Eastern Michigan University

College of Arts and Sciences

 

NCSS/Social Studies Education

 

XI. Matrix

 

1.0 INTERDISCIPLINARY SOCIAL STUDIES THEMES STANDARDS

 

Matrix Item 1.1 Theme One: Culture and Cultural Diversity

 

Social Studies teachers should possess the knowledge, capabilities, and dispositions to organize and provide instruction at the appropriate school level for the study of Culture and Cultural Diversity.

 

Indicators of Capabilities for Teaching Social Studies

 

Teachers of Social Studies at all school levels should provide developmentally appropriate experiences as they guide learners in the study of culture and cultural diversity.  They should:

 

*         enable learners to analyze and explain the ways groups, societies, and cultures address human needs and concerns;

*         guide learners as they predict how data and experiences may be interpreted by people from diverse cultural perspectives and frames of references;

*         assist learners to apply an understanding as an integrated whole that explains the functions and interactions of language, literature, the arts, traditions, beliefs and values, and behavior patterns;

*         encourage learners to compare and analyze societal patterns for preserving and transmitting culture while adapting to environmental and social change;

*         ask learners to give examples and describe the importance of cultural unity and diversity within and across groups;

*         have learners interpret patterns of behavior reflecting values and attitudes that contribute or pose obstacles to cross-cultural understanding;

*         guide learners as they construct reasoned judgments about specific cultural responses to persistent human issues;

*         have learners explain and apply ideas, theories, and modes of inquiry drawn from anthropology and sociology in the examination of persistent issues and social problems.

 

1.1  Theme One: Culture and Cultural Diversity

 

The program prepares Social Studies teachers who possess the knowledge, capabilities, and dispositions to organize and provide instruction at the appropriate school level for the study of culture and Cultural Diversity.

 

1.1.1 Programmatic Evidence

 

Social Studies Majors take 7 types of courses to learn about issues of teaching culture and cultural diversity.

 

 

1. All students take a course in “cross cultural or international studies” as part of their basic studies requirements. A list of approved classes is in the appendix.

 

2. All students in the Social Studies teaching program must take an additional “cross cultural or international studies” from another list of approved classes, in the appendix.

 

3. All students must take Educational PSY 322 Human Development and Learning, which focuses on the study of childhood psychology from birth through adolescence with a focus on intellectual and psychosocial behavior and the role of parents and teachers in fostering learning and development. There is considerable focus on the impact of cultural and other environmental factors on development and learning. The required assessment is a group diversity project that requires students to work together to research the impact of specific variables on learning (race, language, gender, sexual orientation, etc.) and the types of school interventions that can enhance learning.

 

4. All students in Educational PSY 322 take as a co-requisite a FETE (Field Experience) course, which places students in a Detroit school in order to learn about cultural diversity in the classroom first-hand.

 

5. All students take SOFD 328 Schools in a Multicultural Society (3), as part of their professional education program. This class focuses on the interactive relationship between schools and society and the development of a culturally responsible pedagogy. Special emphasis is on educational equity and the theoretical foundations of multicultural education. This course examines social, political, and economic influences on schooling and emphasizes the teacher’s role in preparing diverse students to succeed in school and participate in a democratic society.

 

6. All students take RDNG 311 as part of their professional education program, which addresses the issue of multiculturalism in reading instruction. It has a particular focus on integrating multicultural literature in the disciplines through biographies and related literature.

 

7. A substantial segment in the Social Studies Methods class, HIST 481, deals with applications of issues of diversity to the Social Studies classroom.

 

 

All History, Economics, Geography and Psychology majors learn about this theme in the following six ways:

 

 

1. All students take a course in “cross cultural or international studies” as part of their basic studies requirements. A list of approved classes is included.

 

2. All students must take Educational PSY 322 Human Development and Learning, which focuses on the study of childhood psychology from birth through adolescence with a focus on intellectual and psychosocial behavior and the role of parents and teachers in fostering learning and development. There is considerable focus on the impact of cultural and other environmental factors on development and learning. The required assessment is a group diversity project that requires students to work together to research the impact of specific variables on learning (race, language, gender, sexual orientation, etc.) and the types of school interventions that can enhance learning.

 

3. All students in Educational PSY 322 take as a co-requisite a FETE (Field Experience) course, which places students in a Detroit school in order to learn about cultural diversity in the classroom first-hand.

