Practical Strategies for Teaching K-12 Social Studies in Inclusive Classrooms [1 ed.] 9781617355899, 9781617355875

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Practical Strategies for Teaching K–12 Social Studies in Inclusive Classrooms

A volume in International Social Studies Forum: The Series Richard Diem and Jeff Passe, Series Editors

International Social Studies Forum: The Series Richard Diem and Jeff Passe Series Editors Democratic Education for Social Studies:An Issues-Centered Decision Making Curriculum Edited by Anna S. Ochoa-Becker Digital Geography: Geospatial Technologies in the Social Studies Classroom Edited by Andrew J. Milson and Marsha Alibrandi Religious Diversity and Children’s Literature By Connie R. Green and Sandra Brenneman Oldendorf Social Justice in These Times Edited by James O’Donnell, Marc Pruyn, and Rudolfo Chávez Chávez Social Studies and the Press: Keeping the Beast at Bay? Edited by Margaret Smith Crocco Technology in Retrospect: Social Studies in the Information Age, 1984–2009 Edited by Richard Diem and Michael J. Berson Unsettling Beliefs: Teaching Theory To Teachers Edited by Josh Diem and Robert J. Helfenbein

Practical Strategies for Teaching K–12 Social Studies in Inclusive Classrooms edited by

Timothy Lintner The University of South Carolina Aiken

Windy Schweder The University of South Carolina Aiken

INFORMATION AGE PUBLISHING, INC. Charlotte, NC • www.infoagepub.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Practical strategies for teaching K-12 social studies in inclusive classrooms / edited by Timothy Lintner, Windy Schweder. p. cm. -- (International social studies forum: the series) Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-1-61735-587-5 (pbk.) -- ISBN 978-1-61735-588-2 (hardcover) -ISBN 978-1-61735-589-9 (ebook) 1. Social sciences--Study and teaching (Elementary)--United States. 2. Social sciences--Study and teaching (Secondary)--United States. 3. Inclusive education. I. Lintner, Timothy. II. Schweder, Windy. LB1584.P67 2011 372.83’044--dc23                         2011031943

Copyright © 2011 Information Age Publishing Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher. Printed in the United States of America

Contents Foreword............................................................................................... vii 1 Social Studies Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices for Teaching Students with Disabilities: A Progress Report...................................... 1 Jeff Passe and Ashley Lucas 2 Knowing Your Students.......................................................................... 9 Windy Schweder 3 Universal Design for Learning and Social Studies Classrooms........ 19 Kimberly Pawling 4 Voices from the High School Classroom: Teaching Social Studies in an Inclusive Setting............................................................ 29 Amy Matthews 5 Maximizing Social Studies Learning for All with Peer Tutoring and Learning Strategy Information................................................... 35 Thomas E. Scruggs and Margo A. Mastropieri 6 Toward an Inclusive Social Studies Classroom.................................. 47 Darren W. Minarik and David Hicks 7 Voices from the Elementary School Classroom: Teaching Social Studies in a General Education Setting.................................. 57 Kay Usher 8 Technology in the Social Studies for Students with Disabilities....... 67 Cynthia M. Okolo, Emily Bouck, Anne Heutsche, Carrie Anna Courtad, and Carol Sue Englert 9 Teaching Social Studies Through Big Ideas: A Strategy for All Students..................................................................................... 89 Timothy Lintner About the Contributors........................................................................ 99

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Foreword When we began nibbling around the edges of the relationship between social studies and special education, we were both heartened and dismayed. We felt heartened in the sense that there was a small but potent pool of literature that discussed insights and perceptions, practices and purpose. We knew that other scholars shared our burgeoning interest. Yet we were alternately dismayed at the concerted lack of authentic applications available to classroom teachers. Much of the research was theoretical in nature; not enough was practical. Though this book contains a healthy dose of theoretical anchors, it also contains what we feel may be most important—practical, relevant, simple strategies to use when teaching social studies to all students. Why is it important to know how best to teach social studies to all students? The simple (and rather flippant) answer would be that it is what teachers are charged with doing; utilizing best practices within the classroom in order to maximize comprehension and application for all students. Good teaching is good teaching, regardless of the content area or student characteristic. The more complex answer to this question would be that inclusion models of instruction are becoming more commonplace. More students with disabilities are being included within general education classrooms. Thus, it behooves the general education teacher to understand (and practice) how best to “reach and teach” all students, irrespective of perceived abilities or labels. In soliciting chapters for this book, we sought an array of perspectives and practices from scholars inside the fields of social studies and special education. We purposefully asked our contributors to “speak to the reader” in a disarming, straightforward way. We are confident that you will find each Practical Strategies for Teaching K–12 Social Studies in Inclusive Classrooms, pages vii–viii Copyright © 2011 by Information Age Publishing All rights of reproduction in any form reserved.

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viii   Foreword

chapter conversational in nature, insightful in content, and applicable to classroom practice. At its core, this book serves to affirm the clarion call adopted by the South Carolina Council for the Social Studies—Social Studies: Every Student, Every Day! —Timothy Lintner Windy Schweder Editors

Chapter 1

Social Studies Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices for Teaching Students with Disabilities A Progress Report Jeff Passe Ashley Lucas

Introduction The education of students with disabilities has grown significantly in its acceptance by educators. The concept of inclusion, in particular, has been celebrated with great confidence (Allan, 2006). The precepts of inclusion are now purposefully included in pre-service and in-service teacher training programs. Most teachers could identify inclusion’s principles and anticipated benefits. Teachers also have positive perceptions of the concept (Reeves, 2006). To build on these notable and laudatory developments, teachers must now focus on implementation. Fortunately, scholars have begun to lay

Practical Strategies for Teaching K–12 Social Studies in Inclusive Classrooms, pages 1–8 Copyright © 2011 by Information Age Publishing All rights of reproduction in any form reserved.

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the groundwork that will provide direction for classroom teachers who are not specialists in teaching students with disabilities. Inclusion in Social Studies Social education is designed to promote citizenship knowledge and skills for every learner. The National Council for Social Studies (2010) standards, updated from 1994, are intended to guide social education for all students. McCoy (2005) writes, “[G]iven the diversity represented by children with mild disabilities, the 10 themes that form the framework of the social studies standards (NCSS, 1994) almost seem to have been designed specifically for them” (p. 2). At one point, there was little information on social studies educational strategies for students with disabilities (Lintner &Schweder, 2008). A review of current literature reveals a growing body of research regarding social studies and inclusive classrooms. This is an important development as more and more students with mild disabilities are being mainstreamed into general education classes (Turnbull, 2005). The literature appears to follow three main trends: a) teachers’ attitudes and practice in inclusive settings; b) instructional ideas and techniques for inclusive classrooms; and c) an examination of special education and social studies methods textbooks. Instructional Strategies for Inclusive Classrooms There has been an increase in researchers’ attention to instructional strategies for inclusive social studies classrooms. This has been quite a change since Curtis (1991) first bemoaned the limited information available on techniques for teaching social studies to students with disabilities. Polloway and colleagues (Polloway, Payne, Patton, & Payne, 1985) suggested that authors who did broach the topic usually offered “useful suggestions” rather than empirically-based findings. Curtis (1991) concluded that, “With so little support, it is to be expected that preparing students with disabilities for citizenship is not a fundamental objective of social studies instruction” (p. 160). Since then, progress has been substantial. Friend and Bursuck (1996), Guerin (1992), McFarland (1998), and Porter (1995) offer suggestions for adaptations for students with disabilities in social studies classrooms. McCoy’s (2005) work presents concrete strategies specific to teaching social studies to students with mild disabilities. In addition, Steele’s studies (2007, 2008) provide suggestions for modifying assignments, activities, and test-

Social Studies Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices for Teaching Students with Disabilities     3

ing. Steele also discusses the challenges that middle and high school teachers face when teaching high-level thinking skills such as problem solving, analytical thinking, synthesis, and evaluation. Ferretti, MacArthur, and Okolo’s (2001, 2007) studies of students with and without identified disabilities shows improvement in historical thinking for students with disabilities when assistive structures are in place. Their research examined the successful adaptations that teachers made for students with disabilities when teaching units on immigration and westward expansion. They stress that with the right adaptations, “students with disabilities can understand the authentic historical practice and meet the demands of a rigorous curricula” (p. 69). Fontana, Scruggs, and Mastropieri’s (2007) study of mnemonic strategy in four inclusive world history classes indicates benefits for multiple groups: general education students, ESL students, and students with learning disabilities. Connor and Lagares (2007) provide 25 strategies specific to inclusive social studies classrooms. De La Paz, Morales, and Winston’s (2007) work on historical reading and writing is also a valuable contribution to the literature. Teachers’ Attitudes and Practices The literature on teacher attitude and practice is not as robust. A survey by Passe and Beattie (1994) concluded that general education social studies teachers did not consistently make effective accommodations for students with mild disabilities. Although many of the strategies that teachers used seemed to reflect the suggestions of experts in the field (e.g., Wood, 1989), most were not applied in the recommended manner. Baker and Zigmond’s (1990) study in general education settings concluded that instruction was undifferentiated. Van Hover and Yeager’s (2003) study of 12 secondary history teachers in inclusive classrooms revealed that the teachers made only superficial changes to assignments rather than “adapting” the assignments or instruction. They also concluded that several teachers were hostile towards inclusion and did not believe that students with select disabilities should be in their classrooms. McCoy (2005) concluded, after examining the research of Bender and Ukeje (1989), Schumm and Vaughn (1991), and Whinnery, Fuchs, and Fuchs (1991), that while some teachers see the value of inclusion and accommodation, the majority find such practices non-compatible to the general classroom. More recently, Lintner and Schweder’s (2008) research looked at perceptions and practices of social studies, not in inclusive classrooms, but in contained special education classes. The special educators surveyed indicated that social studies ranked as the least important subject for their

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students. Among the difficulties the special educators found was the lack of appropriate social studies materials for their students. As one teacher indicated, “It seems as though the state provides ample materials for other [general education] classrooms but they sure don’t provide enough for my [special education] classroom” (p. 5). Leko and Brownell (2009) discussed the basic problem of social studies teachers not having the skills and background knowledge to teach students with disabilities and the special educator teachers’ lack of content knowledge. McCoy (2005) concluded that “results of research conducted to determine the extent to which accommodations for individual differences have occurred have been somewhat dismal” (p. 3). Textbooks and Special Education The instructional relationship between special education and social studies, as evidenced in special education textbooks, has not always been prominent. Many of the commonly used special education textbooks in the 1980s (e.g., Mercer & Mercer, 1989; Stephens, Blackhurst, & Magliocca, 1982) failed to address instructional methods used in teaching social studies. This trend is slowly beginning to change as a number of contemporary special education textbooks (e.g. Gargiulo & Metcalf, 2010; Hoover, 2009) do an admirable job of specifically addressing the relationship between social studies and inclusive classrooms. This newfound attention, however, has not translated to social studies methods textbooks. A textbook analysis by Lucas and Passe (2010) examined 12 recently published elementary methods textbooks. Only seven of the textbooks gave any reference to disabilities, special education, or exceptionalities in the index or table of contents. Of these seven, the amount of attention given ranged from one paragraph to seven pages. Secondary methods textbooks showed similar trends. The authors concluded that despite increasingly inclusive classrooms, social studies methods textbooks had not significantly nor consistently addressed issues pertinent to teaching students with disabilities beyond discussing public law and some basic characteristics of disabilities. Exacerbating the Situation The paucity of social studies for students with and without disabilities has been exacerbated by recent federal legislation attempting to address educational accountability. A study involving over 900 principals by the Council for Basic Education on the first year effects of No Child Left Behind con-

Social Studies Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices for Teaching Students with Disabilities     5

cluded that schools were spending more time on reading, math, and science while, at the same time, squeezing out social studies, civics, geography, languages, and the arts. The authors concluded that there exists a “waning commitment” to elementary social studies (von Zastrow & Janc, 2004, p. 7). In North Carolina, teachers were asked to estimate the amount of time devoted to social studies. Over a five-year period, the average devoted to social studies had been reduced from 24 to 14 minutes per week, a 42% drop (Heafner & Passe, 2008). Similar findings were reported by Bowler (2003) and Van Fossen (2005). These findings did not differentiate the social studies exposure for students with disabilities. Only the North Carolina longitudinal study addressed the use of pull-out programs for remediation (Heafner, 2009). It was discovered that approximately one-third of students do not have access to social studies when it is taught in a general education classroom (up from 25% five years earlier). Thus, by virtue of their weaknesses in other subject areas or by special education placement, many students do not have consistent access to social studies. When one considers that many of the remedial students are already marginalized by ability, ethnicity, and social class, “[this] amounts to a virtual disenfranchisement, because those students may never develop the citizenship knowledge and skills that are necessary to be effective participants in a democratic society” (Heafner, 2009, p. 10.) The practice of reducing social studies instruction for children with disabilities does not mesh with teachers’ expressed beliefs. In Passe and Beattie’s (1994) study, teachers overwhelmingly (67%) believed that the social studies emphasis for students with mild disabilities should be the same as for other students. Even in a state that does not test elementary social studies, 47% of North Carolina teachers claimed that they teach social studies because it is a subject their students need to learn (Heafner, Lipscomb, & Rock, 2006).The obstacle for many teachers may be their lack of knowledge regarding curricular and instructional approaches that they can use in their classrooms to overcome the seeming gap between their commitment to social education and their daily practices. Final Words These findings point to the need for better pre-service teacher education regarding social studies instruction for students with disabilities. Social studies, along with science, is one of the classes for which students with mild disabilities often remain in the general education classroom. Thus, social studies teachers need more strategies specific to teaching students with disabilities. This book is designed to meet that need.

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References Allan, J. (2006). Failing to make progress? The aporias of responsible inclusion. In E. A. Brantlinger (Ed.), Who benefits from special education? (pp. 27–43). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Baker, J., & Zigmond, N. (1990). Are regular education classes equipped to accommodate students with learning disabilities? Exceptional Children, 56(6), 515– 526. Bender, W. N., & Ukeje, I. C. (1989). The other side of placement decisions: Assessment of the mainstream learning environment. Remedial and Special Education, 9(5), 28–33. Bowler, M. (2003). Teachers fear social studies is becoming history. Baltimore Sun. Retrieved from http://www.sunspot.net/news/education/ Connor, D. J., & Lagares, C. (2007). Facing high stakes in high school: 25 successful strategies from an inclusive social studies classroom. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 40(2), 18–27. Curtis, C. K. (1991). Social studies for students at-risk and with disabilities. In J.P. Shaver’s (Ed.) Handbook of research in social studies teaching and learning: A project of the National Council of the Social Studies (pp. 157–174). New York: Macmillan Publishing Co. De La Paz, S., Morales, P., & Winston, P. M. (2007). Source interpretation: Teaching students with and without LD to read and write historically. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 40(2), 134–144. Feretti, R. P., MacArthur, C. D., & Okolo, C. M. (2007). Talking about history: Discussions in a middle school inclusive classroom. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 40(2), 154–165. Feretti, R. P., MacArthur, C. D., & Okolo, C. M. (2001). Teaching for historical understanding in inclusive classrooms. Learning Disability Quarterly 24(1), 59–72. Fontana, J. L., Scruggs, T. E., & Mastropieri, M. A. (2007). Mnemonic strategy instruction in inclusive secondary social studies classrooms. Remedial and Special Education, 28(6), 345–355. Friend, M., & Bursuck, W. (1996). Including students with special needs: A practical guide for classroom teachers. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 422 344) Gargiulo, R. M., & Metcalf, D. (2010). Teaching today’s inclusive classrooms: A universal design for learning approach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth-Cengage Learning. Guerin, G. R. (1992). Improving instruction for students at risk: Using history-social science textbooks. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 357 583) Heafner, T. (2009). Impact of high stakes accountability: A statewide longitudinal study of the impact of high stakes accountability on elementary social studies. Unpublished paper. Heafner, T., Lipscomb, G., & Rock, T. (2006). To test or not to test? The role of testing in elementary social studies: A collaborative study conducted by NCPSSE and SCPSSE. Social Studies Research and Practice, 1(2), 145–162. Heafner, T., & Passe, J. (2008). Playing the high stakes accountability game: Social studies on the sidelines. Paper presented to the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, NY.

