My Educational Philosophy

        The key to teaching is to engage the students in every lesson, which could be difficult if they do not like social studies. I want to be that teacher who impacts student, who makes a difference and for that students to remember that they can do it if they put their mind to it. Every student learns differently and as a teacher we need to provide different strategies, opportunities, and lessons that fits all the students needs. My philosophy of teaching is to incorporate the five powerful elements throughout my classroom in every lesson I teach. Social Studies is meaningful when "students learn to connect networks of knowledge, skills, beliefs and attitudes that they will find useful both in and outside school" (p.1). The students will begin to understand the importance of a key idea. I learned from Social Studies Methods that when it is possible to integrate other subjects to do so. I would like to be that teacher that can effectively use technology in the classroom to challenge and engage the students. Therefore, "social studies teaching integrates knowledge, skills, beliefs, values, and attitudes to action" (p.2). When teaching social studies it is important for students to think critically and make value-based decisions on current issues that are occurring throughout the world. Challenging students is important because you want them to succeed, but also as a teacher you want  your students to be challenged to see their well-constructed response when they are given a  higher-thinking question. Teachers should model this behavior, therefore their students can have "a thoughtful approach to inquiry and use instructional strategies designed to elicit and support similar qualities" (p.2.) Lastly the students will use their knowledge of social studies and create a reflective decision on an event. "Powerful social studies teaching emphasizes activities that call for real-life applications using the skills and content of the field" (p.3). The powerful  five elements of teaching will allow students to expand their knowledge and reflect it on current events, or create higher-order thinking skills. In order to teach these five elements in the classroom, teachers must use various teaching methods, such as direct-instruction, inquiry-based learning, and cooperative learning. Teachers will introduce new material by direct-instruction to provide the students with the facts, people, and key elements they need to know for that unit. Once the students have a basic understanding, they will begin to develop their own questions when they begin the inquiry-process, which also helps students build their higher-order thinking skills.


Thank you for reading,

Works Cited

National Council for the Social Studies. “Principles of Teaching and Learning.” Expectations of excellence: curriculum standards for social studies.