The Teaching of Social StudiesModule Details

Rationale
The teaching of social studies in primary schools should be an interesting venture due to its practicality. An innovative teacher is capable of capturing the learner’s attention and interest in the subject. The aim of this course is to instill innovative skills in the potential teacher in a number of pedagogies in the teaching of social studies. The course further introduces a variety of innovative methods that can be used by the teacher to further develop other ways of engaging the learners. This is intended for the teacher to help the learners understand the various phenomena in their environment, and how human beings interact with the world globally. Students during this course will emphasise on key concepts that shape historical understanding (e.g., sources, evidence, explanation, interpretation, empathy) and on ways of differentiating curriculum and instructions to meet the diverse needs of learners. 

Learning Outcomes
At the end of the course students will be expected to:

i.    Discuss pedagogical trends related to the teaching and learning of social studies in schools.
ii.   Develop lesson plans, teaching strategies, programs, and assessment tasks based on the social studies curriculum.
iii.  Explore different innovative strategies that can be used in the teaching of social studies.
iv.  Apply the key concepts that shape historical understanding (e.g., sources, evidence, explanation, interpretation, empathy) in the lesson.
v.   Develop/create lesson plans which reflect the investigatory, analysis, evaluation and presentation skills acquired.
vi.  Select, evaluate, adapt, and apply technologies in the planning of social studies lesson.
vii. Evaluate various current researches on the teaching of social studies.
viii. Conduct peer teaching to translate theory into practice.