Social Studies Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices for Teaching Students with Disabilities     7 Hoover, J. (2009). Differentiating learning differences from disabilities: Meeting diverse needs through multi-tiered response to intervention. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Lintner, T., & Schweder, W. (2008). Social studies in special education classrooms: A glimpse behind the closed door. Journal of Social Studies Research, 32(1), 3–9. Leko, M. M., & Brownell, M. T. (2009). Crafting quality professional development for special educators: What school leaders should know. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 42(1), 64–70. Lucas, A., & Passe, J. (2010). Preparing social studies teachers for inclusion: Does philosophy translate to practice? Unpublished paper. McCoy, K. (2005). Strategies for teaching social studies. Focus on Exceptional Children, 38(3), 1–16. McFarland, J. (1998). Instructional ideas for social studies teachers of inclusion students. The Social Studies, 89(4), 1–4. Mercer, C. D., & Mercer, A. R. (1989). Teaching students with learning problems. Columbus, OH: Merrill. National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS). (1994).Curriculum standards for social studies: Expectations of excellence. Silver Spring, MD: NCSS. National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS). (2010).Curriculum standards for social studies: A framework for teaching, learning and assessment. Silver Spring, MD: NCSS. Passe, J., & Beattie, J. (1994). Social studies instruction for students with mild disabilities: A progress report. Remedial and Special Education,4(5), 221–233. Polloway, E. A., Payne, J. S., Patton, J. R., & Payne, R. A. (1985). Strategies for teaching the retarded and special needs learner. Columbus: C. E. Merrill Publishing Co. Porter, P. (1995). Social studies for “all” students: Teacher’s resources. Social Studies and the Young Learner, 7(4), 26–27, 30. Reeves, J. R. (2006). Secondary teacher attitudes toward including English-language learners in mainstream classrooms. The Journal of Educational Research, 99(3), 131–142. Schumm, J. S., & Vaughn, S. (1991). Making adaptations for mainstreamed students: General classroom teachers’ perspectives. Remedial and Special Education, 12(4), 18–27. Steele, M. M. (2008). Teaching social studies to middle school students with learning problems, Clearing House, 81(5), 197–200. Steele, M. M. (2007). Teaching social studies to high school students with learning problems. The Social Studies, 98(2), 59–63. Stephens, T. M., Blackhurst, A. E., & Magliocca, L. A. (1982). Teaching mainstreamed students. New York: John Wiley. Turnbull, R. (2005). Individuals with Disabilities Education Act reauthorization: Accountability and personal responsibility. Remedial and Special Education, 26(6), 320–326. Van Fossen, P.J. (2005). ‘Reading and math take so much of the time . . . ’: An overview of social studies instruction in elementary classrooms in Indiana. Theory and Research in Social Education, 33(3), 376–403.

8    J. PASSE and A. LUCAS van Hover, S.D., & Yeager, E.A. (2003). Secondary teachers and inclusion of students with disabilities: An exploratory study. Journal of Social Studies Research, 27(1), 36–45. Von Zastrow, C., & Janc, H. (2004). Academic atrophy: The condition of the liberal arts in America’s public schools. NY: Council for Basic Education, Carnegie Corporation of New York. Whinnery, K. W., Fuchs, L. S., & Fuchs, D. (1991). General, special, and remedial teachers’ acceptance of behavioral and instructional strategies for mainstreamed students with mild handicaps. Remedial and Special Education, 12(4), 6–17. Wood, J. (1989). Mainstreaming: A practical approach for teachers. Columbus, OH: Merrill.

Chapter 2

Knowing Your Students Windy Schweder

Introduction Today’s public school classrooms consist of students from a variety of cultural backgrounds, ability levels, and exceptionalities. In addition, more students with disabilities than ever before are participating in general education settings where they learn the same content as their typical peers (Mastropieri & Scruggs, 2010). There are legal and philosophical reasons for including students with disabilities in typical classrooms; however, for the sake of brevity, I will not explore these reasons. I would rather concentrate on helping you learn more about the students with disabilities you are seeing, or may see in your classrooms. Table 2.1 shows abridged definitions of the 13 categories of exceptionality identified by the authors of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (2004). It is important to note that each of these disabilities must cause an adverse effect on a student’s educational performance; otherwise, the student does not qualify for special services under IDEA (2004). The most common disabilities general educators see in their classrooms are learning disabilities (LD), speech and language impairments, intellectual disabilities (ID), and emotional and/or behavioral disorders (EBD). In 2006, the U.S. Department of Education reported that approximately 91% of all students ages 6–21 served under IDEA (2004) were included in one Practical Strategies for Teaching K–12 Social Studies in Inclusive Classrooms, pages 9–17 Copyright © 2011 by Information Age Publishing All rights of reproduction in any form reserved.

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10    W. SCHWEDER Table 2.1  13 Categories of Exceptionality Federal Term Autism

Definition

A developmental disability affecting communication and social interaction, generally evident before age three. Deaf-blindness A combination of hearing and visual impairments causing communication and developmental delays so severe that there is a need for services other than those offered to students with blindness or deafness. Developmental delay A category reserved for children ages birth to nine who exhibit delays in one or more of the following development areas: physical, cognitive, communication, social, or emotional. Emotional disturbance Behavioral or emotional responses different from those of all norms and referent groups. The term includes schizophrenia but does not apply to children who are socially maladjusted unless it is determined that they have an emotional disturbance. Deafness and hearing loss A permanent or fluctuating loss in hearing. Intellectual disability A significantly sub-average (65 or below) general intellectual functioning that exists concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior (e.g., daily living and socialization skills) and is manifested during the developmental period (before age 18). Multiple disabilities A combination of impairments that causes such severe educational needs that the student cannot be accommodated in a special education program provided for in one of the other 12 IDEA disability categories. This category does not include individuals with deaf-blindness. Orthopedic impairment A term referring to students with physical disabilities or physical impairments. Other health impairment A chronic or acute health problem causing a student to have limited strength, vitality, or alertness in the educational environment. Specific learning disability A disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or using language (spoken or written) that may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations. Speech or language A communication disorder resulting in impaired articulation impairment (e.g., stuttering, substitution, omission) or language impairment (difficulty comprehending or producing language). Traumatic brain injury An acquired injury to the brain resulting from an external physical force that causes a functional disability and/or psychosocial impairment. This term does not include brain injuries that are congenital or degenerative, or brain injuries induced by birth trauma. Blindness and vision loss A vision impairment that, even with correction, adversely affects a student’s educational performance.

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of these four categories. Other health impairments (e.g., Attention Deficit and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Epilepsy) comprise the fifth largest group of students with disabilities (U.S. Department of Education, 2006). These five disabilities can be re-categorized into one term known as high incidence disabilities (HID). Educators typically take a teacher-directed (Mastropieri & Scruggs, 2010; Polloway, Patton, & Serna, 2008; Prater, 2007; Salend, 2010), student-centered (Mastropieri & Scruggs, 2010; Polloway et al., 2008), or balanced approach (Polloway et al., 2008) when teaching social studies content. Teacher-directed activities include asking students to read the textbook, attend to lectures, and participate in whole group discussions. In the student-centered approach, students complete hands-on activities and participate in cooperative learning, inquiry-based learning, and project-based learning. Finally, educators using the balanced approach combine features seen in the teacher-directed and student-centered approaches to deliver content. A number of academic and social skills are needed to succeed in social studies classrooms. Throughout the remainder of this chapter, I will list some of these skills. I did not include the balanced approach, as this strategy uses a combination of strategies and assignments used in both teacherdirected and student-directed instruction. Also, one should note that some of the skills listed could apply to more than one category. For example, students may experience difficulties when asked to read a textbook and then use the textbook content to work with a cooperative learning group on completing a project.

Skills Needed for Teacher-Directed Instruction Textbooks Reading Students should be able to: • • • • •

Read at or above grade level Decode words Possess strategies for learning vocabulary and concepts Possess familiarity with multiple meanings of words or word origins Use dictionary skills needed for looking up the spelling or meaning of a word • Focus attention • Block outside stimuli

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Comprehending Students should be able to: • • • • • •

Comprehend information presented in text Activate prior knowledge about a topic Use self-questioning techniques Identify main ideas and supporting details Paraphrase and summarize information Use text organizational features such as headings, tables, and summaries • Understand figurative and literal meanings Classroom Lectures Listening Students should be able to: • Maintain focus on the speaker • Tune out distracted stimuli • Sit for extended periods of time Comprehending Students should be able to: • Understand spoken sentences and questions • Recognize that sentences that differ in syntax can have similar meanings • Understand sentences that are spoken at a rapid rate • Understand metaphors and other non-literal language • Remember multiple demands Participating Students should be able to: • Learn the content from textbooks well enough to participate in small and large group discussions Note-Taking Students should be able to: • Identify the most important information delivered during a lecture • Write fast enough to be able to keep up with the lecturer

Knowing Your Students    13

• Write legibly • Make sense of the notes after lecture • Organize the notes taken (See Bryant, Smith, & Bryant, 2008; Fontana, Scruggs, & Mastropieri, 2007; Mastropieri & Scruggs, 2010; Polloway et al., 2008; Prater, 2007; Salend, 2011; Steele, 2005). Skills Needed for Student-Directed Instruction Inquiry-Based Learning Students should be able to: • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Observe Listen Read Study Organize Analyze Classify Synthesize Hypothesize Generalize Problem solve Evaluate Work with peers (Cohen & Spenciner, 2009)

Cooperative Learning Students should be able to: • Possess basic reading and writing skills necessary to function well in a group • Remember previously taught social studies material needed for participation in the group • Possess the interpersonal and social skills such as turn taking, conflict management, and problem solving necessary for participating in cooperative settings (See Cohen & Spenciner, 2009; Mastropieri & Scruggs, 2010; Polloway et al., 2008).

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Study Skills Middle and high school educators place increased demands on students who are learning social studies content. Upper level educators increase their expectations for two reasons: (a) to move efficiently through the content, thus allowing completion of the prescribed curriculum, and (b) to prepare students for success in post-secondary settings. Students need an arsenal of study skills to meet the increased demands of middle and high school teachers. Yet such skills need to be purposefully and consistently addressed at the elementary level. This familiarity allows students to practice these skills by the time they enter the upper grades (Bryant et al., 2008; Cohen & Spenciner, 2009; Connor & Lagares, 2007; Hoover & Patton, 2007; Mastropieri & Scruggs, 2010; Polloway, et al., 2008; Salend, 2011; Steele, 2007). Acquiring proper study skills allows all students to: • • • • • •

Organize materials Organize ideas into a cohesive plan of action Possess strong time management skills Maintain attention in order to complete tasks or projects Persevere when completing tasks Know when and whom to ask for assistance

Completing Homework Students should be able to: • Organize and keep track of assignments • Understand the purpose of an assignment (Bryant et al., 2008; Peterson &Hittie, 2010) • Possess knowledge necessary to complete an assignment • Manage time in order to complete an assignment • Read and comprehend assignment directions • Establish routines for completing assignments (Peterson &Hittie, 2010; Prater, 2007) (See Mastropieri & Scruggs, 2010; Salend, 2011).

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Assessments Standardized Assessments Students should be able to: • Read and comprehend test directions and items • Understand various test formats (multiple choice, essay, short answer) • Know and understand content being assessed (reading, math, social studies, science, language arts, music, art) • Process information • Use memory to retrieve information learned • Use a calculator to complete computations • Use elimination strategies on multiple choice items • Guess when appropriate • Record responses on separate answer sheets (filling in bubbles) • Remain focused for extended periods of time • Remain motivated to work hard and perform well • Tune out distracting stimuli • Manage time in order to complete an assessment • Implement strategies for reducing test anxiety Performance Assessments Students should be able to: • • • • •

Construct own responses Use higher order thinking skills Remain focused Remain motivated to complete the assignment Manage time in order to successfully complete the assignment

Portfolio Assessments Students should be able to: • Collect and organize relevant products to document performance and progress • Reflect upon performance

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• • • • • •

Provide complete responses and explanations Draw accurate conclusions Write legibly Use correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling Edit writing Manage time in order to successfully complete portfolios

(See Bryant et al., 2008; Gargiulo & Metcalf, 2010; Mastropieri & Scruggs, 2010; Prater, 2007; Salend, 2011). Conclusion Students need an abundance of skills to be able to learn the social studies content. Unfortunately, current literature and practicing teachers report that many students with HID have not mastered or become fluent in one or more of the skills mentioned in this chapter. Throughout the remainder of this book, authors from a variety of backgrounds with a variety of experiences will offer their unique perspectives and suggestions for helping all students succeed in the social studies classroom. References Bryant, D. P., Smith, D. D., & Bryant, B. R. (2008). Teaching students with special needs in inclusive classrooms, Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn& Bacon. Cohen, L. G., & Spenciner, L. J. (2009). Teaching students with mild and moderate disabilities: Research-based practices (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/ Pearson. Connor, D. J., & Lagares, C. (2007). Facing high stakes in high school: 25 successful strategies from an inclusive social studies classroom. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 40(2), 18–27. Fontana, J. L., Scruggs, T. E., & Mastropieri, M. A. (2007). Mneumonic strategy instruction in inclusive secondary social studies classrooms. Remedial and Special Education, 28(6), 345–355. Gargiulo, R. M., & Metcalf, D. (2010).Teaching in today’s inclusive classrooms: A universal design for learning approach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth-Cengage Learning. Hoover, J. J., & Patton, J. R. (2007). Teaching study skills to students with learning problems: A teacher’s guide to meeting diverse needs (2nd ed.). Austin, TX: Pro-Ed. Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004, HB 1350. Mastropieri, M. A., & Scruggs, T. E. (2010). The inclusive classroom: Strategies for effective differentiated instruction (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Pearson. Polloway, E. A., Patton, J. R., & Serna, L. (2008). Strategies for teaching learners with special needs (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Merrill/Prentice Hall.

Knowing Your Students    17 Peterson, F. M., & Hittie, M. M. (2010). Inclusive teaching: The journey towards effective schools for all learners (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Pearson. Prater, M. A. (2007). Teaching strategies for students with mild to moderate disabilities. Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon. Salend, S. J. (2010). Creating inclusive classrooms: Effective and reflective practices (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson. Steele, M. M. (2005). Teaching social studies to students with mild disabilities. Social Studies and the Young Learner, 17(3), 8–10. Steele, M. M. (2007). Teaching social studies to high school students with learning problems. The Social Studies, 98(2), 59–63. United States Department of Education (2006). Twenty-eighth annual report to Congress on the Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Washington, DC: Author.

Chapter 3

Universal Design for Learning and Social Studies Classrooms Kimberly Pawling

History Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a curricular construct developed by the Center for Assistive Special Technology (CAST) (Hall, Strangman, & Meyer, 2003; Rose & Meyer, 2002; Rose, Meyer, & Hitchcock, 2005). The UDL concept originated from the architectural term Universal Design (UD). Universal Design is part of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Its purpose is to eliminate environmental barriers that restricted some individuals’ access to various public locations (e.g. installation of curb cuts, ramps, elevators, Braille labels on buildings and elevators, etc.) (Burgstahler, 2009; Connell et al., 1997; Hall et al., 2003; Hitchcock, Meyer, Rose, & Jackson, 2002b; Pisha & Coyne, 2001; Rose et al., 2005; Smith et al., 2010). The architectural implementation of UD benefitted individuals without disabilities, as well—a woman pushing a baby stroller could access the curb cuts at a street crossing instead of pulling the stroller over the curb (Hall et al., 2003; Ketterlin-Geller, 2005; Pisha & Coyne, 2001). Practical Strategies for Teaching K–12 Social Studies in Inclusive Classrooms, pages 19–28 Copyright © 2011 by Information Age Publishing All rights of reproduction in any form reserved.

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General Instructional Components Universal Design for Learning provides students with accessible content integrated with multiple media, multiple pathways for actions and expression, and multiple ways to engage based on students’ interest and motivation (Council for Exceptional Children [CEC], 2005; Hall et al., 2003; Hitchcock et al., 2002b; Jackson & Harper, 2001; Jimenez, Graf, & Rose, 2007; Karger, 2005; Rose & Meyer, 2002; Rose et al., 2005). With the foundation of UDL being multiple means to access, respond, and engage with the curriculum, UDL reflects key concepts from differentiated instruction (Hall et al., 2003; Rose et al., 2005). Teachers applying differentiated instruction assess students’ academic and social strengths and weaknesses and integrate that knowledge into the curriculum (Tomlinson, 2001). The three components of differentiated instruction are content, process, and product. Under the guidelines of differentiated instruction, the content must be accessible, goals and objectives flexible, and each student academically challenged at his or her level (Hall et al., 2003; Tomlinson, 2001). When teachers create a flexible curriculum, they provide students with the ability to decide how they (the students) would like to acquire the information (content). Additionally, students are engaged in the learning (process) because of the variety of activities students complete to learn new skills. Finally, the students have multiple ways of demonstrating what they learned (product) (CEC, 2005; Hall et al., 2003; Rose & Meyer, 2002). UDL Principles and Teaching Methods Principle One: Multiple Means of Representation (MMR) The principle of MMR supports the recognition learning network in the brain (Jackson & Harper, 2001; Jackson, Harper, & Jackson, 2001; Rose & Meyer, 2002). The recognition learning network is composed of all the body’s senses: hearing, sight, taste, smell, and touch. If a student has one or more sensory impairments, the recognition network is comprised of the sensory organs that provide the individual with environmental information (CAST, 2008; Rose & Meyer, 2002). Because students cannot learn what they cannot perceive, teachers should consider MMR when planning content (CAST, 2008). To meet the recognition needs of diverse students, teachers can provide multiple examples, highlight salient features, use multi-media and technology to stimulate multiple sensory modalities, and support students with background content (CAST, 2008; Rose & Meyer, 2002).

