Is it Cute or Does it Count? Learning to Teach for Meaningful Social Studies in Elementary Grades

Using a framework of conceptual and practical tools (Grossman et al., 2000), this study explores ways in which a social studies methods course affected beginning teachers’ beliefs and pedagogical approaches for meaningful social studies instruction in elementary grades. Participants included 75 preservice teachers who completed open-ended questionnaires before and after the course, and again one year later as student teachers. Three participants were observed teaching social studies lessons during student teaching to determine how the methods course impacted their nascent instructional practices. The study adds to our understanding about “what sticks” in teacher education and offers insights to researchers and to teacher educators who aim to equip future teachers for “powerful and purposeful” (NCSS, 2009) social studies instruction.