Eastern Michigan University

College of Arts and Sciences

 

NCSS/Social Studies Education

 

XI. Matrix

 

Matrix Item 1.2 Theme Two: Time, Continuity, and Change

 

Social Studies teachers should possess the knowledge, capabilities, and dispositions to organize and provide instruction at the appropriate school level for the study of Time, Continuity, and Change.

 

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 time, continuity, and change.  They should:

 

*        assist learners to understand that historical knowledge and the concept of time are socially influenced constructions that lead historians to be selective in the questions they seek to answer and the evidence they use;

*        have learners apply key concepts from the study of history such as time, chronology, causality, change, conflict, and complexity to explain, analyze, and show connections among the patterns of historical change and continuity;

*        ask learners to identify and describe significant historical periods and patterns of change within and across cultures, such as the development of ancient cultures and civilizations, the rise of nation-states, and social, economic, and political revolutions;

*        guide learners as they systematically employ processes of critical historical inquiry to reconstruct and reinterpret the past, such as using a variety of sources and checking their credibility, validating and weighing evidence for claims, and searching for causality;

*        provide learners with opportunities to investigate, interpret, and analyze multiple historical and contemporary viewpoints within and across cultures related to important events, recurring dilemmas, and persistent issues, while employing empathy, skepticism, and critical judgment;

*        enable learners to apply ideas, theories, and modes of historical inquiry to analyze historical and contemporary developments, and to inform and evaluate actions concerning public policy issues.

 

 

1.2 Theme Two: Time, Continuity, and Change

 

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 Time, Continuity, and Change.

 

1.2.1. Programmatic Evidence

 

Students in the Social Studies Major/Minor are prepared to teach this theme in the following 4 ways:

 

 

1. History Department offerings focus on time, continuity and change. All students must take several history classes as part of their EMU Basic Studies requirement. These include a choice of HIST 101, HIST 102, HIST 103, HIST 123, HIST 124, HIST 109, or HIST 110. A second history class from one sequence is also required. 

 

2. All Social Studies majors must take the following classes for their Social Studies Major. Their objectives are provided below:

 

HIST 109, World History to 1500: This class will provide students with an understanding of the development of civilization around the world from prehistory to 1500.  The course will provide students with the necessary factual material and interpretations to understand both the diversity and interrelationships of cultures and politics during this same time frame.

 

HIST 110, World History since 1500

 

A student who completes HIST 110 will be able to analyze the origins and formation of the principal European nation states; the impact of western imperialism upon the traditional societies of Asia and Africa; the importance of the Industrial Revolution in securing European societies of Asia and Africa; the importance of the Industrial Revolution in securing European dominance abroad; the rise of nationalism in 19th-century Europe and its ultimate export abroad in the 20th century; the contractions within western society which led to the two great “worlds wars” of this century; the incredibly rapid process of decolonization after World War II; and the rise of the contemporary global civilization and economy in which we live.

 

HIST 123, The United States to 1877

 

Students in this class will be able to describe and analyze historical chronology and causation of events from 1492 to 1877. They will be able to describe and critically analyze primary sources and secondary historical arguments. They will be able to evaluate historical argumentation based on primary documents, and compose a narrative using conflicting primary sources.

 

HIST 124, The United States, 1877 to the Present 

 

Students in this class will be able to describe and analyze historical chronology and causation of events from 1877 to 2001. They will be able to describe and critically analyze primary sources and secondary historical arguments. They will be able to evaluate historical argumentation based on primary documents, and compose a narrative using conflicting primary sources.

 

These classes, as part of their objectives, examine the basis of historical evidence and causality, the use of primary and secondary sources, and cover historical periods ranging from ancient civilizations to the present day. They also include discussion of conflicting perspectives on the past, and historians make sense of these conflicts.