Universal Design for Learning and Social Studies Classrooms     21 Table 3.1  Multiple Means of Representation Learning Goal

Implementation

Provide various options for perception

Customize the display of information Provide alternative(s) for audio information Provide alternative(s) for visual information Provide alternatives for language and symbols Define vocabulary and symbols Clarify language structure and syntax Facilitate decoding process for math and text Facilitate cross-linguistic communication Illustrate/demonstrate non-linguistically Provide support for comprehension Activate background knowledge Highlight important features and big ideas Instructor-guided information processing Support memory and content transfer Source: Adapted from CAST (2008). UDL Guidelines—Educator’s Checklist. Retrieved from http://www.udlcenter.org/implementation

CAST (2008) explained that teachers can present material in multiple formats by adding color, sound, contrast, images, animation, video, and so on to their instructional materials (Rose &Meyer, 2002; Rose et al., 2005). To enhance visual recognition, teachers can alter the print with color, change text and format, and add notations. Graphic organizers can assist students by representing information as a visual image and text (Strangman, Hall, & Meyer, 2003). Teachers may enhance auditory recognition by altering voice pitch, repeating a phrase, or by verbally stating that the material is important (Rose & Meyer, 2002). When students experience difficulty perceiving information through sight or hearing, teachers can provide the student with tactile objects or elements related to the content to facilitate comprehension (Dion, Hoffman, & Matter, 2000). Principle Two: Multiple Means of Action and Expression (MMAE) The second principle of UDL, MMAE, supports the strategic learning network of the brain ( Jackson et al., 2001). The strategic learning network refers to the area of the brain that monitors how people learn (Rose & Meyer, 2002). Students vary in their abilities to physically perform or express what they know. Traditionally, classroom teachers assess students’ content knowledge by evaluating the students’ abilities to decode, manipulate, and/or create written text or images (Bouck, Courtad, Heutsche, Okolo, & Englert, 2009; CAST, 2008). As an alternate option to assess

22    K. PAWLING Table 3.2  Multiple Means of Action and Expression Learning Goal

Implementation

Provide options for physical actions

Vary ways to respond Vary ways to interact with materials Integrate assistive technologies Allow choices of media for communication Use appropriate tools for composition and problem solving Scaffold practice and performance Guide effective goal setting Support planning and strategy development Facilitate managing information and resources Build capacity for monitoring progress

Options for expressive skills and fluency

Options for executive functions

Source: Adapted from CAST (2008). UDL Guidelines—Educator’s Checklist. Retrieved from http://www.udlcenter.org/implementation

students’ knowledge, teachers can provide multiple models for completing the task, permit students to practice with support, provide ongoing feedback, and offer flexible means for demonstrating knowledge (Rose & Meyer, 2002). Teachers facilitate the MMAE principle of UDL when they provide students with a variety of means to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of content (CAST, 2008; Hall et al., 2003; Hitchcock, Meyer, Rose, & Jackson, 2002a; Meo, 2008; Rose et al., 2005; Strangman, et al., 2003). With access to computers and digital media, students have multiple means to demonstrate content knowledge (Okolo, Englert, Bouck, & Heutsche, 2007). Students can create digital presentations, audio files, web pages, and digital images (Hitchcock & Stahl, 2003; Hitchcock et al., 2002a; Rose & Meyer, 2002). If students do not have access to technology, they might demonstrate knowledge with an oral presentation, a three-dimensional model, graphic organizer, drawing, or physical performance (Rose & Meyer, 2002; Strangman et al., 2003). Principle Three: Multiple Means of Engagement (MME) The affective learning network of the brain is concerned with the why of learning (Rose & Meyer, 2002). If a teacher wants to stimulate students’ affective learning networks, he/she needs to engage the students in the learning process by “tapping into learners’ interests and offering appropriate challenges to increase their motivation” (Jimenez et al., 2007, p. 45).

Universal Design for Learning and Social Studies Classrooms     23 Table 3.3  Multiple Means of Engagement Learning Goal

Implementation

Provide options for recurring interest

Increase individual choice and autonomy Enhance relevance, value, and authenticity Reduce threats and distractions Heighten salience of goals and objectives Vary levels of challenge and support Foster collaboration and communication Increase mastery-oriented feedback Guide personal goal-setting expectations Scaffold coping skills and strategies Develop self-assessment and reflection

Provide options for sustaining effort and persistence

Provide options for self-regulation

Source: Adapted from CAST (2008). UDL Guidelines—Educator’s Checklist. Retrieved from http://www.udlcenter.org/implementation

When students have the ability to choose from various aspects of content composition and instructional design, they are more likely to be interested in what’s taking place in the classroom (Bransford, Brown, Cocking, Donovan, & Pellegrino, 2000). When students are interested in the content and appropriately challenged, they are more likely to be engaged in learning (Strong, 2007). Implementing UDL in Social Studies Instruction Multiple Means of Representation and Social Studies Traditionally, many teachers have presented social studies content using text and visual images (Bouck et al., 2009; Connor & Lagares, 2007; Ellis, 1993; Okolo, Englert, Bouck, & Heutsch, 2006; Okolo et al., 2007; Passe & Beattie, 1994; Wiersma, 2008), as both venues have been used to record historical events. With creativity and technology, teachers have additional tools that can enhance curricular materials and increase students’ access (Hitchcock & Stahl, 2003; Hitchcock et al., 2002a; Rose et al., 2005). Table 3.4 provides teachers with some creative ideas to increase student access to curricular content. Multiple Means of Action and Expression in Social Studies In the traditional classroom, students are frequently evaluated based upon verbal and/or written responses to questions about the content (Chalk,

24    K. PAWLING Table 3.4  Multiple Means of Representation in Social Studies Traditional Instructional Materials UDL Suggestions Printed materials (e.g., textbook, handouts)

Lecture

Internet sites Videos

Auditory options: a. Digital text; e.g., Kindle, Nook b. Audio books c. Reader function in MS Office Word d. Paired reading with classmates Electronic Text accessibility: a. Zoom function on documents b. Windows accessibility magnifier c. Enlarge font d. Invert background colors Provide students with: a. Visual presentations (PowerPoint) b. Paper copies of visual presentations c. Graphic organizers d. Lecture guides with fill-in blanks a. Screen reader software b. Alter polarity of screen a. Open captions b. Video description c. Video guide to complete d. Graphic organizers

Hagan-Burke, & Burke, 2005; Steele, 2007). Teachers frequently ask verbal comprehension questions during a lesson, as well as assigning students independent work. Students’ independent work is often completed on paper and submitted to the teacher for evaluation. Though student work is an acceptable evaluation practice, teachers have a multitude of other forms of evaluation and assessment (Okolo et al., 2007). Table 3.5 provides teachers with alternate means of facilitating student action, expression and, ultimately, understanding of the social studies content. Multiple Means of Engagement in Social Studies How can you engage your students in their learning? One option is to consider students’ interests, curiosity, and preferences when you design an instructional lesson (Hall et al., 2003; Jimenez et al., 2007; Rose & Meyer, 2002). Because social studies is the study of human society, you might consider frequent cooperative learning tasks. You can easily combine student interests and cooperative learning by creating a list of appropriate content topics, having students select the topic of their choice, and then creating learning teams by topic area (Ellis, 1993). Table 3.6 provides additional ideas and strategies to consider in your classroom.

Universal Design for Learning and Social Studies Classrooms     25 Table 3.5  Multiple Means of Action and Expression in Social Studies Traditional Student Action and Expression UDL Suggestions Verbal response

Written response

Physical gesture response

Provide students with opportunities to: a. write responses b. illustrate responses c. type responses d. respond in private or small groups e. create multimedia responses f. perform movements or gestures Provide students with opportunities to: a. verbally respond b. record responses c. type responses d. dictate responses using speech-to-text computer software e. create multimedia response f. perform movements or gestures Provide students with opportunities to: a. verbally respond b. write responses c. type responses d. respond in private or small groups e. record responses

Table 3.6  Multiple Means of Engagement in Social Studies Traditional Classroom Student Engagement

UDL Strategies

Passive listening Independent responding: written/verbal Independent reading and deciphering of text Lack of personal interest

Small and large group discussions Cooperative learning groups Peer tutoring pairs Integrate students’ interests Provide students with options to participate

The cornerstone of Universal Design for Learning is the integration and engagement of all students’ learning networks. Tables 3.4, 3.5, and 3.6 provide ideas for each area of UDL; however, a strategy or idea in one principle frequently facilitates a strategy or idea in the other two principles. Conclusion In an inclusive setting, students with disabilities receive academic supports and accommodations in the general education classroom; therefore, the

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general education teacher often becomes the primary teacher of instruction for students with disabilities (Causton-Theoharis, Theoharis, & Trezek, 2008). Universal Design for Learning is a curricular framework that combines several research-based instructional practices to facilitate curriculum access for all students. Various research-based instructional practices are implemented within the UDL curricular framework, including differentiated instruction, background knowledge, graphic organizers, and cooperative learning (CEC, 2005; Hall et al., 2003; Jimenez et al., 2007; Pisha & Coyne, 2001). In addition to implementing UDL into their course instruction, teachers need to accept that today’s mobile technology and social networking technologies have transformed the world of work, which has a direct impact on teaching and learning (Trilling & Fadel, 2009). The advances in technology and the expansion to a global economy are challenging current practices in teaching and learning. Being able to teach students the three Rs is no longer sufficient; schools must also teach “information literacy, visual literacy, and technological literacy” (Johnson, Levine, & Smith, 2009, p. 6; Little & Page, 2008). Modeling, planning, and teaching social studies within the UDL framework will provide beginning teachers with the instructional methods and confidence to provide accessible academic content and technology literacy to all students. References Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L., Cocking, R. R., Donovan, M. S., & Pellegrino, J. W. (Eds.). (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school (Expanded ed.). Washington, DC: National Academy Press. Bouck, E. C., Courtad, C. A., Heutsche, A., Okolo, C. M., & Englert, C. S. (2009). The Virtual History Museum: A universally designed approach to social studies instruction. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 42(2), 14–20. Burgstahler, S. (2009).Universal design of instruction (UDI): Definition, principles, guidelines, and examples. Retrieved from University of Washington, DO-IT (Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology) website: Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.. Causton-Theoharis, J. N., Theoharis, G. T., &Trezek, B. J. (2008). Teaching preservice teachers to design inclusive instruction: A lesson planning template. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 12(4), 381–399. CAST. (2008). Universal design for learning guidelines version 1.0. Wakefield, MA: Author. Retrieved from http://www.udlcenter.org/sites/udlcenter.org/files/ UDL_Guidelines_v2%200Organizer_0.pdf Chalk, J. C., Hagan-Burke, S., & Burke, M. D. (2005).The effects of self-regulated strategy development on the writing process for high school students with learning disabilities. Learning Disability Quarterly, 28(1), 75–87.

Universal Design for Learning and Social Studies Classrooms     27 Connell, B. R., Jones, M., Mace, R., Mueller, J., Mullick, A., Ostroff, E., & Vanderheiden, G. (1997).The principles of universal design (Version 2.0). Retrieved from North Carolina State University, the Center for Universal Design website: http://www.design.necsu.edu/cud/about_ud/udprinciplestext.htm Connor, D. J., & Lagares, C. (2007). Facing high stakes in high school: 25 successful strategies from an inclusive social studies classroom. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 40(2), 18–27. Council for Exceptional Children [CEC]. (2005).Universal Design for Learning: A guide for teachers and education professionals. Arlington, VA: Pearson, Merrill Prentice Hall. Dion, M., Hoffman, K., & Matter, A. (2000).Teacher’s manual for adapting science experiments for blind and visually impaired students. Retrieved from Vision Education, Alberta, CA. http://vision.alberta.ca/resources/adaptingprigrams/ science.aspx Ellis, E. S. (1993). Integrative strategy instruction: A potential model for teaching content area subjects to adolescents with learning disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 26(6), 358–383. Hall, T., Strangman, N., & Meyer, A. (2003).Differentiated instruction and implications for UDL implementation. Wakefield, MA: National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum. Retrieved from http://www.cast.org/publications/ ncac/ ncac_diffinstructudl.html. Hitchcock, C., Meyer, A., Rose, D., & Jackson, R. (2002a). Providing new access to the general curriculum: Universal design for learning. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 35(1), 8–17. Hitchcock, C., Meyer, A., Rose, D., & Jackson, R. (2002b). Technical brief: Access, participation, and progress in the general curriculum. Wakefield, MA: National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum. Retrieved fromhttp://www. cast.org/ publications/ncac/ncac_techbrief.html Hitchcock, C., & Stahl, S. (2003). Assistive technology, universal design for learning: Improved learning opportunities. Journal for Special Education Technology,18(4), 45–52. Jackson, R., & Harper, K. (2001). Teacher planning and the Universal Design for Learning environments. Peabody, MA: Center for Applied Special Technology, Inc. Retrieved from http://www.cast.org/publications/ncac/ncac_teacherplanning.html Jackson, R., Harper, K., & Jackson, J. (2001). Effective teaching practices and the barriers limiting their use in accessing the curriculum: A review of recent literature. Peabody, MA: Center for Applied Special Technology, Inc. Retrieved from http://www. cast.org/ publications/ncac/ncac_effectivetp.html Jimenez, T. C., Graf, V. L., & Rose, E. (2007). Gaining access to general education: The promise of universal design for learning. Issues in Teacher Education, 16(2), 41–54. Johnson, L., Levine, A., & Smith, R. (2009). The 2009 Horizon Report. Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium. Retrieved from: http://wp.nmc.org/horizonk12-2009/ Karger, J. (2005). Access to the general education curriculum for students with disabilities: A discussion of the interrelationship between IDEA’04 and NCLB. Wakefield, MA: Na-

28    K. PAWLING tional Center on Accessing the General Curriculum. Retrieved fromhttp:// www.cast.org/ publications/ncac/ncac_discussion2004.html Ketterlin-Geller, L. R. (2005). Knowing what all students know: Procedures for developing universal design for assessment. Journal of Technology, Learning, and Assessment, 4(2). Available from http://www.jtla.org Little, J. K., & Page, C. (2008, October).The EDUCAUSE top teaching and learning challenges. Presented at the meeting of EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative, Orlando, FL. Meo, G. (2008). Curriculum planning for all learners: Applying universal design for learning (UDL) to a high school reading comprehension program. Preventing School Failure, 52(2), 21–31. Okolo, C. M., Englert, C. S., Bouck, E. C., & Heutsche, A. (2006). The Virtual History Museum: A web-based environment for improving history instruction. The Journal of Special Education Technology, 21(1), 48–50. Okolo, C. M., Englert, C. S., Bouck, E. C., & Heutsche, A. (2007). Web-based history learning environments: Helping all students like history. Intervention in School and Clinic,43(1), 3–11. Passe, J., & Beattie, J. (1994). Social studies instruction for students with mild disabilities: A progress report. Remedial and Special Education, 15(4), 227–233. Pisha, B., & Coyne, P. (2001). Smart from the start: The promise of universal design for learning. Remedial and Special Education, 22(4), 197–203. Rose, D. H., & Meyer, A. (2002). Teaching every student in the digital age: Universal design for learning. Alexandria, VA: ASCD. Rose, D. H., Meyer, A., & Hitchcock, C. (2005). The universally designed classroom: Accessible curriculum and digital technologies. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press. Steele, M. M. (2007). Teaching social studies to high school students with learning problems. The Social Studies, 98(2), 59–63. Strangman, N., Hall, T., & Meyer, A. (2003). Graphic organizers with UDL. Wakefield, MA: National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum. Strangman, N., Hall, T., & Meyer, A. (2004). Background knowledge instruction and the implications for UDL implementation. Wakefield, MA: National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum. Strong, J. H. (2007). Qualities of effective teachers (2nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: ASCD. Tomlinson, C. A. (2001).How to differentiate instruction in mixed-ability classrooms. (2nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: ASCD. Trilling, B., & Fadel, C. (2009). 21st century skills: Learning for life in our times. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Wiersma, A. (2008). A study of teaching methods of high school history teachers. The Social Studies, 99(3), 111–116.

