Personal Experiences

Hey there,  I’m Katelyn and I love social studies! As a young student, social studies was always my favourite subject because it provided me with the opportunity to hear stories from the past. To me, any time we had social studies class it was like having story time, and I loved to listen and learn about things that came before me, or about things in our world that I had no idea existed. As a social studies teacher, I hope I can use the passion I have for social studies to engage and excite my students in every lesson I teach!  During my first year of teachers college, I have learned so much about how to make social studies interesting and fun for all of students, regardless of their initial feelings on the subject at the beginning of the year. During my first practicum experience, many of my students were excited to take part in social studies class, as there were often opportunities for them to make personal connections to what was being discussed. Students enjoyed talking about their families history, where they came from and what the customs were like compared to others in the class. However, what I found my students liked most of all about social studies class was the amount of inquiry we did. They were thrilled at the chance to develop their own projects from start to finish, investigating and exploring a topic that was unique to their own ideas.  Thanks to the experience of my first practicum, and from watching videos in our own social studies class at Brock, I am feeling confident that I will be able to implement inquiry projects that align with what we are learning in my own class someday. A large part of my social studies philosophy is to use inquiry and collaboration as a vehicle for curriculum content, not only with social studies topics, but cross- curricularly as well.  Another important part of my social studies philosophy is to ensure that I make my lessons as hands on as possible! As a student, field trips and special guests were always a huge deal! They are some of the clearest memories I have from elementary school, as they were engaging, educational, and often provided hands on learning. With this in mind, I hope to bring social studies into the real world through field trips, hands on activities, visits from special guests, and through technology-enhanced experiences. The rest of the blog will take you deeper into my own, and Elizabeth’s shared philosophy on teaching the social studies curriculum. We hope that you enjoy and learn from our ideas and values when it comes to teaching the diverse and fascinating subject that is social studies!  Katelyn

Hi everyone! My name is Elizabeth and I cannot wait to teach Social Studies. I remember being in Grade 3 and visiting the Pioneer Village, wishing that I could go back in time and be a pioneer. Social Studies taught me to appreciate and understand the past as a child. Now as an adult, Social Studies is teaching me about various world issues, my job as an educator to address these world issues, and the relationships between past and present issues. When I was learning the curriculum content as a child, I remember Social Studies not being very interactive. I remember it as a lot of worksheets and pencil to paper work. It was this type of teaching and learning that led a lot of students to dislike the subject. However, after being enrolled in my first year of teacher's college, I can confidently say that I cannot wait to incorporate a variety of teaching and learning methods into my classroom. I want my SS lessons to be very engaging and hands on, and I want my students to feel as though they have a voice. During my first teaching block, I had the opportunity to watch a full Social Studies inquiry cycle, from start to finish. I was able to witness the formulation of questions and the development of data collection and conclusion drawing. It was a wonderful process to see, as all of the students in the class were highly motivated and engaged in their topics. It allowed me to view learning in a new way, and made me realize that I want to teach inquiry in my own classroom with my students. I think that Social Studies is the kind of subject that can be easily integrated into other subjects as well. I plan to teach cross-curricular - ensuring that I incorporate other subjects into my teaching of SS. Katelyn and I hope that you enjoy what we have compiled for you regarding our philosophy on Social Studies!