FTCE Social Science Combined

Social Science

- a collection of disciplines that concern themselves with and study human aspects of the world and draw upon empirical, quantitative, and qualitative methods to understand it

- each borrows from one another

Anthropology

- "the most scientific of the humanities, and the most humanistic of the sciences"

- from human origins to contemporary life; all facets of society and culture, including tools, techniques, traditions, language, beliefs, kinships, values, social institutions, economic mechanisms, cravings for beauty/art, and struggles for prestige

- impacts of humans on other humans

- four major fields

1. archaeological anthropology

2. biological anthropology

3. linguistic anthropology

4. sociocultural anthropology

Civics

- branch of political science

- examines civic affairs and the rights and duties of citizenship

- focuses on the role of citizens in a government

Economics

- studies how people choose to use limited or scarce resources to obtain maximum satisfaction of unlimited wants

- production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services

- macro: economy as as whole

- micro: individual parts

Education

Concerned with the pedagogy of teaching and learning.

Geography

- study of earth's surface - climate, topography, vegetation, and population

- spatial discipline; how space is organized

- four main branches

1. human geography

2. physical geography

3. regional geography

4. topical/systematic geography

History

- derived from "historia" (Greek), means "information" or "an inquiry designed to elicit truth"

- study of political, economic, social, and cultural aspects of the past through the sue of material, oral, and written sources

- difference avenues of study: class, gender, race, etc.

Political Science

- study of the principles of government, the manner in which government conducts itself, how we identify ourselves as citizens of a particular nation, how we participate in our political structure and how it affects us

- reveal relationships underlying political events and conditions

Sociology

- study of human interaction, specifically how groups influence individual values, norms, and sanctions

- range of human interaction -> two people to nations to corporations

- especially interested in customs, traditions, and values that emerge from group experience and in the way the groups are affects by the customs, traditions, and values

- tend to draw heavily from anthropology and psychology

Psychology

- scientific and systematic study of mental processes and/or behavior

- study directly observable behavior (talking, eating, acting in a certain way) and things not readily observed (dreams, thinking, emotions, physiology)

- variety of subfields including clinical, counseling, school, industrial-organizational, experimental, social, developmental, and psychometric

Thematic Strands of Social Science

- http://www.socialstudies.org/standards/strands#I

1. Culture

2. Time, continuity, and change

3. People, places, and environments

4, Individuals, groups, and institutions

5. Power, authority, and governance

6. Production, distribution, and consumption

7. Science, technology, and society

8. Global connections

9. Civic ideals and practices

Concept

- is abstract

- a product gleaned from analysis and a synthesis of facts and experiences, rather than simple, straights-forward definition that can be memorized

- dynamic constructs; can expand with students

Arts and Ideas

- often used by societies to covey beliefs, identity, and philosophical ideas

- unite and motivate societies and may reflect conflict, or good attributes, and can define and divide a society

Belief Systems

- religious, political, and philosophical systems

- helped organize societies/shaped the way they act/react to internal/external situations

- explore how religious beliefs (for ex.) have informed art, war, legal systems, and have shaped political, cultural, and social identites

Change

The basic alterations in things, events, and ideas.

Conflict

A clash of ideas, interests, beliefs, agendas, objectives, or wills that results from forces that have incompatible ideas.

Choice

The ability, right, or power to select from a range of alternatives.

Continuity

How things remain the same.

Culture

The patterns of civilization, achievements, and customs of the people of a particular time and place and how they transmit these ideas to succeeding generations.

Diversity

- understanding, respecting others and oneself, and learning how to relate to those qualities and conditions that are different than our own

- celebrates differentiation (kind/degree) within language, cognitive style, disability, gender, education, socioeconomic class, geographic background, language, physical appearance, religion, sexual orientation, and other human characteristics and traits

Empathy

One's ability to understand others by thinking of how one would act if they were in the same situation.

Identity

- state/condition of being a certain thing

- central role in history (cultural, social, political)

- constructed internally and externally

- perception of self and nation, plays a significant part in the formation and interpretation of history

Interdependence

Reliance upon others in mutually beneficial interactions and exchanges.

Imperialism

The system and pursuit of empire through a process of accumulation and acquisition of land, resources, labor, and profits that relies upon an ideology that suggest certain people need domination or assistance in becoming civilized.

Migration

- the voluntary and involuntary transport of peoples, goods, and ideas from one place to another

- has transformed and defined empires and nations altering the social, political, and cultural landscape

Movement of People and Goods

The constant exchange of people, ideas, products, technologies, and institutions from one region or civilization to another that has existed throughout history.

Nation-State

A political entity that provides a sovereign territory for a specific nation in which people are tied together through their citizenship.

Nationalism

- common identity for groups of humans

- feelings of pride in and devotion to one's country

- could mean the desire of a people to control their own government, free from foreign interference or rule

Science and Technology

Technological development from the creation of tools and fire to space exploration has shaped not only a country's military but also how it relates to their environment and belief systems.