Chapter 4

Voices from the High School Classroom Teaching Social Studies in an Inclusive Setting Amy Matthews

Social Studies, Special Education, and Me My first experience with special education was at the middle school level teaching self-contained emotional behavioral disorder (EBD) students. Each day was an adventure and I honestly looked forward to going to work! Yet having said that, middle school was not where I wanted to be. The next year, I began teaching at Lakeside High School in Columbia County, Georgia, as a special education co-teacher in the social studies department. The social studies courses that are co-taught at Lakeside include American Government, Geography, World History, US History, and Economics. I co-teach in a variety of classes with multiple general education teachers. I typically have eight to 10 special education students in each class.

Practical Strategies for Teaching K–12 Social Studies in Inclusive Classrooms, pages 29–33 Copyright © 2011 by Information Age Publishing All rights of reproduction in any form reserved.

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How I Teach Social Studies Social studies is a conglomeration of facts and dates. At least that’s how my students see it! To those special education students who may have difficulties with memorization, you have an entirely different issue on your hands. A simple answer is not to be found. You must figure out what works best for each individual child (Friend, 2011; Mastropieri & Scruggs, 2010; Salend, 2011). I understand the difficulty in this statement. In an inclusion class of 25 students, where five students are served in special education, individualizing instruction becomes a curricular issue; it becomes a management issue as well. Unfortunately, I do not have a solution for every situation. What I can do is provide some useful tips that have worked in my classroom in the hopes of spurring your own ideas and strategies. Storybooks History is a continuous story of events. One of the techniques I use is an illustrated storybook. Using their own words, the students must tell me the “historical story” using appropriate names and places. Though this technique doesn’t work for all historical events, by bringing out the colored pencils and computer paper, you just might spark an interest that wasn’t there before. Timelines Timelines are still wonderful ways to create a visual display of historical people or events (Duplass, 2008; Ellis, 2010; Maxim, 2010). My suggestion is not to focus too much on dates. Some dates are important and the students need to know them, but not every date is that important. In assigning a timeline, give the students three or four important dates and then indicate how many total events they should have in their timeline. Providing students with a handful of dates gets them thinking chronologically and also allows your students to “fill in the blanks” with dates and events they think are important. Another strategy is to give your students the beginning, middle, and ending dates, and then specify that they must have at least five additional events between each date. If the student learns the information through chronology and visualization, you’ve succeeded. Concept Maps and Graphic Organizers I am a big fan of concept maps and graphic organizers. When you have an abundance of historical information, organizing the information in a way that students can see the connections really does benefit their learning

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(Duplass, 2008; Gallavan & Kottler, 2007; Salend, 2011; Sunal & Haas, 2005). Having a ton of note-based information is not nearly as engaging as drawing circles, squares, and lines, then connecting them all together. Using concept maps can work in two separate ways: teachers can design the concept map with the important information already in place, or the teacher can have the students work in groups to take information from a particular section and design their own concept map (Conderman & Bresnahan, 2008). Games High school students love to play games. Jeopardy-type games work wonders when trying to get all students engaged. Games work well to re-teach information or to review before an assessment. The Jeopardy-type game is simply an example. Use your imagination and come up with ideas that work best for your students. The questions and answers to any common game board can easily be changed to fit the material for your social studies class (Salend, 2011). Groupwork A number of different strategies that teachers use in the classroom involve groups of students. I have found that assigning groups in an inclusion class works much better than allowing the students to determine their own groups. By grouping students, I can ensure that struggling students are placed in groups with stronger students. I can also use those students who work well with others to my benefit when I know that a special needs student may require a little more attention in order to fully grasp a concept (Mastropieri & Scruggs, 2010). Quick Assessments Special education students need options when it comes to assessing what they know (Vaughn, Bos, & Schumm, 2011). An autistic student may not be able to write five sentences about Henry VIII, but he or she may be able to talk about him for 30 minutes. A student with dyslexia may become completely confused when asked to match 20 vocabulary words with their definitions, but may do just fine when the words are in groups of 10. My strategy for determining just how much a student knows about a concept is to simply ask them. If I see that they are struggling with a particular pencil/ paper-based assessment, I will turn their paper over and ask them to tell me

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what they know. If they can verbalize the content being assessed, I give them credit. If they can’t verbalize the information, I ask them to draw something that might assist them. The point of an assessment is to determine what the student has learned. The particular format should not be a factor in making this determination. Strategies and Tools That I Don’t Use It is difficult to make generalizations regarding teaching methods that don’t work for special education students. Learning styles vary for all students. In social studies, however, there are techniques that are less successful than others when teaching students with disabilities. Lecture and Note-taking The lecture style of teaching requires that students focus all of their attention on a single instructor while sitting still in their desks. There is limited interaction and no activity. This teaching style makes learning difficult (Lintner & Schweder, 2008; Mastropieri & Scruggs, 2010). Complicating this matter is that high school teachers usually require students to take notes during lectures to ensure that they pay attention and have something to review before an assessment. If the students can’t keep up, or aren’t sure what information needs to be written down, they can easily become frustrated. At this stage, nothing is retained and the students usually shut down. Text-Reading Social studies texts contain large amounts of reading, including numerous names and places with complicated pronunciations. Teachers of inclusion classes often try to remedy this by reading text material aloud to the entire class. At the high school level, this can be demeaning, especially to those special education students who often feel that they are the reason for having the book read aloud (Mastropieri & Scruggs, 2010; Salend, 2011). It is an elementary model that is not usually successful in a high school classroom. Worksheets Individual seatwork involving assignments such as worksheets and outlines are not beneficial learning tools for special education students. The

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learning disabled student may not comprehend the reading and will spend time writing incorrect information in an attempt to “complete” the assignment. This type of assignment also requires focus and attention in a nonactive, quiet room. Final Thoughts Teaching social studies to special education students requires not only the basics of content knowledge and teaching styles, but also patience and understanding. There is no right or wrong way. Teachers are required to do what benefits the students. It often becomes a guessing game. Yet all students are capable of learning. Finding how a student learns best requires the implementation of various strategies that often results in mistakes. Teachers must implement and follow the same golden-rule that has been taught to children for years: Learn best from your mistakes. References Conderman, G., & Bresnahan, V. (2008). Teaching BIG ideas in diverse middle school classrooms. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 44(4), 176–180. Duplass, J. A. (2008). Teaching elementary social studies: Strategies, standards, and internet resources (2nd ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Ellis, A. K. (2010). Teaching and learning elementary social studies (9th ed.). Boston: Pearson. Friend, M. (2011). Special education: Contemporary perspectives for school professionals (3rd ed.). Boston: Pearson. Gallavan, N., & Kottler, E. (2007). Eight types of graphic organizers for empowering social studies students and teachers. The Social Studies, 93(3), 117–123. Lintner, T., & Schweder, W. (2008). Social studies in special education classrooms: A glimpse behind the closed door. Journal of Social Studies Research, 32(1), 3–9. Mastropieri, M. A., & Scruggs, T. E. (2010). The inclusive classroom: Strategies for effective differentiated instruction (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill. Maxim, G. W. (2010). Dynamic social studies for constructivist classrooms: Inspiring tomorrow’s social scientists (9th ed.). Boston: Pearson. Salend, S. (2011).Creating inclusive classrooms: Effective and reflective practices (7th ed.). Boston: Pearson. Sunal, C. S., & Haas, M. E. (2005). Social studies for the elementary and middle grades: A constructivist approach (2nd ed.). Boston: Pearson. Vaughn, S. R., Bos, C. S., & Schumm, J. S. (2011). Teaching students who are exceptional, diverse, and at-risk (5th ed.). Boston: Pearson.

Chapter 5

Maximizing Social Studies Learning for All with Peer Tutoring and Learning Strategy Information Thomas E. Scruggs Margo A. Mastropieri

According to the National Council for the Social Studies (NCCS, 2008), the primary purpose of social studies is to “help young people develop the ability to make informed and reasoned decisions for the public good as citizens of a culturally diverse, democratic society in an interdependent world” (n.p.). To meet this purpose, a variety of instructional methods and materials are needed. Presently, progress in social studies has been evaluated by state highstakes tests, which in most cases are heavily weighted toward acquisition of content knowledge, and are typically promoted through the use of textbooks (Frase-Blunt, 2000; Meyers & Savage, 2005). Unfortunately, such textbook-based approaches are not well suited for the characteristics of

Practical Strategies for Teaching K–12 Social Studies in Inclusive Classrooms, pages 35–46 Copyright © 2011 by Information Age Publishing All rights of reproduction in any form reserved.

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many students with mild cognitive disabilities, including learning disabilities, emotional/behavioral disabilities, and intellectual disabilities. These learners often struggle in areas such as prior knowledge, vocabulary acquisition, verbal learning and memory, text processing skills, and study skills (Mastropieri & Scruggs, 2010)—exactly those areas most emphasized in textbook-based approaches. In response to the potential problems associated with social studies content acquisition by learners with special needs, research has identified several strategies that have been demonstrated to increase—sometimes dramatically—the academic success of such learners. In this chapter, we discuss several strategies that have been proven to be successful in our own research applications. These techniques fall into two broad categories: classwide peer tutoring (CWPT) and strategy instruction, including mnemonic strategies, summarization strategies, text-structure analysis strategies, and graphic organizers. In many of these instances we have combined strategy instruction with peer tutoring to enhance academic engagement and learning in special education and integrated classrooms. Classwide Peer Tutoring One of the most direct approaches for increasing practice and “opportunities to respond” in social studies learning is through the use of classwide peer tutoring (Greenwood, Delquadri, & Hall, 1989). The simplest method of CWPT is developing “content sheets” to promote learning of important social studies content. Teachers develop a number of content sheets, which include questions and answers important to school and district unit tests or high-stake tests. For example, one question (of about five per sheet) might be, “In what 2 areas of the world was the Spanish-American War fought?”; the answer being, “The Pacific and the Caribbean.” These sheets can be duplicated and placed in folders. In ours, we placed questions and answers directly next to each other, in color-coded boxes. Students can be placed in tutoring pairs using the following criteria: rank students (discreetly) in a list from highest to lowest achieving, academically, on the class content. Then, divide the list in the middle; pair the highest performing student on the first half of the list with the highest performing student on the second half of the list, the second highest on the first half with the second highest on the second half, and so on. In this way, the skill differences will be similar in tutoring pairs. Following this, name each group of students. We used “Admirals” and “Generals,” so that any hierarchy would not be obvious from the name; however, “Admirals” designated the stronger student, who would begin ask-

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ing questions of the tutoring partner. Next, provide and post directions similar to the following: Tutoring Procedures: • • • • • • • • •

Pick up your own tutoring folder. Get with your partner. Write date, time, and partner names on your record sheet. Take Benchmark or high-stakes pretests. Take out Fact Sheets. Begin asking and answering the questions with your partner. Change roles with partner. When you know the content, take the posttest. Put all tutoring materials away (Mastropieri, Scruggs, & Marshak, 2008, p. 316).

When students are tutoring, describe, post, and enforce the following tutoring rules: Rules for Peer Tutoring: • • • •

Talk in a quiet voice. Cooperate with your partner. Do your best. Identify and correct mistakes: –– Your partner says the wrong answer: Say, ‘‘You missed that one. Can you try again?’’ –– Your partner gives a partially correct answer: Say, ‘‘Almost. Can you think of anything else?’’ –– Your partner waits longer than 3 seconds to give an answer: Say, ‘‘The answer is ‘_______________.’’’ Ask the question again. (Mastropieri et al., 2008, p. 316)

In our research, students were also provided with record keeping sheets on which they recorded the content sheets they studied and the information mastered to date on a daily basis. Using the content sheets, all students receive the same materials and tutoring sessions, which can be implemented two or three times a week, for 20 or 30 minutes. However, students with special needs can particularly benefit from CWPT in that they can work more on the content that is most difficult for them, and proceed more quickly through the easier content. Students work on individual content sheets until each is mastered, and then new content sheets are practiced.

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Each student, then, receives appropriate individualized practice with the materials as needed. We implemented CWPT with content sheets in an investigation with four middle school history classes studying the early 20th century (Mastropieri et al., 2008). We also made the peer tutoring materials available on the webbased Blackboard system for parents to tutor their students after school. All classes participated in some units with peer tutoring and some with traditional instruction, with other worksheet and practice activities replacing the tutoring sessions. At the end of the nine-week project, the tutoring program was seen to be effective in raising achievement for all students. Students with learning disabilities and emotional/behavioral disabilities raised their average achievement from 78% correct on unit tests when attending traditional classes to 85% correct when using class-wide peer tutoring. More recently, we implemented class-wide peer tutoring on a larger scale in 12 middle school classrooms studying American history (Scruggs, Mastropieri, Marshak, & Mills, 2009). Half of the classes were assigned to the traditional approach and half to the CWPT approach. After 18 weeks of instruction, covering seven academic units, posttests revealed that general education students without disabilities using CWPT scored 15% higher than students in the traditional approach; students with disabilities (mostly, learning disabilities and emotional/behavioral disabilities) using CWPT scored 20% higher than their counterparts in the traditional approach. These strategies were also successfully implemented in high school world history classes, where students using CWPT outperformed students provided with “guided notes” by nearly two-to-one on relevant end-of-year test items (Mastropieri, Scruggs, Spencer, & Fontana, 2003). These investigations were the simplest implementation of CWPT. Other applications of CWPT are also possible, including combinations of CWPT with learning strategy instruction. These examples are described within the learning strategy examples which follow (see also Scruggs, Mastropieri, & Marshak, in press). Learning Strategies for Social Studies Content Mnemonic Instruction A “mnemonic” technique is any procedure, or operation, designed to improve memory; the mnemonic strategies described here involve “a specific reconstruction of target content intended to tie new information more closely to the learner’s existing knowledge base and, therefore, facilitate retrieval” (Scruggs & Mastropieri, 1990, pp. 271–272). These strategies have been particularly helpful for individuals with mild disabilities because

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they can minimize the effect of relative learning weaknesses (e.g., difficulties with spontaneous strategy production, verbal fluency), while maximizing their relative strengths (e.g., memory for pictures, memory for verbal elaborations). The Keyword Method The keyword method works by creating concrete, similar-sounding proxies (keywords) for unfamiliar information, and associating it with the information to be remembered. For example, to remember that an anarchist is “against all forms of government, ”a keyword is first constructed for “anarchy.” In this case, a good keyword would be “ants,” because it sounds like the first part of anarchist and is easily pictured. Learners are then shown (or asked to imagine) a picture of the keyword and associated information interacting, for example, in a picture of ants (keyword for anarchist) overthrowing government buildings. When asked for the meaning of anarchist, then, learners are taught to think of the keyword, ants, think of the picture with the ants in it, remember what else was in the picture (overthrowing all government), and retrieve the answer, “against all forms of government” (Fontana, Mastropieri, & Scruggs, 2007). For another example, consider the sinking of the Lusitania, which helped lead to American involvement in World War I. A good keyword for Lusitania could be the comic strip character Lucy, since the word sounds like Lusitania and the character is easy to picture. Lucy can be shown in a picture standing on the deck of the sinking Lusitania, shaking her fist at a German submarine. When asked about the Lusitania, then, students think of the keyword (Lucy), think of the picture with Lucy in it, and remember that Lucy was on a passenger ship sunk by a German submarine. Related Mnemonic Strategies Keywords can be combined with other keywords in some cases. For example, to help students remember that Annapolis is the capital of Maryland, show a picture of two apples (keyword for Annapolis) getting married (keyword for Maryland). Keywords can also be combined with rhyming pegwords for numbers (one is bun, two is shoe, etc.). For example, to help students remember that Jefferson was the third president, show a picture of a chef (keyword for Jefferson) sitting in a tree (pegword for tree) (Mastropieri, Scruggs, Bakken, & Whedon, 1997). More than twice as many presidents were recalled in an evaluation of these strategies with students with learning and intellectual disabilities (Mastropieri, Scruggs, Bakken, & Brigham, 1992).

