophy, housed in the College of Arts and Sciences, teaches the history and social studies methods course that forms part of the professional sequence. Student teaching is the responsibility of the College of Education. These areas collaborate extensively on preparation of candidates and on enhancement of the teacher preparation process.

4. Percentage of credit hours required for graduation that are in history/social science content.  [NCSS strongly recommends 30% for single disciplines, 30% for broad field middle school/junior high social studies, and 40% for broad field secondary social studies.]

For social studies majors, the total credits in social sciences are 60, or 48% of credits for graduation (124). Each Social Studies major is required to take a minimum of 20 credits in one single social science discipline (history, economics, political science, psychology, or geography) as part of the combined major/minor program. This Major also includes a minor in History, Geography, Political Science or Economics.

For single discipline majors for secondary education, History majors have 36 credits, Geography majors have 39, Psychology majors have 36, Economics majors have 39, Political Science majors have 42 credits in their Arts and Sciences major. Students must also take a 20 credit minor program in a social studies area.

These major credit totals, when divided by EMU’s total credits for graduation (124) work out to the following:

History	56 credits or 49 percent
Geography	59 credits or 50 percent
Psychology	56 credits or 49 percent
Political Science	62 credits or 50 percent
Economics	59 credits or 48 percent

5. Candidates’ courses of studies with all required courses clearly marked.

Social Studies Major/Minor

History

Psychology

Political Science

Geography

Economics

6. Descriptions of field experiences, student teaching, and internships.

All students must complete 100 field experience hours before student teaching. Sixty of the hours are completed in structured Field Experience (FETE) courses, 55 of these hours in the major. The remaining 40 hours are completed independently in a variety of learning environments.

FETE (Field Experience in Teacher Education) courses are developmental field experiences completed at three points in the students' professional education sequence. FETE courses are taken as co-requisites to core courses in the professional education sequence. Instructors for all FETE courses are practicing educators from area schools.

The structure of FETE courses is as follows: After an initial orientation, all interactions with the instructors are electronic. Students have coursepacks of readings and field assignments. They also have weekly discussions through web caucus. Students are able to discuss their field experiences with both their FETE instructor in the online format and the instructor of the co-requisite course. This combination of practicing professional and teacher education professor feedback provides multiple points of view for reflection.

The following are the FETE classes in order:

1. FETE 201 Field Experience I. Prospective teachers will participate in a service-learning experience in a diverse community, and examine their beliefs and attitudes about working with others who are different from themselves. FETE 201 is the first field experience. It is taken concurrently with EDPS 322, Human Development and Learning. The focus of the course is the interaction of students’ learning with school and community environments and the impact of culture on development. Students visit a Detroit school and neighborhood. They study readings on culture and prepare a cultural autobiography examining the forces impacting their development as a teacher. All students in a particular section of FETE 201 are assigned to the same school. Schools are selected to provide an urban experience and experience with the Comer model. (5 field hours)

2. FETE 302 Field Experience II. FETE  302 is taken concurrently with CURR 305 Secondary Curriculum and Instruction. The focus of the courses is reflective classroom practice. In FETE 302, students must spend 25 hours in a classroom placement in grades 7-12 in the major subject area. During fall and winter semesters, hours must be completed with 2.5 hours per week for 10 weeks. During spring and summer, hours may be completed with two 2.5-hour sessions per week for 5 weeks.

Activities in FETE 302 include group observation and teaching activities and a student work analysis. The pre-student teacher must teach an individual or small group for at least 10 sessions. They must compile a reflective journal and analysis of one student's learning across time. (25 field hours)

3. FETE 402 Field Experience III: Field placement in a middle level or high school with a diverse student population. Emphasis is on developing literacy in diverse populations and adapting instruction to individual student needs.

FETE 402 is taken concurrently with RDNG 311, Teaching Reading in Secondary School. In FETE 402, students must complete 30 hours in a classroom placement. Grade level and subject area requirements are the same as in 300 level FETE classes. In addition, FETE 402 placements must be in a culturally diverse setting. Diverse is defined as 30% high need (e.g., language minority, ethnic minority, low SES). During fall and winter semesters, hours must be completed with 3 hours per week for 10 weeks. During spring and summer, they may be completed with two 3-hour sessions per week for 5 weeks. Activities in FETE 402 include teaching activities in content-area reading (helping students read the written materials in the content area) and an individual student learning analysis similar to the one in the in FETE 302. The analysis specifically addresses the impact of literacy on student learning of content.

Student Teaching:

All students take EDUC 492 for 12 hours. This is a full semester of full-time student teaching. It includes writing and teaching a curriculum unit, a reflective journal, and an analysis demonstrating student learning.

7. Syllabus for the Teaching Social Studies course (the methods course). Include other syllabi if useful  to show how program standards are met.

See appendix for HIST 481 Syllabus

8. List of faculty who teach the Teaching Social Studies course (the methods course) and who supervise student teaching or the internship. Provide rank, responsibilities, and tenure status.  (Do not  send  vitae.)

Russell Olwell, Assistant Professor of History. Tenure-track. Teaches two sections of “Methods of Teaching History and Social Studies, HIST 481” per  term.

Student Teaching Supervisors --All student teaching supervisors possess a MA degree and a valid teaching certificate. They have extensive experience in K-12 schools.

(See Appendix for a list of these supervisors)

9. Explanation of how the program might deviate from the NCSS program standards.

1.  Due to the 124-credit graduation requirement at EMU, history and psychology major credits are 29% of total credits rather than the required 30%. Were EMU to have the common number of credits for graduation, 120, all NCSS programs would equal 30% or higher.

2. Student teaching supervision includes a university supervisor selected by the College of Education’s Director of Student Teaching and a cooperating teacher with tenure and an M.A. degree in the major field of the student teacher.

10. Criteria used for admission at the post-baccalaureate level to determine if candidates have adequate academic background in the subject to be taught.

All post-baccalaureate students are held to the same standards for admission to the EMU teacher preparation program as are undergraduate degree candidates. 

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