Society

- the complex pattern of political, economic, cultural, and social relationships that bind people to a society

- establishment of social classes affects not only the customs and norms of a society but also the way it organizes itself politically, militarily, and economically

Urbanization

Movement of people from rural to urban areas.

The World in Spatial Terms

- element #1 of geography

- maps relationships between people, places, and environments by structuring the knowledge of them into real and mental maps and then conducting a spatial analysis of that information

Places and Regions

- element #2 of geography

- basic units of geography

- physical/human characteristics examined to understand how places work

- trace peoples' perceptions of areas, how people create their own mental regions that come from their own views of the world, and how these perceptions or biases are created and organized.

Physical Systems

- element #3 of geography

- physical processes shape Earth's surface and interact with plant and animal life to create, sustain, and modify ecosystems

- looks at environmental phenomena and the interaction through ecosystems, renewable resources, and the water cycle

Human Systems

- element #4 of geography

- looks at characteristics, distribution, and migration of human populations

- tries to find patters - in culture, economic interdependence, human settlement, conflict, and cooperation - and how these influence people's relationship with each other and the earth.

Environment and Society

- element #5 of geography

- humans modify the earth's environment through their actions. such actions happen largely as a consequence of the way people value or devalue the earth's resources

The Uses of Geography

- element #6 of geography

- informs people about the relationships they have between place and environments over time

- explores how humans modify they physical environment, how physical systems affect human systems, and how the changes occur in the meaning, use, distribution, and importance of resources

Environment

The surroundings including natural elements and elements created by humans.

Geography and Environment

- people's attempts to modify their environment and adapt both themselves and the environment to meet their needs shapes the course of human history

- impacts their political, cultural, economic, social, and religious beliefs and the way they organize themselves

Needs and Wants

- refers to the often confused goods and services that are essential such as food, clothing, and shelter that people need to survive, versus the good and services that people would like to have to improve their lives, like education, fancy clothing, health care, gym memberships, and entertainment

Economic Systems

- the way society allocates available resources and creates new ones shape the development of economic systems

- simple bartering system to global capitalism

- development, exchange, and expansion of goods, markets, products, and ideas influence historical events both within and between societies

Factors of Production

Resources that are necessary for production, like land, labor, capital, and enterprise.

Scarcity

Economic conflict when people have unlimited wants and needs but limited resources.

Science and Technology

The tools and methods used by people to get what they need and want

Justice

The fair, equal, proportional, or appropriate treatment rendered to individuals in interpersonal, societal, or government interactions.

Citizenship

Membership in a community gained by meeting the legal requirements of nationals, state, or local governments of national, state, or local governments with its accompanying rights, responsibilities, and dispositions.

Political Systems

- ex. like monarchies, dictatorships, and democracies

- all address certain basic questions like: what should a government have the power to do? what should a government not have the power to do?

- also provides for ways that parts of that system interrelate and combine to perform specific functions of government

Power

- the ability of people to compel or influence the actions of others

- "legitimate power is called authority"

Government

Organization, agency, and institutions through which a political unit exercises authority, controls and administers public policy, directs and controls the actions of its members, and develops and maintains law-making and law enforcement.

Government and Civics

The way that societies are governed and the authority by which to govern remains a central theme of historical inquiry.

Civil Values

- those principles that serve as the foundation for our democratic form of government

- include justice, honesty, self-discipline, due process, equality, majority rule with respect for minority rights, respect for self, others, and property

Human Rights

Those basic political, economic, and social rights that all human beings are entitled to, such as the right to life, liberty, and the security of person, and a standard of living that is adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family.

Table

Both a physical representation of a way to arrange data so it can be easily studied and compared with other information.

Header

Displays the names of what you are examining.

Infographics

- information graphics

- graphic visual representation of information, data, or knowledge

- present complex information quickly and compactly (eg. subway map)

Develop Metacognition

- students need to be taught how to think about thinking and to become aware and to control their cognitive processes and then to take that thinking to the next level: critical thinking

- share and model self-monitoring processes

- clarify why particular strata are helpful/useful/appropriate

Share and Model Self-Monitoring Processes

Show a piece of work and let them see to make it better.

Explain Strategies that a Student can use

Detail, out loud, how one might solve a problem, organize an essay, or prepare for a test.

Clarify why Particular Strategies are Helpful and Useful

Help students develop their conditional knowledge by letting them know what works, when, and why.

Clarify and Model when Particular Strategies are Appropriate

Show kids how you learn something and then learn something together. It helps to verbalize what you are thinking and how to solve a problem. Students benefit by seeing you make errors along the way, test a hypothesis that may and may not work out, and suggest improvements for the next time you might encounter something similar.

Help Students to come up with their own Plan to use Metacognition to Ask/Answer these Questions

- what do I already know or understand about this subject, topic, or issue?

- do I understand what I am supposed to know?

- do I know where I can find some information to add to my knowledge?

- how much time will it take me to learn this new knowledge?

- what are some strategies and tactics that I can use to learn more about this?

- do I understand what I just heard, read, or saw?