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In an evaluation of states and capitals learning, mnemonically instructed students remembered 57% more content than students taught traditionally. In order to address the diverse content in social studies classes, we (Scruggs & Mastropieri, 1989b) developed a mnemonic system referred to as “reconstructive elaborations,” where mnemonic elaborations were developed based upon the familiarity and concreteness of the information. That is, for information that was already familiar, we showed mimetic, or descriptive pictures. For example, to help students remember that trenches were unhealthy for soldiers, we simply showed a picture of sick soldiers in trenches. For information that is familiar but abstract, such as U.S. foreign policy, we used symbolic reconstructions, for example, a picture of Uncle Sam to represent foreign policy. For information that was not meaningful, such as names of people and places, and unfamiliar vocabulary, we used the keyword method. We also used letter strategies, combined with the keyword method for lists of information. For example, to help students remember that the countries in the Allied Powers were France, Italy, Russia, and England, we showed a picture of a FIRE (letter strategy for the country names) in an Allied Van (keyword for Allied Powers). We first used the method of reconstructive elaborations to teach students with learning disabilities or mild intellectual disabilities information about World War I, and found that students instructed mnemonically scored 78% higher than students taught by more traditional methods, including text, lecture, and pictures (Scruggs & Mastropieri, 1989b). We then implemented these procedures in a number of special education social studies classes, over eight weeks of instruction, and reported that students instructed mnemonically recalled 75% of the information on the cumulative test, while students instructed traditionally scored 44% (Mastropieri & Scruggs, 1988), with similar results in a second implementation (Scruggs & Mastropieri 1989a). Implementation When implementing mnemonic strategies, we recommend first identifying the most important content, which is typically content that students are likely to have difficulty remembering. Then, using the model of reconstructive elaborations, identify the meaningfulness and concreteness of the content using representational, mimetic pictures for familiar information, symbols such as Uncle Sam for abstract information, and keyword-pegwordletter strategies for unfamiliar information like names, places, and unfamiliar vocabulary concepts such as hegemony. Then, develop representational pictures of the reconstructed content interacting with the definitions, meanings, or other information to be remembered. These pictures need not be “great art,” but will be effective if they are clear, simple, and un-

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derstandable. In earlier investigations, teachers sometimes used magazine cutouts and stick figures; today, it is easy to create mnemonic illustrations using clip art from CDs or from the Internet to create pictures that can be displayed with projectors to the entire class. When using mnemonics in instruction, be sure to be very explicit about the content to be remembered, the strategy for retrieving the information, and the steps that students will take to enhance their memory. Review and practice the material to be sure it will be retained. Here is an example of dialogue a teacher might employ when providing mnemonic strategies for teaching about the “Zimmerman note.” The Zimmerman note was an important reason that the U.S. became involved in World War I. Arthur Zimmerman was the German foreign secretary, who sent a coded note to Mexico in 1917 asking Mexico to join Germany in fighting against the United States, if the U.S. should enter the war on the side of the Allied Powers. In return, Germany promised to return former Mexican territory in Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico. This note was intercepted and decoded, causing public outrage in the U.S. This incident contributed to the U.S. declaration of war against Germany and its allies. To help you remember the Zimmerman note and what it was, remember the keyword for Zimmerman, swimmer. What is the keyword for Zimmerman? [students respond]. Good, swimmer. Now, [show picture or slide] remember this picture of a swimmer swimming from Germany to Mexico, carrying a coded note that reads: “To Mexico: Join us, Germany.” Remember this picture of what? [students respond]. Good, a swimmer with a coded note. So when I ask you about the Zimmerman note, what do you answer? [students respond]. Good, a coded note from Germany to Mexico.

Dialogue between students and teachers can strengthen knowledge of the event, as well as steps for remembering the name associated with the event. Mnemonics in Inclusive Classes We worked with a teacher who was implementing mnemonic strategies to help students in her fourth grade inclusive class learn information about the history of the Chesapeake Bay (Mastropieri, Sweda, & Scruggs, 2000). She created materials and integrated them in her instruction, as described previously. After the unit test, she found that students without disabilities had learned 89% of the content she taught mnemonically, but only 83% of the content she taught traditionally. Five of her students had been classified with learning disabilities or emotional/behavioral disabilities; these

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students learned 75% of the content instructed mnemonically, and only 37% of content taught traditionally. At the middle school level, we implemented class-wide peer tutoring, having student tutoring pairs use mnemonic strategies for content they had difficulty learning (Marshak, Mastropieri, & Scruggs, 2010). In an implementation in eight inclusive classrooms over eight weeks of instruction, we again found substantial achievement differences: students without disabilities in the mnemonic-CWPT condition scored 94% correct on the posttest, while those given traditional instruction scored 71% correct. Students with learning or emotional/behavioral disabilities scored 93% correct in the mnemonic-CWPT condition, and 55% correct in the traditional condition. These findings, taken together, suggest that mnemonic instruction in social studies benefits all students, and particularly benefits students with mild disabilities. Summarization Instruction It has been seen that students with and without disabilities can benefit from instruction in deriving meaning from text. In an earlier reading comprehension study, Malone and Mastropieri (1991) taught students with learning disabilities to use a simple self-questioning strategy to help their comprehension and recall. While reading select passages, students were told to ask themselves the following questions after each paragraph: • Who or what is the passage about? • What was happening to them? Students were then asked to write a summary sentence at the end of each paragraph, having first been taught what a summary sentence was. Students in one condition were also asked to check on a self-monitoring sheet whenever they completed each of these tasks. On post-testing, students who used the summarization strategy with self-monitoring greatly outperformed students who had practiced the same passages without strategy instruction. In a “far transfer” test, using social studies passages from a text on Indiana history, students who used the summarization strategy with self-monitoring scored 80% higher than students who had not been trained. This application underscored the importance of even simple strategy instruction for improving social studies text comprehension. In the previously described Malone and Mastropieri (1991) investigation, students were taught individually, which is not possible in many instructional situations. Two additional studies combined the use of this summarization strategy with peer tutoring. Both studies yielded positive findings. Mastropieri et al. (2001) taught students with mild disabilities to

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use the summarization strategy during peer tutoring. Likewise, Spencer, Scruggs, and Mastropieri (2003) replicated that study with students with emotional disabilities/behavioral disabilities. They divided classes of students with emotional/behavioral disabilities into class-wide peer tutoring pairs, and taught them to tutor each other using social studies textbooks, using similar strategies to those of Malone and Mastropieri (1991). After reading a paragraph, peers asked each other the following questions: • Who or what was the section about? • What is happening to the who or what? • Write a summary sentence using 10 to 15 words. (p. 84) All students participated in tutoring and traditional conditions over a fourweek period. At the end of the units, it was found that students scored much higher (85% vs. 70% correct) when in the tutoring program. We also found that rates of student time-on-task were much higher in the tutoringstrategy condition. Text Structure Analysis It is also possible to use these strategies to teach more complex strategies to students with mild disabilities, which can lead to even higher levels of comprehension. Bakken, Mastropieri, and Scruggs (1997) taught students with learning disabilities to recognize different types of text structure in their reading passages and use this information to help them study. We focused on three different types of text structure: main idea, which presented a central theme and supporting information (e.g., “militarism”); list passages which provided a list of information (e.g., agricultural products from Argentina); and order passages which provided information in a necessary order (e.g., a list of 17th century monarchs of England in order of accession). Students then used this information to take notes as they read—for example, to identify a main idea, provide a list, or identify an ordered list. At posttest, students who were taught the text structure strategy performed much higher, even higher than those students taught a “main idea” summarization strategy similar to that of the Malone and Mastropieri (1991) investigation. Graphic Organizers The way social studies content is presented visually and spatially can also increase student learning of social studies. Bos, Anders, Filip, and Jaffe

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(1989) used a graphic organizer, referred to as a Semantic Feature Analysis Chart, to promote reading comprehension in social studies. This chart helped activate students’ prior knowledge and to define the important relevant ideas and related vocabulary. Important concepts and vocabulary were categorized graphically as subordinate or coordinate, depending on semantic relationships among the concepts and their level of importance. In their investigation, students who used Semantic Feature Analysis performed significantly better on vocabulary and conceptual items than students who had been instructed using the dictionary method. Similarly, Bulgren, Schumaker, and Deshler (1988) taught normally achieving students and students with learning disabilities to use Concept Diagrams, which represented on a spatial-graphical format each concept (e.g., “democracy”), its definition, those characteristics which are always, sometimes, or never present in the concept, and examples and non-examples of the concepts. Teachers were also trained to create and implement these Concept Diagrams. At the end of instruction, it was found that all students, including those with and without learning disabilities, increased from 47% to 82% on content tests before and after training with Concept Diagrams. Conclusion We have discussed a number of effective strategies for improving social studies content learning. These strategies included class-wide peer tutoring and strategy instruction, with the latter including mnemonic strategy instruction, summarization strategy instruction, text structure instruction, and graphic organizers. In a recent meta-analysis of research, all have been shown to be effective in increasing social studies learning (Scruggs, Mastropieri, Berkeley, & Graetz, in press). However, these interventions should not be seen as mutually exclusive competitors. In fact, we have seen that many of the learning strategies can be effectively combined with class-wide peer tutoring. These strategies should also not be seen as competing with other strategies, such as investigative learning, discussion/debate, and use of new media, for enhancing understanding of social studies (see Scruggs, Mastropieri, & Okolo, 2009). However, with the appropriate application of knowledge of social studies, appreciation for the value of social studies, and knowledge of appropriate pedagogical strategies, teachers can insure that all students, with and without disabilities, receive appropriate and high quality social studies instruction.

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References Bakken, J. P., Mastropieri, M. A., & Scruggs, T. E. (1997). Reading comprehension of expository science material and students with learning disabilities: A comparison of strategies. Journal of Special Education, 31(3), 300–324. Bos, C. S., Anders, P. L., Filip, D., & Jaffe, L. E. (1989). The effects of an interactive instructional strategy for enhancing reading comprehension and content area learning for students with learning disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 22, 384–389. Bulgren, J., Schumaker, J. B., & Deshler, D. D. (1988). Effectiveness of a concept teaching routine in enhancing the performance of LD students in secondarylevel mainstream classes. Learning Disability Quarterly, 11, 3–17. Fontana, J., Mastropieri, M. A., Scruggs, T. E. (2007). Mnemonic strategy instruction in inclusive secondary social studies classes. Remedial and Special Education, 28(6), 345–355. Frase-Blunt, M. (2000). High stakes testing: A mixed blessing for special students. CEC Today, 7(2), 1, 5, 7, 15. Greenwood, C., Delquadri, J., & Hall, H. (1989). Longitudinal effects of classwide peer tutoring. Journal of Educational Psychology, 81, 371–383. Malone, L. D., & Mastropieri, M. A. (1991). Reading comprehension instruction: Summarization and self-monitoring training for students with learning disabilities. Exceptional Children, 58(3), 270–279. Marshak, L., Mastropieri, M. A., & Scruggs, T. E. (2010). Curriculum enhancements in inclusive social studies classrooms: Effects on students with and without mild disabilities. Fairfax, VA: George Mason University, College of Education and Human Development. Mastropieri, M. A., & Scruggs, T. E. (1988). Increasing the content area learning of learning disabled students: Research implementation. Learning Disabilities Research, 4(3), 17–25. Mastropieri, M. A., & Scruggs, T. E. (2010). The inclusive classroom: Strategies for effective instruction (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Mastropieri, M. A., Scruggs, T. E., Bakken, J. P., & Brigham, F. J. (1992). A complex mnemonic strategy for teaching states and capitals: Comparing forward and backward associations. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 7, 96–103. Mastropieri, M. A., Scruggs, T. E., Bakken, J. P., & Whedon, C. (1997). Using mnemonic strategies to teach information about U.S. presidents: A classroombased investigation. Learning Disability Quarterly, 20, 13–21. Mastropieri, M. A., Scruggs, T. E., & Marshak, L. (2008). Training teachers, parents, and peers to implement effective teaching strategies for content area learning. In T. E. Scruggs & M. A. Mastropieri (Eds.), Personnel preparation: Advances in learning and behavioral disabilities (pp. 311–329). Bingley, UK: Emerald. Mastropieri, M. A., Scruggs, T. E., Mohler, L. J., Beranek, M. L., Spencer, V., Boon, R. T., & Talbott, E. (2001). Can middle school students with serious reading difficulties help each other and learn anything? Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 16(1), 18–27.

46   T. E. SCRUGGS and M. A. MASTROPIERI Mastropieri, M. A., Scruggs, T. E., Spencer, V., & Fontana, J. (2003).Promoting success in high school world history: Peer tutoring versus guided notes. Learning Disabilities Research and Practice, 18(1), 52–65. Mastropieri, M. A., Sweda, J., & Scruggs, T. E. (2000). Putting mnemonic strategies to work in an inclusive classroom. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 15(2), 69–74. Meyers, M. P., & Savage, T. (2005). Enhancing student comprehension of social studies material. The Social Studies, 96, 18–24. National Council for the Social Studies. (2008), Expectations of excellence: Curriculum standards for social studies—Executive summary. Retrieved from http://www.socialstudies.org/standards/execsummary/ Scruggs, T. E., & Mastropieri, M. A. (1990). Mnemonic instruction for learning disabled students: What it is and what it does. Learning Disability Quarterly, 13(4), 271–281. Scruggs, T. E., & Mastropieri, M. A. (1989a). Mnemonic instruction of learning disabled students: A field-based evaluation. Learning Disability Quarterly, 12(2), 119–125. Scruggs, T. E., & Mastropieri, M. A. (1989b). Reconstructive elaborations: A model for content area learning. American Educational Research Journal, 26(2), 311–327. Scruggs, T. E., Mastropieri, M. A., & Marshak, L. (in press). Science and social studies. In J. Kauffman, D.P. Hallahan, & J. Lloyd (Eds.), Handbook of special education. New York: Routledge. Scruggs, T. E., Mastropieri, M. A., Marshak, L., & Mills, S. (2009). How to differentiate without differentiating: Curriculum enhancements in inclusive content area classrooms. Paper presented at annual meeting of the Council for Exceptional Children, Seattle. Scruggs, T. E., Mastropieri, M. A., Berkeley, S., & Graetz, J. (in press).Do special education interventions improve learning of secondary content? A meta analysis. Remedial and Special Education. Scruggs, T. E., Mastropieri, M. A., & Okolo, C. (2009). Science and social studies. Focus on Exceptional Children, 41(2), 1–24. Spencer, V., Scruggs, T. E., & Mastropieri, M. A. (2003).Content area learning in middle school social studies classrooms and students with emotional or behavioral disorders: A comparison of strategies. BehavioralDisorders, 28(2), 77–93.

Chapter 6

Toward an Inclusive Social Studies Classroom Darren W. Minarik David Hicks

Acknowledging and Addressing the Blind Spot in the Social Studies Literature As we began the 21st century, O’Brien (2000) painted a telling picture regarding research on disability and social studies: “Research on students with LD learning social studies is akin to a marriage between ‘who cares?’ and ‘so what?’” (p. 196). The work of Passe and Beattie (1994) and a special issue of Social Studies in 1998 represented much of the research during the 1990s regarding the relationship between social studies and students with disabilities. Recently, a few articles, generally found in special education literature, have begun to explicitly focus and examine instructional strategies and scaffolds used to support students in social studies classrooms (see Boon, Burke, Fore, & Spencer, 2006; Connor & Lagares, 2007; De La Paz, 2005; De La Paz & MacArthur, 2003; De La Paz, Morales, & Winston, 2007; Fontana, Scruggs, & Mastropieri, 2007; Mastropieri, Scrugs, Graetz, Norland, Gardizi, & McDuffie, 2005; Okolo, Englert, Bouck, & Heutsche, 2007). Such research illuminates the instructional approaches and scaffolds used to help, not just students with disabilities, but a wide range of Practical Strategies for Teaching K–12 Social Studies in Inclusive Classrooms, pages 47–56 Copyright © 2011 by Information Age Publishing All rights of reproduction in any form reserved.