 

4. All students take SOFD 328 Schools in a Multicultural Society (3), as part of their professional education program. This class focuses on the interactive relationship between schools and society and the development of a culturally responsible pedagogy. Special emphasis is on educational equity and the theoretical foundations of multicultural education. This course examines social, political, and economic influences on schooling and emphasizes the teacher’s role in preparing diverse students to succeed in school and participate in a democratic society.

 

5. All students take RDNG 311 as part of their professional education program, which addresses the issue of multiculturalism in reading instruction. It has a particular focus on integrating multicultural literature in the disciplines through biographies and related literature.

 

6. A substantial segment in the Social Studies Methods class, HIST 481, deals with applications of issues of diversity to the Social Studies classroom (syllabus in appendix).

 

 

1.1.2 Test Evidence

 

 

What grades mean at EMU [Applies to all sections] All EMU grades are according to the following scale:

 

 

EMU Grade Scale for all classes (EMU Catalog, 2000-2003).

A Exceptionally high order              4.0

A–                                   3.7

B+                                   3.3

B Distinctly above the average       3.0

B–                                   2.7

C+                                   2.3

C Average                         2.0

C–                                   1.7

D+                                   1.3

D Below Average                          1.0

D–                                   0.7

E Unsatisfactory (denoting failure) 0

 

Transfer policy:

Grades labeled CR represent credit given for a transfer class without a grade assigned. A score of C or higher is necessary to transfer credit to EMU.

 

Grade of Not yet taken: Students may student teach with one class not yet taken that they often while or after student teaching.

 

Grade reporting: In all fields except Social Studies, grade data is reported in columns by student, allowing you to view the overall academic record of each student candidate. In social studies, the number of students required compiling a chart of grades.

 

Cohorts: Grade and Student teaching data is for students in Winter 2003. Test score data is for 2002-3 graduates who have taken the Michigan Test for Teacher Certification.

 

Grade evidence for Social Studies majors:

Course

Student grades

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EDPS 322

b

a

A

B+

A

C+

C

A-

A

A-

A

A

A

B+

A

A

A

A

A

B

A

A

A-

A

B+

SOFD 328

b+

b+

B+

A

B+

A-

B-

A

A-

A

A-

Cr

B+

B-

A

A-

B+

A

A

B-

A-

A

A-

A

A

RDNG 311

a

a

A

A

B

A

A

a

A

A-

A

 

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

 

Grade range

EDPS 322

RDNG 311

SOFD 328

A to A-

18

23

15

B- to B+

5

1

9

C- to C+

2

0

0

D- to D+

0

0

0

E

0

0

0

Transfer credit granted (not below C)

0

0

1

 

Grade evidence for history majors:

 

Course

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EDPS 322

a-

a

a

a-

a

c+

a-

B+

a-

b-

a

SOFD 328

A

b

a-

a-

a

b-

b-

a-

a

b+

b

RDNG 311

A

a

a

a

a-

a

a

a

a

a

b+

 

Grade evidence for political science majors

Course

Student grades

 

EDPS 322

B+

A-

SOFD 328

B+

Not yet taken

RDNG 311

A

Not yet taken

 

 

Grade evidence for geography majors

Course

Student grades

 

EDPS 322

 

B+

a-

A

SOFD 328

 

A-

 

A

RDNG 311

 

A

 

A

 

 

Grade evidence for psychology majors

Course

Grade

EDPS 322

A

SOFD 328

A-

RDNG 311

A

 

State test data for Social Studies

 

Of the twenty two 2002-3 graduates with a major in History for Secondary Education, seventeen student took the Social Studies MTTC, and received a scores of 217, 220, 228, 228, 236, 241, 247, 255, 257, 263, 267, 268, 271, 271, 276, 276, 276. The passing score for the MTTC is 220. This equals a pass rate of 94% for the exam, as compared to a state rate of 78%.

 

1.1.3 Performance Evidence

Students scored as follows on the supplemental evaluation form on this strand:

 

Score

Social Studies

History

Political Science

Geography

5- Excellent

5

4

0

2

4 – Very Good

6

2

2

0

3 Average

5

4

0

0

2 Minimally acceptable

2

0

0

0

1 Inadequate

0

0

0

0

N Not applicable to this student

0

0

0

1

 

Note: Neither psychology nor economics had any students complete student teaching in Winter 2003 when the supplemental form was instituted.