 

3. In the required “Methods of Historical Research and Writing” class (HIST 300), students learn about the process of interpreting and analyzing primary source material, the research skills required to write a substantial research paper, and the use of multiple perspectives in interpreting the past. As part of this class, students must demonstrate an ability to use concepts of time, continuity, and change in an historical research paper to critically utilize primary sources. All students must score a C or higher in this class to advance in the program.

 

4. All students in HIST 481 learn instructional strategies, resources, and models for the teaching of history. This includes critical analysis of instructional materials, lessons on how to assign and assess long-term research projects, and the use primary source material in secondary classroom instruction.

 

 

Students in the History program meet this theme’s requirements in the following three ways:

 

 

1. Extensive coursework in their major. The major requires both survey and upper level classes on European history, the history of the United States and Canada, and the history of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. [See program of study for the history department]

 

2. In the required “Methods of Historical Research and Writing” class (HIST 300), students learn about the process of interpreting and analyzing primary source material, the research skills required to write a substantial research paper, and the use of multiple perspectives in interpreting the past. As part of this class, students must demonstrate an ability to use concepts of time, continuity, and change in an historical research paper to critically utilize primary sources. All students must score a C or higher in this class to advance in the program.

 

3. All students in HIST 481 learn instructional strategies, resources, and models for the teaching of history. This includes critical analysis of instructional materials, lessons on how to assign and assess long-term research projects, and the use primary source material in secondary classroom instruction.

 

 

Students in Economics, Psychology, Geography, Political Science meet the requirements of this theme in the following ways:

 

 

1. Each of these majors has a requirement to take HIS 102 and HIS 103. These courses provide an overview of European, World and U.S. History from 1648 to the present.

 

2. History Department offerings focus on time, continuity and change. All students must take several history classes as part of their EMU Basic Studies requirement. These include a choice of HIST 101, HIST 102, HIST 103, HIST 123, HIST 124, HIST 109, or HIST 110. A second history class from one sequence is also required.

 

2. All students in HIST 481 learn instructional strategies, resources, and models for the teaching of history. This includes critical analysis of instructional materials, lessons on how to assign and assess long-term research projects, and the use primary source material in secondary classroom instruction.

 

 

 1.2.2 Test Evidence

 

 

 

Grade evidence for Social Studies majors

 

 

Course

His 109

His 110

His 123

His 124

His 300

A

6

14

8

9

9

B

7

8

6

4

8

C

5

0

1

2

3

D

1

0

0

0

0

E

0

0

0

0

0

Transfer credit (A-C)

6

3

10

9

4

 

 Grade evidence for history majors:

 

Course

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

His 103

Cr

cr

a

cr

cr

b

a-

b+

cr

c

c+

His 102

c+

a

a-

cr

cr

b

c

c+

cr

cr

b

HIS 300

a-

a-

a-

a-

b-

a-

a-

c+

b

c+

b+

 

Grade evidence for psychology majors

Course

Student 1

His 103

Cr

His 102

Cr

 

Grade evidence for political science majors:

Course

Student 1

Student 2

His 103

a

B+

His 102

a-

C

 

Grade evidence for geography majors:

Course

Student 1

Student 2

His 103

B+

A-

His 102

b-

CR

 

 

State Testing Evidence for History Majors:

 

History:

Of the nineteen graduates with a major in History for Secondary Education, fourteen student took the History MTTC, and received a scores of 195, 213, 213, 220, 224, 227, 229, 231, 233, 244, 250, 251, 262, and 275. The passing score for the MTTC is 220. This equals a pass rate of 79% for the exam, as compared to a state rate of 62%.

 

Social Studies test evidence:

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%.

 

1.2.3 Performance Evidence

 

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

 

Score

Social Studies

History

Political Science

Geography

5- Excellent

8

7

0

0

4 – Very Good

9

3

1

3

3 Average

1

0

1

0

2 Minimally acceptable

0

0

0

0

1 Inadequate

0

0

0

0

N Not applicable to this student

0

0

0

0

 

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