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students acquire content and concept mastery, while developing important self-determination and self-advocacy skills within a more inclusive classroom environment. The works of these authors reveal a small but growing body of literature beginning to take shape with regard to the importance of explicit planning and strategy instruction to support a wide range of students in the inclusive social studies classroom. From this base we need to ask, “Which of the many teaching practices available best meet one’s instructional goals” (Grant, 2003, p. 43)? In the next section we detail initiating structures to help support the inclusive social studies classroom. First, we discuss the importance of building a foundation and mindset for planning and organizing instruction. Next, we outline how a unit of study and advance organizer can clearly frame where you are going and where the student is going. Lastly, we discuss the importance of utilizing and developing scaffolds for explicit behaviors and thinking within social studies in terms of supporting student learning. A Mind-set for Planning Planning for the inclusive social studies classroom ideally involves more than the individual social studies teacher left in splendid isolation. Rather, it involves planning instruction and communicating shared goals with all of the team players affecting student learning, from the special education and general education teachers, to support personnel, administration, families and other supports outside the school system. Collaboration is an important step in creating an inclusive social studies classroom. Teachers are more frequently expected to collaborate and develop co-teaching relationships because of federal requirements for teachers to be highly qualified in the content area they teach and the standards driven reform movement. They are also expected to use research-supported instructional practices and collect data to show progress or provide intervention if needed. Friend and Cook (2010) define collaboration as “a style for direct interaction between at least two co-equal parties voluntarily engaged in shared decision-making as they work toward a common goal” (p. 7). A common goal is supporting student learning: for many teachers this begins with rethinking instructional planning through curricular design methods such as Understanding by Design (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005) and SMARTER planning (Bulgren, Deshler, & Lenz, 2007). These design models have gone a long way in helping teachers consider what understandings and skills should be taught in the classroom, how such understandings and skills should be assessed, and how to provide explicit and appropriate instruction to support the development of students’ understanding and skills within the inclusive classroom. In addition, each of these curricular design models

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and delivery options are evidence-based approaches and stress the importance of differentiating instruction. Differentiation of instruction builds on the notion of a more democratic classroom, allowing teachers to effectively respond to varying needs of diverse student populations (Thousand, Villa, & Nevin, 2007). While distinct, these models are not mutually exclusive, and developing an understanding of the purpose and nature of these models is a worthwhile and meaningful first step toward re-conceptualizing and re-envisioning social studies instruction to support student learning in an inclusive environment. In our own work with beginning teachers, these models are introduced as key foundation blocks upon which powerful, authentic, practical, and accessible social studies instruction is planned, organized, and delivered. Wiggins and McTighe’s (2005) Understanding by Design (UbD) model involves three stages of backward design requiring teachers to look at what outcomes they want for their students, consider how to collect evidence of learning, and then develop instructional plans and strategies for a unit of study. This allows the teacher to assure that all of the state mandated standards are being assessed for each unit of study. It also assures that student needs are being met because the teacher is thinking more about outcomes than content. Another benefit is that students know exactly what they need to learn in order to be successful in class. This approach targets instruction explicitly driven by the essential content to be assessed. SMARTER planning is a form of reflective planning designed to help teachers determine the critical content to teach and how to organize the content (Bulgren et al., 2007). The acronym “SMARTER” maps out the process for planning: Shape the critical questions; Map the critical content; Analyze the learning difficulties; Reach enhancement decisions; Teach strategically; Evaluate mastery; and Revisit outcomes (p. 6). The process begins with identifying critical or “big idea” questions students need to answer about the content. Then, the teacher maps the content using some type of structured graphic model that is “limiting, connected, linear, hierarchical, labeled, and simple” (Lenz, Bulgren, Kissam, & Taymans, 2004, p. 65). The next step involves knowing your students and their needs. Once this information is determined, the teacher selects the appropriate means to enhance instruction to reach diverse learners. One type of enhancement would be Content Enhancement Routines. These devices have detailed graphic organizers requiring teachers to explicitly think about their essential questions for assessment before developing devices to transfer the content to the learner. The organizers and routines raise achievement for students with disabilities and without disabilities (Bulgren et al., 2007). All of the routines use an instructional set of linking steps that instruct the teacher to introduce the device and explain why it is being used, follow the specific steps of the routine, and review at the end of the routine.

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These planning methods address critical content, make content accessible to a more diverse student population, and use multiple ways to collect evidence of student learning. It comes down to a mind-set for planning and what is driving your planning. Is the content driving your planning, or are you planning with the diverse learning needs of your students in the forefront? This is why effective planning is a critical element of the inclusive social studies classroom. Organizing and Framing Instruction Students with disabilities benefit from organized instruction and advance organizers mapping out the daily lesson, the unit of study, or even the entire course (Bulgren et al., 2007; Steele, 2007). Organizers should be visual, textual, and read out loud to support the various learning needs in the classroom. The teacher uses the organizer to review the previous day, establish expectations for the current lesson, and foreshadow upcoming topics. A good example of an organizer meeting all of these criteria is the Unit Organizer Routine developed by the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning, though we argue that any type of organized visual will help students in an inclusive setting (Bulgren et al., 2007; Lenz, Bulgren, Schumaker, Deshler, & Boudah, 1994). Figure 6.1 shows a Unit Organizer on early river valley civilizations, mapping out a plan for the unit and the essential questions to be answered by the end of the unit. A teacher would plan this unit in advance and then introduce it to students by guiding them through each section, beginning with the previous unit of study. Sometimes, teachers will construct the entire organizer with their students at the beginning of the unit. Others will have the students fill in the organizer as the class reaches each part of the unit map and completes each essential question. Regardless of the procedure for introducing the unit, students have a visual and organized way to move through a unit, and the teacher can use this tool to review content and prepare students for assessments. Teachers may also use the mapping structure as an advance organizer (Figure 6.2) for individual lessons, diagramming the procedure for a lesson, and revealing the questions for review. Again, this visual aide allows students to know exactly what they will be doing, what they just completed, and what will be assessed. Teachers can also organize their critical content to support the needs of diverse learners. Tools like the Framing Routine (Ellis, 1998) teach students to identify main ideas and essential details in teacher notes and require teachers to focus on the essential material to be assessed. The teacher creates a draft routine organizing the essential content the students need to know as illustrated in Figure 6.3. Then, the class provides content details

Toward an Inclusive Social Studies Classroom    51 4 Bigger Picture Early Civilizations 2

Last Unit Paleolithic Era to the Agricultural Revolution

1

8

5 Unit Map

Unit Schedule

9/1

Civilization Concept Diagram

9/2

Map Quiz

9/6

Civilization Frame

9/7

Civilization Comparison Poster

9/8

Fertile Crescent Quiz

9/9

Web Quest

9/10

Unit Test

Current Unit Ancient River Valley Civilizations

3

Next Unit Persia, India, and China

is about the first permanent settlements from approximately 3500–500 BC

including the Egyptians and Nubians

including

including

Mesopotamia (Fertile Crescent)

the Huang He Valley (China)

The Indus Valley

7 Unit Self-Test Questions

6 Unit Relationships

1. Why did early civilizations develop in river valleys? 2. How did the “cradles of civilization” contribute to cultural, social, political, and economic progress? 3. How were religious traditions a major part of life in early civilizations?

• Occurrences and consequences • Characteristics • Examples • Timeline

Figure 6.1  The Unit Organizer. Source: Adapted from Lenz, B. K., Bulgren, J. A., Schumaker, J. B., Deshler, D. D., & Boudah, D. A. (1994). The Content Enhancement Series: The Unit Organizer Routine. Lawrence, KS: Edge Enterprises

for the frame with teacher support following a specific set of steps spelling out the acronym FRAME (1998). The first step is to (F) focus on the key topic and provide a statement describing the key topic. In Figure 6.3, the key topic is “Separation of Powers.” Next, one or more main ideas are (R) revealed under the key topic. Once this is complete, students are asked to (A) analyze essential details for each main idea. Students then (M) make a statement explaining the importance of the content in the frame. The final step is to (E) extend understanding of the content through additional activities. For example, Figure 6.3 extends understanding through an exercise whereby students determine which powers listed in the details correspond with which branch of government. The students use the key listed below the

52    D. W. MINARIK and D. HICKS Lesson Topic Egyptian Pyramids

Advance Organizer Lesson Map

is about

by identifying

Tombs for the Pharaohs

Egyptian religious beliefs

by exploring

by comparing

Construction theories

by comparing

Egyptian pyramids and other structures

by exploring

Life around the pyramids

Famous pyramids and tomb artifacts

Questions for Review 1. Why did Egyptians build pyramids for their pharaohs? 2. How were the pyramids built? 3. How did pyramids contribute to daily life in ancient Egypt? 4. What are some famous Egyptian pyramids and what types of artifacts were located in the tombs? 5. How do the pyramids compare to Ziggurats and other structures we have studied?

Figure 6.2  Advance Organizer for a Daily Lesson.

frame as a guide for how to label the powers. In addition to providing a visual and organizational framework for note-taking, frames can help students organize paragraphs for essays, support comprehension through parceling out essential parts of a reading, compare concepts, and other tasks. Problem Solving Complex Concepts Learning social studies requires students to understand a number of key concepts. However, thinking about concepts in social studies can be a tremendous challenge for students who are struggling academically. If select students are unable to identify characteristics of the concept, provide examples, and ultimately define it in their own words, it is difficult to discuss the concept in class and explain the concept when assessed. Also, developing a lesson that effectively involves learners at various stages of conceptual understanding can be daunting.

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Figure 6.3  The Framing Routine. Source: Classroom example of visually modeling the three branches of government and their respective powers. Adapted from Ellis, E.S. (1998) The Content Enhancement Series: The Framing Routine. Lawrence, KS: Edge; and E.S. Ellis (2010) Essential Understandings of Social Studies. Tuscaloosa, AL: Makes Sense Strategies.

The Venn diagram is a powerful tool for discussing similarities and differences by comparing concepts or making analogies between a known concept and a new concept to be learned. In Figure 6.4, the Venn diagram uses the acronym CIRCLES1 to diagram steps students follow in examining an analogy between a tug-of-war and the Cold War. The steps are: (C) create the Venn diagram, (I) introduce the concepts/events/people, (R) reveal the characteristics, (C) compare the characteristics, (L) locate always present or common characteristics, (E) explore concept definitions, and (S) summarize the diagram. Teachers can develop lessons around this strategy where students work in small groups or as a whole class to complete the CIRCLES diagram. Regardless of the teaching device used, developing ways to break down complex and thematic concepts can open opportunities for more students to learn in a social studies classroom. The concept diagram and Venn diagram fit neatly into many social studies topics, as they can ultimately lead to a more detailed, descriptive, and comparative understanding of the social studies content.

54    D. W. MINARIK and D. HICKS Create the Venn diagram Introduce concepts/events/people Reveal characteristics Compare characteristics Locate always present characteristics Explore concept definitions Summarize the diagram A Tug of war is a strategic struggle involving two teams using physical strength without direct contact to pull the opposing team across a line using rope.

• Two teams • Strategy for victory (believe your team can win) • Rope involved • You pull the rope • Need a physically strong team • You might get muddy but no physical contact • A struggle

The Cold War is a strategic struggle between two nations with different beliefs who use military power to dominate without violent confrontation.

• Two sides • Believe they have the best strategy • Want to dominate/win • No physical contact

• Between two nations (U.S. and U.S.S.R.) • Capitalist Democracy vs. Communism (beliefs/ ideology/strategy) • Use military strength for power and influence • Stops short of violent confrontation • A struggle

Summarize The Cold War is like a Tug of War because both have two sides believing they have the best strategy and they want to dominate each other without direct physical contact.

Figure 6.4  CIRCLES Venn diagram. Source: Adapted from the CIRCLES Venn Diagram created by the American Civics Center, LLC.

Summary To make an inclusive social studies classroom possible, multiple stakeholders should collaborate to plan and deliver instruction. They bring with them knowledge of content, an ability to effectively lead instruction, and an understanding of diverse student populations. Research is needed in the area of collaboration, as there are limited studies showing co-teaching models in social studies classrooms (Mastropieri et al., 2005; Murawski & Swanson, 2001). We have already seen a number of research articles and books

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addressing planning practices and effective teaching strategies that apply to social studies, but more research is needed in social studies classrooms. Quality inclusive social studies classrooms are created with the use of appropriate curricular models that pay attention to managing and monitoring the learning of all students and the use of explicit strategy instruction to support the teaching of behaviors, content knowledge and reasoning skills. Note 1. The CIRCLES acronym was developed by the American Civics Center as a way for their instructional staff to follow a consistent set of explicit steps for using Venn diagrams during lessons for diverse groups of students who visit Washington, DC.

References Boon, R. T., Burke, M. D., Fore, C., & Spencer, V. G. (2006). The impact of cognitive organizers and technology-based practices on student success in secondary social studies classrooms. Journal of Special Education Technology, 21(1), 5–15. Bulgren, J., Deshler, D. D., & Lenz, K. B. (2007). Engaging adolescents with LD in higher order thinking about history concepts using integrated content enhancement routines. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 40(2), 121–133. Connor, D. J., & Lagares, C. (2007). Facing high stakes in high school: 25 successful strategies from an inclusive social studies classroom. Teaching Exceptional Children, 40(2), 18–27. De La Paz, S. (2005). Effects of historical reasoning instruction and writing strategy mastery in culturally and academically diverse middle school classrooms. Journal of Educational Psychology, 97(2), 139–156. De La Paz, S., & MacArthur, C. (2003). Knowing the how and why of history: Expectations for secondary students with and without learning disabilities. Learning Disability Quarterly, 26(2), 142–154. De La Paz, S., Morales, P., & Winston, P. M. (2007). Source interpretation: Teaching students with and without LD to read and write historically. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 40(2), 134–144. Ellis, E. S. (1998). The content enhancement series: The framing routine. Lawrence, KS: Edge Enterprises. Ellis, E. S. (2010). Essential understandings of social studies. Tuscaloosa, AL: Makes Sense Strategies. Fontana, J. L., Scruggs, T. E., & Mastropieri, M. A. (2007). Mnemonic strategy instruction in inclusive secondary social studies classes. Remedial and Special Education, 28(6), 345–355. Friend, M., & Cook, L. (2010). Interactions: Collaboration skills for school professionals (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

56    D. W. MINARIK and D. HICKS Grant, S. G. (2003). History lessons: Teaching, learning, and testing in U.S. high school classrooms. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Lenz, B. K., Bulgren, J. A., Kissam, B. R., & Taymans, J. (2004). SMARTER planning for academic diversity. In B. K. Lenz, D. D. Deshler & B. R. Kissam (Eds.), Teaching content to all: Evidence-based inclusive practices in middle and secondary schools. Boston, MA: Pearson. Lenz, B. K., Bulgren, J. A., Schumaker, J. B., Deshler, D. D., & Boudah, D. A. (1994). The content enhancement series: The unit organizer routine. Lawrence, KS: Edge Enterprises. Mastropieri, M. A., Scruggs, T. E., Graetz, J., Norland, J., Gardizi, W., & McDuffie, K. (2005). Case studies in co-teaching in the content areas: Successes, failures, and challenges. Intervention in School and Clinic, 40(5), 260–270. Murawski, W. W., & Swanson, H. L. (2001). A meta-analysis of co-teaching research. Remedial and Special Education, 22(5), 258–267. O’Brien, C. (2000). Modifying learning strategies for classroom success. Teaching Exceptional Children Plus, 1(3). Retrieved from http://escholarship.bc.edu/ cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1079&context=education/tecplus Okolo, C. M., Englert, C. S., Bouck, E. C., & Heutsche, A. M. (2007). Web-based history learning environments: Helping all students learn and like history. Intervention in School and Clinic, 43(1), 3–11. Steele, M. M. (2007). Teaching social studies to high school students with learning problems. The Social Studies, 98(2), 59–63. Thousand, J. S., Villa, R. A., & Nevin, A. I. (2007). Differentiating instruction: Collaborative planning and teaching for universally designed learning. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design (2nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Chapter 7

Voices from the Elementary School Classroom Teaching Social Studies in a General Education Setting Kay Usher

A driving factor in my interest in teaching students with disabilities in the general education classroom is my son, who has been diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome. Before I became a teacher, I watched with frustration as he struggled to fit into the general education classroom. His struggles became my motivation to help every child in my classroom succeed no matter how much work that might take. In my five years as a teacher, it has been my privilege to have taught students with learning disabilities, mild mental retardation, attention deficit disorder with and without hyperactivity, auditory and visual processing disorders, and autism spectrum disorders. What these individuals have taught me about life, love, education, and service to others has been both hum-

Practical Strategies for Teaching K–12 Social Studies in Inclusive Classrooms, pages 57–65 Copyright © 2011 by Information Age Publishing All rights of reproduction in any form reserved.