- how will I know if I'm learning this new knowledge too quickly, too slowly, or just right?

- how can I spot a mistake if I make one?

- how should I revise my plan to learn this new knowledge if what I am doing isn't working?

Activate Prior Knowledge

Learning happens when new information is added to old information and ideas. Some ways to activate prior knowledge include brainstorming and cognitive mapping.

Brainstorming

This can be done in a collective way or individually.

Cognitive Mapping

The students have learned a great deal about their environment by experiencing it. They can be led to use that knowledge to help them understand the places and events of the past.

Collaborative Processes

- having students work together to solve a problem, present an idea, or develop a project are skills that are helpful in a democracy.

- can help students retain information better and teaches them how to work with others

- use cross-age or cross-ability pairings: sometimes the best way for students to learn something is to have to teach it

Inquiry Teaching

- having students ask and answer key questions

- identify issue; propose hypothesis; locate, collect, organize data; evaluate; interpret and analyze

- use collaborative, substantive, and reflective discussions

- cooperative learning structures

- engage in problem solving and decision making

- use case studies

- use storypath method

- use spatial dynamics in the classroom

- webquests

- virtual museums

Storypath Method

Uses the basic components of a setting, characters, and a plot - a story - to organize the social studies curriculum and integrates language arts with social studies.

Problem Solving

Students use facts, concepts, and generalizations in the process to finding solutions to problems.

Direct Instruction

Provide instruction direction, like a lecture, explaining a new skill, providing baseline information, or modeling a thinking process.

Visual Strategies

Use visual aides to facilitate understanding.

Teaching Facts, Concepts, and Generalization

- facts, concepts, and generalizations all rely on eachother

- generalizations organize and summarize information obtained from an analysis of facts

- two ways to teach: inductive/discovery approach, and deductive/expository approach

Inductive/Discovery Approach

- given materials - examine key points and discuss the data and the patterns, similarities, difference that they find

- then draw conclusions, summarize findings, infer generalizations from it

Deductive/Expository Approach

- given hypothesis or generalization and have to find evidence to support it

- concepts are clarified

- teacher explains how to verify the generalization

- then the students create/find new generalizations

Community-Based Instruction

- using real life situations and setting to explain a concept or enrich curriculum

- field trips, field studies, mentoring/apprenticeships, service learning, etc.

Role Play and Simulations

These help students make events from the past, present, or hypothetical come alive. Simulations help them engage in problem solving in real-world contexts. Role play helps students see situations from multiple perspectives.

Discussion Formats

- use dialogue to facilitate a conversation

- debates, seminars, colloquium, graphic organizers, etc.

Ptolemy

Studies in astronomy, skills in mapping, and other contributions to geographic knowledge came from this person. His theory stated that Earth was at the center of the Universe and all other planets rotated around it.

Galileo

1564-1642. Invented the telescope and advanced Copernicus' theory that the earth revolved around the sun

Longitude

Has no important influence over climate

Latitude

primary influence of earth's climate

Elevation, altitude, and ocean currents

secondary influences on climate

Tropical Rainforests

Soil erosion is most likely to occur due to the constant rainfall

Deserts

Have almost no soil erosion due to their climate

The Kalahari

Located between the Orange and Zambezi Rivers and has an annual rainfall of about 5-20 inches

The Namib

A desert, rocky plateau along the coast of Namibia in SW Africa that receives less than .5 inches of rain annually

The Great Rift Valley

A fault system that runs 3000 miles from Syria to Mozambique and has great variations of elevation

The Sahel

Region of Africa South of the Sahara and extending East and West from Senegal to Somalia. Experienced serious drought in the 1960s, 1980s, and 1990s.

Meridians

lines of longitude that determine time zones and time around the world

Yangtze River

Runs from Tibet through China and flows East. Longest river in China

Nile River

Flows from Central Africa North to the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile River Delta is in Egypt.

The Ganges River

runs northeast through India across the plains to the Bay of Bengal in Bangladesh. Considered the most sacred river in India according to the Hindus

Geographer

Studies mostly locations, conditions, and spatial relations

Cartographer

People who make maps

Demographer

Concerned with the study of human population

Adam Smith

Father of modern economics.

Wealth of Nations

Written by Adam Smith; advocated for little or no government interference in the economy. Smith claimed that individuals' self-interest would bring about the public's welfare. Smith was firmly against free market systems of monopoly power and warned that the private sector, if left unregulated, could potentially stand in opposition to the public welfare

John Maynard Keynes

Advocated an economic system in which government regulations and spending on public works would stimulate the economy and lead to full employment

Says that capitalism could be maintained if there were sufficient checks on the economy.

Disagreed with the idea that free markets led to prosperity

John Stuart Mill

Progressive British philosopher and economist whose ideas came closer to socialism than to the classical capitalist ideas of Adam Smith. Advocated for emancipation for women, labor organizations, and farming cooperatives

Thomas Malthus

Believed that population growth would seriously affect a nation's productive capabilities

Karl Marx

Founder of socialism and communism