Dynamic Social Studies and the NCSCOS

This post originated on a group discussion board. The idea of Dynamic Social Studies, and the elements discussed below were taken from Dynamic Social Studies for Constructvist Classrooms (9th ed.) by George Maxim (2010). The curricular references are from the North Carolina Standard Course of Study (specifically 4th grade Social Studies), retrieved from: http://www.learnnc.org/scos/2003-SOC/4/


It seems to me that almost any Social Studies curriculum lends itself to becoming Dynamic; it depends on the teacher and how much time he or she is willing to commit. That being said, the North Carolina Standard Course of Study (NCSCOS) makes it easy to facilitate Dynamic Social Studies across all grades, because the goals and objectives seem to have been developed with the views of the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) in mind.

Specifically for the fourth grade, the NCSCOS consists of a variety of goals and objectives that coincide directly with the idea of Dynamic Social Studies:

1. Respect for diversity: Goals 1, 2, 3, & 5 deal implicitly with the diversity of NC, covering the roles of different cultures and ethnicities within the state, as well as the impact that different groups have made. One example would be that of the 1960 Greensboro sit-in, in which four African-American men started the Sit-in Movement, which soon spread through other states. These men from NC were at the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement, and in studying this event, students can see how a few people can make a huge impact on history.
Photo by Jack Moebis; retrieved from http://www.smithsonianmag.com/multimedia/photos/?c=y&articleID=81144307&page=2

2. Functional content: The wording of the NCSCOS in several places coincides with the idea of functional content, because it asks the students to analyze different aspects of NC history (e.g., Goal 4). Analyzing almost always leads to questions and differences of opinion, which show that Social Studies is constantly changing. Therefore, the students may pursue a line of discovery that another class doesn't even consider.

3. Constructivist teaching practices: As we have learned throughout our entire M.A.T. program, constructivism is a way of ensuring that the students are learning through discovery, especially when their specific level of learning is taken into consideration (i.e., ZPD). Dynamic Social Studies provides innumerable opportunities for incorporating constructivist teaching practices, and the NCSCOS does, too. For example, Goal 6 refers to the economic practices and principles in NC, providing obvious places for hands-on, constructivist activities (e.g., developing a classroom economy).

Image retrieved from: http://insiderspassport.com/images/colonialkids.png

4. Intrinsic motivation: In some ways, this one is the key, because without intrinsic motivation, the students will not take away a lot from a lesson. How is this developed? The teacher must find ways for the students to connect the the subject, whatever it may be. To me, NC Social Studies has built in interest, because this is where I live. But to a fourth grader, a teacher has to go further to make sure that the intrinsic motivation occurs. Goal 4 in the NCSCOS provides opportunities for this: in allowing the students to present holidays and religious ideas that they hold dear, they are more likely to be interested in learning about those of others (especially if, through excellent classroom management, the class environment is built on mutual respect).

5. Cross-curricular integration: Finally, cross-curricular integration allows all subjects to become Dynamic. It ensures that social studies and the arts do not get left by the wayside, since they are not covered in the EOGs, and it allows for a much more enriching learning environment. Letting the students discover how all subjects work together in an authentic way is a sure way to introduce real-life connections. Goal 7, for example, is all about technology. How can the technology of NC Social Studies be integrated into other subjects? Creating graphs (math) of social studies data; exploring the effects of different cultures on the environment of NC (science) through websites; producing narratives and expository writings (language arts) about different NC experiences and putting them in a blog.
Graph taken from 2000 Census.

Dynamic Social Studies aligns with the NCSCOS beautifully.