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bling and enriching. Sharing my day with these students has made me both a better person and a better educator. Why I Teach Social Studies Regardless of our ability to successfully navigate our respective (and rigid) school systems, we are all humans. Social studies explains, ponders, and examines the condition of being human. Regardless of what we consider to be traditionally a “successful student,” it is imperative that we teach all children about where we are on our planet, where we came from, where we are going, who we are and, most importantly, why we are here (McCoy, 2005). Strategies and Tools to Teach Social Studies to All Students The most meaningful pathway a teacher can create to reach students with disabilities is to provide multiple experiences through the use of multiple methods. Many students with exceptionalities can comprehend the same information as students without disabilities, but they just need additional experiences (CAST, 2008; Peterson & Hittie, 2010). It is my goal for students to see it, hear it, and do it. Centers and Stations For some topics I set up learning stations. The stations include areas in the classroom that are already present, such as the SMART Board, overhead projector, listening center, computers, and classroom library. Students spend time at each station working independently or in groups. These stations can be used by students on a variety of levels (Peterson & Hittie, 2010). I reserve my round table as a place where students come to get small group instruction and remediation on a topic of need. Video Video is an engaging method to relay information (Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt (CTVG), 1993; Gersten, Baker, Smith-Johnson, Dimino, & Peterson, 2006; Glaser, Rieth, Kinzer, Colburn, & Peters, 1999). Video can have the benefit of being both visual and auditory. I recommend

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keeping the videos short (no more than 20 minutes), as students can quickly lose interest or get overwhelmed by the amount of information presented. Poetry Simple poetry can be an excellent way to remember facts, such as “In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue” (Salend, 2011). I specifically use Paul Revere’s Ride by Longfellow, A Nation’s Strength by Emerson, and America by Whitman. Poetry is another artistic strategy that can provide access to an historical period through the use of rich words and imagery. Music I had a college history professor who always played music as we entered the class. It helped us learn about what types of music were being played during a particular historical period, and it gave us another strategy to help put a sound and feel to a period (Salend, 2011). Art Art is instrumental in showing students what the world was like before video and film. Students need to identify with a topic beyond black squiggles or letters on a page (Peterson & Hittie, 2010; Salend, 2011). To contextualize certain historical events or actors, I show my students Washington Crossing the Delaware by Lautze, The Declaration of Independence, and Battle of Bunker Hill, both by Trumbull. Textbooks Don’t rely on one textbook. Under Fair Use of copyrighted materials, teachers can copy small portions of textbooks and other copyrighted materials for educational purposes. I create transparencies or scan particular pages to be used with an LCD projector as part of a SMART Board lesson. I recommend printing out a copy of the lesson for students with disabilities. Many students struggle with reading material off the board. The hard copy is an easier format for student with disabilities to use (Hammeken, 2007). Trade Books I use both fictional and informational trade books (Peterson & Hittie, 2010). When relevant, we read class novels that relate to our standards. We

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discuss the novel as a class both for content understanding and to reinforce reading skills. I also incorporate informational trade books. As money is always an issue, I usually buy only one or two copies of the informational books and then copy a few paragraphs of the book so students can share the text. Some of the trade books I use are Lewis and Clark: A Prairie Dog for President (Redmond, 2003), Seasons of the Circle: A Native American Year (Bruchac, 2003), This is My House (Dorros, 1998), and Encounter (Yolen, 1996). Sarah Morton’s Day and Samuel Eaton’s Day (Waters, 1993, 1996) are wonderful books that bring history to life. SMART Board Lessons I use a “morning message” that asks students to answer questions about social studies. I typically use a map, graph, or picture of a topic we have been studying in social studies (Salend, 2011). I then ask a question which students answer on the SMART Board. Some answers are knowledge-based, whereby students utilize research and reading to find the answer. Some questions are thought provoking, which we discuss as a class. The daily question is also an excellent formative assessment. Websites There are great websites to teach early socialization skills, cultures, and map skills, particularly in K–2 classrooms (Peterson & Hittie, 2010; Salend, 2011). And there are many engaging and informative websites for older elementary students (grades four and five) as well. With careful searching, you can find appropriate elementary level websites that encompass all four strands of social studies. I use the following websites: • History: The Underground Railroad (http://www.nationalgeographic. com/railroad/); • Geography: Geospy (http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/ games/geographygames/geospy/); • Political Science: The White House 101 (http://www.whitehouse.gov/ about/white-house-101/); and • Economics: Savings Quest (http://www.mysavingsquest.com/). Beware of using websites that are busy and use complicated vocabulary, as they may overwhelm your students.

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Webquests Webquests can be an engaging and independent means to teach students how to research social studies-related topics (Dodge, 1995; March, 2000). As teachers create these webquests, they can adjust the level of difficulty to reflect each individual student’s abilities and needs. I use the following webquests: • Dr. Christie’s Webquest Matrix (http://www.alicechristie.org/edtech/ wq/matrix/), Webquest.org (www.webquest.org), • Webquests from San Diego Public Schools (http://projects.edtech.sandi. net/staffdev/elem99/schedule.html), and • A Database of Inquiry-Oriented Internet Projects (http://www.lth3.k12. il.us/rhampton/GradeLevel.html).

Integration of Reading and Writing Lessons Whenever possible, I try to incorporate reading and writing with social studies content. Students learn informational reading and writing skills with a purpose in mind. I teach the students how to read informational texts by presenting various genres, including fact/opinion, cause/effect, and persuasive writing (Coyne, Kame’enui, & Carnine, 2011).

Anchor Charts I use anchor charts primarily to organize, record, and store important information for review and/or to use as a quick reference. Anchor charts condense a large amount of content into manageable “portions.” Rather than force a struggling reader to sift through piles of text, the anchor chart provides a summary of a topic of study. I have found that using anchor charts promotes independent learning. My students create the anchor charts that we use. They are familiar with the words and concepts. Rather than asking me for information, my students go directly to the anchor chart. This has lead to increased confidence and competence in my students ability to organize and synthesize the social studies content.

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Role Playing Role playing encourages students to see the point of view of others. When possible, teachers can help students create costumes to further the experience of being an historical figure or living in an historical time period. Reader’s Theater Reader’s Theater is another great way to integrate reading and social studies. Students can practice their fluency and create props and costumes, and then act out the play. Learning Museums Creating a Learning Museum is an excellent culminating activity. I create, or find online, a variety of projects that fit the individual needs of my students. Students are able to choose a project within their ability level and are given support in creating their project. Each student is responsible for reading, writing, and researching the information needed to complete the project. Students become experts, answering questions others may have. The projects are displayed like museum exhibits and students are able to browse in the museum, learning as they go. Making Accommodations I believe in using accommodations for all students because each learner has unique strengths and weaknesses. We must never think of students in the general education classroom as being without special needs. Every student is on a continuum; some students have more special needs than others. I offer accommodations based on the needs of each student. The accommodations made are based on my observations, discussions with the student, parent(s), teacher’s aides, and other teachers. I do not offer accommodations based on a diagnosis; I offer accommodations based on need. Preferential Seating Some students require seating close to the whiteboards, while others need to sit away from the action. Some students work well sitting in groups, while others need to work in a study carrel. I change the location of a stu-

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dent’s desk and choose the type of furniture he or she uses. Dynamics change within a classroom and so should the student’s location in the room (Hammeken, 2007). Advance Notice of Assignments/Extra Time to Complete Assignments Some students need additional time to complete assignments, as they physically work more slowly than others (Gargiulo & Mecalf, 2010; Hammeken, 2007; Mastropieri & Scruggs, 2010; Salend, 2011). I try to avoid this accommodation whenever possible since students who are given assignments in advance are often not ready for the assignment when the background information has not yet been fully presented. Often, extra time means extra time to forget about or lose an assignment. I prefer to give assignments in chunks, allowing students to finish the assignment within the allotted time period (Gargiulo & Mecalf, 2010; Hammeken, 2007; Mastropieri & Scruggs, 2010; Salend, 2011). Alternate Ways to Complete Assignments/Computers Learning to write well is a difficult skill for most. I allow students to use computers for their assignments. Students who will not put pencil to paper will often find new motivation when given the use of a computer (Peterson & Hittie, 2010; Schweder & Wissick, 2007). Revising becomes more about copying and pasting and less about rewriting. Art and photographs can be easily added. Assistive Listening Devices I regularly tape class discussions and lectures to be replayed later on computers, CD players, tape recorders, MP3 Players, and iPods (Peterson & Hittie, 2010; Richmond, Richmond, & Fuller, in press). Whole SMART Board lessons can be recorded. I also record books to tape or CD to listen to as students read the text. Think Alouds My most successful accommodation is the simple think aloud. When beginning a lesson I think aloud, musing what successful students might be

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thinking as they tackle a particular assignment. This method can also be used when teaching students about content organization (how to pattern the content in a logical way), or simply how to get organized (homework, assignment completion, studying habits). Through the think aloud, my students “hear” what success “looks” like. Conclusion There are no hard and fast rules as how best to teach students with special needs. Over the years, I have “made rules” and “broken rules,” all in attempts to provide each of my students rich, rewarding, and diverse opportunities to learn social studies. I hold tight to what works, and I rework what doesn’t. Yet I am relentless in my pursuit. That is my role as a teacher. I find ways to make social studies come alive for all students! References Bruchac, J. (2003). Seasons of the circle: A Native American year. New York: BridgeWater Books. CAST. (2008). Universal design for learning guidelines version 1.0. Wakefield, MA: Author. Retrieved from http://www.udlcenter.org/sites/udlcenter.org/files/ UDL_Guidelines_v2%200Organizer_0.pdf Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt University (CTVG). (1993). Anchored instruction and situated cognition revisited. Educational Technology, 33(3), 52- 70. Coyne, M. D., Kame’enui, E. J., & Carnine, D. W. (2011). Effective teaching strategies that accommodate diverse learners. (4thed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Dodge, B. (1995). Some thoughts about WebQuests. Retrieved from http://edweb. sdsu.edu/courses/edtec596/about_webquests.html Dorros, A. (1998). This is my house. New York: Scholastic. Gersten, R., Baker, S. K., Smith-Johnson, J., Dimino, J., & Peterson, A. (2006). Eyes on the prize: Teaching complex historical content to middle school students with learning disabilities. Exceptional Children, 72(2), 264–280. Glaser, C. W., Rieth, H. J., Kinzer, C. K., Colburn, L., & Peters, J. (1999). A description of the impact of multimedia anchored instruction on classroom interactions. Journal of Special Education Technology, 14(2), 27–43. Hammeken, P. A. (2007). The teacher’s guide to inclusive education: 750 strategies for success! Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. March, T. (2000). The 3 R’s of WebQuests: Let’s keep them real, rich, and relevant. Multimedia Schools Magazine, 7(6), 15–22. Mastropieri, M. A. & Scruggs, T. E. (2010). The inclusive classroom: Strategies for effective differentiated instruction (4thed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Pearson.

Voices from the Elementary School Classroom    65 McCoy, K. (2005). Strategies for teaching social studies. Focus on Exceptional Children, 38(3), 1–16. Gargiulo, R. M. & Metcalf, D. (2010). Teaching in today’s inclusive classrooms: A universal design for learning approach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth-Cengage Learning. Peterson, J. M., & Hittie, M. M. (2010). Inclusive teaching: The journey towards effective schools for all learners (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Redmond, S. R. (2003). Lewis and Clark: A prairie dog for President. New York: Scholastic. Richmond, L. J., Richmond, W. A., & Fuller, D. P. (in press). Supporting universally designed instruction through the use of iPod touch technology. Journal of Special Education Technology. Salend, S. J. (2011). Creating inclusive classrooms: Effective and reflexive practices (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Schweder, W. G., & Wissick, C. A. (2007). Blogging in and out of the classroom. Journal of Special Education Technology, 22(4), 63–69. Waters, K. (1993). Sarah Morton’s day: A day in the life of a pilgrim girl. New York: Scholastic. Waters, K. (1996). Samuel Eaton’s day: A day in the life of a pilgrim boy. New York: Scholastic. Yolen, J. (1996). Encounter. New York: Voyager Books.

Chapter 8

Technology in the Social Studies for Students with Disabilities Cynthia M. Okolo Emily Bouck Anne Heutsche Carrie Anna Courtad Carol Sue Englert

Introduction Other chapters in this book have addressed the challenges that students with disabilities face in social studies classrooms. The textbook-based nature of much social studies instruction poses considerable challenges for students who are struggling readers and writers, given the often high and inconsistent readability levels of textbooks, the manner in which they are written, and the assumptions they often make about readers’ background knowledge (Armbruster & Anderson, 1984; Bean, Zigmond, & Hartman, 1994; Beck & McKeown, 1991; Brophy, 1990; Paxton, 1999). Organizing

Practical Strategies for Teaching K–12 Social Studies in Inclusive Classrooms, pages 67–87 Copyright © 2011 by Information Age Publishing All rights of reproduction in any form reserved.

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information, note-taking, studying, accessing background knowledge, and connecting ideas may be difficult tasks for some students—but are essential for success in many social studies classrooms. Furthermore, students with learning difficulties and disabilities may not know or use cognitive strategies that can help them succeed in many of these tasks (Deshler & Schumaker, 2006; Harris, Graham, Mason, & Friedlander, 2008). Add to these the conceptual difficulties that most students encounter as they learn about places, peoples, and ideas far removed from their own experiences (see Lowenthal, 2000; Okolo, Ferretti, & MacArthur, 2002; Wineburg, 2001). Technology offers many opportunities for helping students with disabilities meet some of the challenges described above. Students who have difficulties reading and comprehending text now have at their disposal a host of literacy tools to read, translate, and annotate text. Available as software products, as applications on the web, and, increasingly, built into a computer’s operating system, these tools help increase students’ access to printbased information. As most social studies teachers know, the web offers a plethora of information that can be used in social studies instruction. The wealth and flexibility of activities and information resources may be particularly helpful, meaningful, and motivating for students who struggle with textbook-based learning. Museum collections, Google Earth, lesson plans, social studies activities and games, videos—the list seems endless. But the web offers more than mere access to a volume of easily obtainable information. The multimedia nature of the web facilitates variety in the ways information can be displayed, ranging from text to movies to music to speeches. Furthermore, the collaborative and knowledge-production capabilities of Web 2.0 applications make possible new learning opportunities that expand the boundaries of the social studies classroom. However, before going any further, we need to remind the reader that technology-based instruction is not a panacea. Although we will focus on the rich potential of technology for improving social studies instruction for students with disabilities, we also need to acknowledge its limitations. For example, many websites are written at levels far above the average reading level of students with disabilities. Even when read aloud by a screen reader, their content is still very difficult for many students (including those without disabilities) to comprehend. Appropriate technology, such as the digital literacy applications we discuss next, are severely underutilized to meet the needs of diverse learners (Okolo & Bouck, 2007). And even though we often tout visual media, such as pictures and movies, as more accessible than print, students may lack the skills to make sense of visual media in history without instruction and guidance (Ferretti, MacArthur, & Okolo, 2007).

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Digital Literacy Applications Many students have not attained the level of literacy needed for success in today’s classroom . . . and in the larger world beyond it (National Center for Education Statistics, 2009; Perie, Grigg, & Donahue, 2005). Some students have difficulty deciphering the alphabetic code that undergirds the English language and struggle to read and spell individual words. Other students may read at such a slow pace, or expend so much mental energy reading words, that they have little cognitive processing left over for comprehending text. Still other students may be accurate and fluent readers, but have not learned explicit strategies for interacting with text to improve their understanding and use of its content. Finally, many students may experience difficulties in writing as a means of communication—from punctuation rules to writing research reports. These challenges are common to many students with mild disabilities and, indeed, to some students who don’t receive special education services (Vaughn, Bos, & Schumm, 2011). Digital literacy applications can help overcome or at least compensate for some of these barriers to fuller participation and success in the social studies classroom. Audio and Digital Books Auditory forms of text. Textbooks remain the primary means of delivering instruction in content-area classes (Bierman, 2006; Meyers & Savage, 2005), and recent research has shown that student access to textbooks is an important variable in helping students achieve and meet state standards (Oakes & Saunders, 2004). Given the student characteristics discussed above, textbooks can pose a formidable barrier to success in the general education classroom. Furthermore, even when teachers integrate historical fiction and literature into their social studies instruction in hopes of expanding learning beyond the textbook, students who have difficulties reading print may still be instructionally disadvantaged. One common way to make text more accessible to students with reading and other learning disabilities is to translate it to an audio format. Auditory forms of text have a long history in special education, evolving from cassette tapes to CDs to digital files that can reside on one’s computer or be stored to a portable music player or Smartphone. Texts to audio converters. Texts to audio converters are applications that take printed information, in a text or .pdf file, and convert that file to a digital audio form.  For example, YAKiToMe (http://www.yakitome.com) converts a variety of file formats (e.g., documents, PowerPoint presentations, email) to MP3 files. YAKiToMe speaks multiple languages, and is free.

