Cat’s History Corner

  Chapter 6 discusses a constructivist approach to philosophy of education.  A constructivist-based classroom helps teachers create a curriculum that is meaningful and adaptable to a rapidly changing world.  Constructivist teachers believe that students create meaning based on their experiences, ideas, and perceptions.  When students face real, motivating learning activities and problems posed by teachers, learning becomes meaningful for students.   The text also explains five significant factors which make the classroom function.  These factors, as stated in the text, are: 1. Students feel safe and secure in the classroom. 2. They experience academic and social success, 3. They acknowledge areas of personal talent and interest. 4. They feel accepted by other students in the class, as well as adults.  5. They contribute during class, and view themselves as an important part of the class.  Class meetings are also helpful in relation to the suc...

As an aspiring elementary school teacher, it is important for me to begin forming ideas of how I plan to carry myself in my future classroom. In order to do this, I need to consider different occurrences in the classroom when students learn and the struggles they may face.   Teaching a class which consists of different students with diverse needs can be difficult.  Everyone learns and understands concepts differently. There is no simple way of explaining a lesson that will resonate with every unique child. My identity as an educator has developed over time through my experiences with fieldwork and observing children in a classroom setting.  I believe it is vital as a future teacher to be able to adapt to situations in the classroom.  With children of a younger age, you never know what could happen on any given day. In addition, it can be hard to predict the response a class will have to a lesson plan.  Ideally, everyone would understand the concepts right...

  This chapter of the text deals primarily with utilizing reliable technology in the classroom.  The chapter emphasizes the importance of validating a source to make sure the information is credible before presenting it to students.  While this is true for any and all academic subjects, I think it is especially important for social studies and history classes.  When discussing social studies related topics, it is so important to provide students with historically accurate, unbiased information to allow them to draw their own conclusions about the event.   The textbook defines "reliability" as "...The degree of consistency that the instrument or procedure demonstrates".  In addition, the textbook defines "validity" as "...That quality of a data-gathering instrument or procedure that enables it to measure what it is supposed to measure."

  “A government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” - Abraham Lincoln Civics education teaches just this: that government should be by and for the people. People have the right to control their government-- this is why we have checks and balances in our three branches of government. Civics is full of Important information to help students become overall better citizens in society.  Why is civics important? It helps students understand how to work together with one another as well as how to get involved in their communities to become upstanding citizens. Learning about civics helps develop critical thinking and analyzation skills in students How do we teach civics? Teachers should create an environment that is democratic and gives the students an understanding of how democracy works.  How to make a class democratic: Classroom meetings to discuss aspects of the classroom that really work well and what doesn't. This...

Today, my Social Studies methods class participated in a mock interview.  Dr. Smirnova chose three students to act as "interviewers", and they took turns asking us different interview questions to decide if we would be "hired" at their school or not.  I thought this exercise was so interesting! I've never done anything like it before in another one of my classes, and it was fun to pretend I was being interviewed for a job.  The girls who acted as "interviewers" were Katie Murray, Megan Jackson, and Lindsay Byer.  Shoutout to you guys, for creating your principal characters to prepare for this day!  The three of them prepared some thought-provoking questions that really allowed me to consider what I think is most important when teaching a lesson, what kind of teacher I want to be, and why I want to be a teacher.  I prepared a resume for the class, and answered each question as best I could.  In the end, Katie ended up choosing me to "hire" at ...

This week, the class was tasked with creating a presenting a lesson based on different Native America tribes.  I was excited for this project for a few reasons.  First, I think it is so cool to learn about other cultures, especially ones that are present in the United States! Second, I have always believed that becoming educated about indigenous people of North America is extremely important.  Indigenous people usually do not see themselves represented accurately in most school curriculums, so it is important to do research and understand the deep historical significance of Native American genocide.   My group consisted of myself, Gabby Laucella, Megan O'Leary, and Katherine Frisco.  I've worked with these girls for two semesters in a row, now, and we really enjoy working together! The tribe we researched and taught our class about was the Muscogee Creek Nation.  This tribe is based in Oklahoma, and it was so interesting to be able to learn and teach a...