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NextUp (http://www.nextup.com/TextAloud/audio-books.html) is an inexpensive program that converts text files to audio files.  Users comment that it’s relatively easy to copy digital text from digital book repositories (such as the Gutenburg website) and, through services such as these, convert written text to an audio format. Podcasts are another option for making information more accessible for students who struggle with reading. For example, The Oyez Project (http://www.oyez.org/) offers audio recordings of all Supreme Court cases since 1955 available via the web or podcast. The project includes a searchable database that indexes cases into major civics topics (e.g., Freedom of Speech), information on Supreme Court Justices, and images related to each case. Digital text. A clear advantage of using audio forms of text in the social studies classroom is that these files can be downloaded onto a portable digital music player, and then listened to just about anywhere and at anytime for students who can benefit from enhancements or alternatives to text. Digital text offers other opportunities for students with disabilities. Digital text “separates the content from the display,” offering a much greater degree of flexibility. The display also can be tagged so that individual or collective elements of the text can be delivered in different formats (e.g., Braille, sign) and associated with learning supports, such as definitions or explanations (Rose & Meyer, 2002). These additional features, or supports, can extend readers’ experience with and understanding of the text (Anderson-Inman & Horney, 2000). As digital textbooks move into the social studies classroom, students with disabilities will be able to learn from more accessible and flexible content. Many districts and states will no longer adopt new textbooks unless they are available in digital form to all students. Electronic readers, such as the Kindle, the Nook, and the iPad, will also increase the demand for digital textbooks (Reynolds & Ioffe, 2010). Even if your social studies textbook isn’t published in a digital from, however, the Chaffee Amendment of 1996 eases some copyright restrictions on instructional materials. This law requires that print-based textbooks are made available in digital form for students with print-based disabilities. Entities such as the National Library Service for the Blind and the Physically Handicapped (http://www.loc.gov/nls/) are authorized to reproduce and distribute copies of previously published literary works (with some exceptions) in specialized formats for people with visual impairments and other print disabilities. Bookshare (http://www.Bookshare.org) is perhaps the largest repository of digital text, with over 70,000 books, textbooks, teacherrecommended readings, and periodicals available for free to qualifying students with disabilities. (Some additional sources of digital books are listed in Table 8.1.)

Technology in the Social Studies for Students with Disabilities     71 Table 8.1  Partial List of Sources: Digital and Audio Books Name

Brief Description

Amazon eBooks Books, newspapers, magazines, blogs and other documents for portable text reader, Kindle. A large collection for purchase. Audible and Books, magazines, radio shows, podcasts, and AudibleKids speeches in audio format. Books can be loaded to most music players or stored on CD. Requires yearly membership or purchase of individual titles. Audio To Go Audiobooks for rental or purchase. Includes children’s literature and a collection of history titles. Barnes and Books, newspapers, magazines, blogs and other Noble documents for portable text reader, Nook, and for iPad. Books can be shared for free. Bookshare Includes children and popular literature and textbooks. Free to individuals with a print disability or to institutions serving individuals with print disabilities. eReader Includes children’s books and young adult literature. Requires free eReader software; purchase individual titles or school program purchase plans. Google Books Free access to out-of-copyright books; limited access (e.g., a page) to copyrighted books. Books can be searched and offers links to libraries where books are available or sites where they can be purchased. iTunes Children’s and young adult books for purchase. Requires free iTunes software; books play on computer and digital music players and devices. Librivox Audio versions of books (some young adult fiction) in the public domain; read by volunteers and available as MP3 files. Microsoft Free software; books purchased separately. Children Reader and young adult selections. Books must be read on Windows computers or devices. Project Books are in the public domain, or authors have Gutenburg granted copyright for single use. Books can be read on computer, iPhone, Kindle, Sony Reader or other portable devices. Includes a large collection of children’s literature. Simply Audio books available for download, purchase, or Audiobooks rental. Geared toward adults and adult interests, but includes children and young adult literature. Includes a collection of history books. Teach with Lesson plans and activities to accompany popular Movies movies, with a focus on character education, foster critical viewing skills and teach ethics. Requires a modest yearly subscription.

URL amazon.com

audible.com

audiotogo.com barnesandnoble .com bookshare.org

eReaders.com

books.google. com

itunes.com

librivox.org

microsoft.com/ reader gutenburg.org

simplyaudiobooks .com

teachwithmovies .org/

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Despite the advantages of audio and digital text, keep in mind that more than three decades of research have shown that merely putting text in alternative formats for listening or display on an electronic device may not have an appreciable effect on students’ understanding of that text. As Twyman and Tindal (2006) caution, “It is unlikely that technology will have much of an impact if it is only used to support typical textbooks” (p. 6). It is how we use the opportunities afforded by digital text, or the enhancements added to it, that may have the greatest impact on learning. If students can’t understand text, even when it is read to them, it is unlikely they will learn much from that text. Thus, we caution social studies educators not to view auditory and digital forms of text as the sole solution for students who have print-based disabilities. These tools will be an important accommodation for some students—but not sufficient for all. Browser extensions or add-ons. As we discussed above, the web continues to become a more frequent “text” in the social studies classroom. Browser extensions or add-ons are another set of literacy tools that can support students with mild disabilities when the web is used in social studies instruction. Mozilla is the pioneer in providing these tools, which are free and operate in conjunction with its open-source browser Firefox (http://www. mozilla.com/firefox). Developers from all over the world have contributed add-ons and extensions that make Firefox more useful than other browsers for students with mild disabilities. Add-ons include dictionaries, language translators, highlighters, ways to save web pages, and powerful TTS tools. Most add-ons are easy to install, operate smoothly in conjunction with the browser, and, with your permission, are updated automatically. Some of our favorite Firefox add-ons are listed in Table 8.2. It should be noted that the Google browser, Chrome (www.google.com/chrome), is gaining popularity in education and new extensions that can increase its usability and functionality for students with disabilities are being developed daily. Acquiring Facts and Deepening Understanding Although social studies—history, in particular—has been criticized for its emphasis on factual knowledge such as people, dates, events, and places, there is little doubt that a foundation of background knowledge is important for higher-order thinking (see Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 1999). Students with disabilities often have a more tenuous network of basic information than their peers without disabilities. These students often experience difficulties with memorization and retention of information (Swanson & Saez, 2006). Furthermore, as students read to learn in fourth grade and above (McKenna & Robinson, 1997), students who struggle to read learn

Technology in the Social Studies for Students with Disabilities     73 Table 8.2  Firefox Browser Add-Ons Accessibar

Dictionary 2.1.5

Dictionaries and language packs Dog Ears

FoxVox

Hyperwords

Speaking Fox

Thesaurus

Display of a web page (e.g., size of text, line size, color) modifiable to suit individual learners. Includes a speech reader, which reads aloud strings hovered over. Select any word on a web page, right click, and find the definition on an online dictionary site. Enables the addition of dictionaries in over 50 languages to Web browser.

addons.mozilla.org/ en-US/firefox/addon/ 4242 addons.mozilla.org/ en-US/firefox/addon/ 7869 addons.mozilla.org/ en-US/firefox/browse/ type:3 addons.mozilla.org/ en-US/firefox/addon/ 4482

Allows users to mark a particular section of a web page for easy return. Supports comprehension of long web pages by marking most relevant passages, and researching to locate particular examples or instances of supporting text. Speaks any highlighted text on a web page addons.mozilla.org/ and supports different languages. Can en-US/firefox/addon/ create audiobooks in MP3, ogg, and wav 9759/ formats, and permits user to turn blogs and articles into podcasts. Access a menu of reference, search, addons.mozilla.org/ translation, conversion, email, Twitter, en-US/firefox/addon/ Facebook, tag, and blog options by clicking 1941 on any word in a web page. Converts text to speech on computers addons.mozilla.org/ running Mac OS X. en-US/firefox/addon/ 13094/ Access synonyms and antonyms by clicking addons.mozilla.org/ on any word. en-US/firefox/addon/ 12354

less, constraining knowledge of facts, background information, and vocabulary (Cunningham & Stanovich, 2001; Stanovich, 1986). Teacher web pages. One way to assist students in compensating for limited background knowledge is to provide access to instructional materials and content that reiterate, support, and extend information covered in class and texts. Most school districts offer easy-to-create teacher web pages. Ondemand access to instructional information, such as information about classroom activities, copies of instructional materials, and calendars of important events and due dates, help students who may forget or misplace information provided during the school day. Furthermore, students with disabilities can often benefit from additional time and opportunities to process information and directions.

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Bookmark collections. Many social studies educators also post links to other websites that support the topics learned in class. Guiding students to relevant information on the web can reduce the challenges, uncertainties, and often time-consuming nature of self-directed searches, increasing the likelihood that struggling students will learn more and more efficiently. In addition to posting links on classroom websites, teachers can create general or topic-specific bookmark collections that give students an easy-to-access collection of social studies resources.  Most major browsers allow users to save, label, and organize bookmarks in a browser toolbar. Social bookmarking sites, such as Delicious (http://www.delicious.com/), Digg (http://www. digg.com/), and Twitter (http://www.twitter.com) allow teachers to gather and tag collections of websites. Furthermore, teachers and students can take advantage of collections created by other users. Students can then access these sources from the original social bookmarking site, or from a link that can be added to a browser toolbar toolbar. Diigo (http://www.diigo. com) is another option for storing and sharing web-based information that is tied to social studies instruction. Diigo also offers tools for highlighting and annotating information and for sharing and collaboration. Technology is an ideal medium for helping students master and maintain basic social studies facts and vocabulary. Whereas typically achieving students may learn and recall factual information after only a few exposures, students with disabilities often require more practice over a longer period of time. Furthermore, these students may learn more effectively when information is assigned in smaller increments (e.g., the first five Presidents rather than the first twenty). Frequent and systematic review of factual knowledge is essential if students are to maintain this knowledge over time (e.g., Hasselbring, Lott, & Zydney, 2006; Vaughn, Gersten, & Chard, 2000). Information archives. Technologies listed in the previous section can also compensate for a lack of background knowledge by offering information archives that can deepen and extend students’ background knowledge. In addition, websites maintained by educational and professional societies, museums, PBS, and the History Channel contain videos, source materials, lesson plans, and activities—all of which can be accessed by teachers and students to enrich the curriculum. A sampling of information repositories that can be used to further build students’ background knowledge is contained in Table 8.3. It’s important to keep in mind that we are not recommending that social studies instruction for students with disabilities be comprised of the factbased practice. Rather, we contend that social studies instruction for all students should focus on understanding, inquiry, and reasoning. However, the types of technology-based activities we have discussed above can be effective in providing the extra practice students with disabilities may need to learn basic factual information in the social studies classroom.

Videos from NBC news accompanied by activities, games, discussion forums, and other social networking tools. Chronological list of movies, with descriptions and a link to further information. Description of movies, organized by era and location.

iCue

Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) Teaching History through Films Teach with Movies

Prelinger Archives

Movies to Study Early Modern History By National Geographic

Modern History in the Movies

History Channel Classroom

Collection of videos distributed by National Geographic and a listing of TV shows on the National Geographic Channel. Approximately 4,000 videotapes and additional film materials of historical significance that are not captured elsewhere (i.e., films produced by and for nonprofit organizations, community interest groups, educational institutions, and US corporations). Lessons and activities to support PBS shows and videos for purchase. Teaching film guides to several popular movies. Lesson plans and discussion questions for nearly 300 movies, listed by topic and by age ($11.99 per year subscription).

Offers guidelines and videos for teaching media literacy within the content areas, including social studies. Provides students and teacher guidance in evaluating the impact of images, words, and video on understanding the world. Offers lesson plans and other ideas to accompany TV shows on the Discovery Channel. Contains teaching guides for History Channel productions.

The Center for Media Literacy

Discovery Channel

Brief Description

Title

Table 8.3  Sources for Teaching with Video

pbs.org/teachersource mediapede.org/filmhistory teachwithmovies.org

fordham.edu/halsall/mod/ modsbookmovies.html nipissingu.ca/department/history/ muhlberger/2155/movies.htm nationalgeographic.com/index. html/tv archive.org/details/prelinger

historychannel.com/classroom/ classroom.html http://www.icue.com

school.discovery.com

medialit.org

URL

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Video. Research has shown that, for students who have limited background information about a topic, video provides rich visual details about the ideas, events, people, and phenomena (Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt (CTVG), 1993). Video can make knowledge more explicit and provide an external representation of information that would remain abstract and tacit when described through words. Video is especially advantageous for poor readers whose ability to gain information from print may be limited. The dynamic nature of video can help students develop a rich mental model of problem situations, leading to higher level reasoning and more effective problem solutions. And, video that tells a compelling story or captures students’ interest in other ways is likely to keep students more engaged and motivate students to learn more about the topic (Gersten, Baker, Smith-Johnson, Dimino, & Peterson, 2006; Glaser, Rieth, Kinzer, Colburn, & Peters, 1999). There are many different means for obtaining video that can enrich social studies instruction or offer an alternative format to printed texts. Vast collections of commercial videos are available for inexpensive rental from stores or sites such as Netflix (http://www.netflix.com) and Blockbuster (http://www.blockbuster.com). These outlets also offer a large number of documentaries (e.g., Eyes on the Prize) and commercially-popular films (e.g., Hotel Rwanda). Streaming video is another option for incorporating video into the social studies curriculum. With streaming video, a file remains on the main server. A chunk of video is pulled onto the user’s computer and begins playing while the remainder of the video file is moved to the user’s computer. One popular site for streaming video to support content-area instruction is Discovery Education Streaming (http://www.streaming.discoveryeducation. com), an Internet-based instructional system from Discovery Education. The site contains more than 9,000 full-length videos and 71,000 segmented content-specific video clips. The service also includes content linked to standards, a content-management system, and links to additional sites with information contained in the video clips. Kahn Academy is a free, not-for-profit venture that has produced over 1,200 YouTube videos that can be accessed through the academy’s website (http://www.khanacademy.org). The collection includes videos about specific history and economics topics, although the content is sophisticated and perhaps best oriented toward high school students. On the commercial side, publishers continue to make increasing use of streaming video to support the content of their textbooks. Thinkwell (http://www.thinkwell.com) is a publisher that offers textbooks supported by over 100 online 10-minute tutorials. These books also include interactive exercises, dynamic animations, links to other web resources and content management tools.

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YouTube is a ubiquitous source of video in the lives of young people. Rees (2008) discusses how it can be used in the social studies classroom, particularly in the area of history. He describes the YouTube video clips he has used in a World History class, including a 1917 speech by Lenin and a collection of clips showing Mao Zedong at different stages in his political career. Rees notes that the brevity of YouTube clips, which are usually less than 10 minutes in length, makes them ideal instructional material for illustrating points and stimulating discussion. Regardless of the type of videos used in the social studies classroom, research suggests that showing a video, from start to finish, without putting into practice the principles of interactivity and integration discussed above, is unlikely to improve students’ understanding. The following recommendations can help teachers make effective use of video to support contentarea instruction (see Ferretti, MacArthur, & Okolo, 2001; Gersten et al., 2006; Paris, 1997; Viney, 2004): • Show the video in short segments. Students may be better able to focus on and understand key concepts if they focus on segments of information, rather than being overwhelmed by too much content. • Help students integrate information from videos with information from other sources (e.g., textbooks, trade books, websites). Discuss with students how various sources complement or conflict with one another. Take time to discuss with students possible reasons for conflicting facts, opinions, or conclusions. • Encourage students to take notes. Students can refer to notes later to recall key points when completing an activity or studying for a test. Some students may need supported note-taking, in which the teacher creates outlines, blank concept maps, or even “fill in the blank” activities for completion during viewing. • Use discussion to clarify and deepen students’ understanding of the content. Students can be asked to watch for specific information and then explain their conclusions, discuss specific segments of a video that contain key information, and state any questions they may have about a video they have viewed. Discussion can take place among the whole class or in student groups. • Pause a video at key points and ask students to predict what will happen next. Discuss with students the reasons for their predictions, play the subsequent segment, and then revisit students’ predictions. • Use the pause feature to have students examine a particular frame of the video in greater detail. For example, students might note the buildings in the background of a scene, discuss the emotions or positions of actors in the segment, or examine in detail the features of a procedure or each step in a process.

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Educators may also wish to consider the effect of “seductive details” (Garner, Brown, Sanders, & Menke, 1992) on students’ understanding. For example, in a study by Okolo and Ferretti (1996), middle school students began a unit on Westward Expansion in the United States by watching a documentary on the Donner Party. The video was highly effective in motivating students and provided them with rich background information about some of the reasons behind the movement west. However, students were “seduced” by the perils of the Donner party and on unit posttests confidently believed that the death rate along the Oregon Trail was higher than the death rate in the population in general—a misconception that was not overcome by instruction. Furthermore, portrayals of historic events in popular films are often simplified or misconstrued for the sake of entertainment (Hsu, 2009; Wineburg, 2001). Thus, thoughtful discussion may be a key feature of using popular media in the social studies classroom, particularly for students with disabilities who may be more likely to draw erroneous conclusions based on limitations in background knowledge. Anchored instruction. Educators of students with disabilities have effectively implemented anchored instruction in social studies classes to improve their participation and achievement. Anchored instruction is an approach to teaching that immerses students in interesting, realistic contexts that promote active exploration and knowledge construction (CTGV, 1993). Videos that offer rich detail and elaborated information about the topics under study are used as the centerpiece of an instructional unit. The video, or anchor, serves as a mental model to facilitate learning (Bransford, Sherwood, Hasselberg, Kinzer, & Williams, 1993), and it offers a common starting point for all students in a classroom, uniting them in a common frame of reference despite academic and experiential differences. Thus, the anchor serves as an important means of building students’ background knowledge about the topics investigated in a social studies classroom. With teacher guidance, students engage with a video or other anchors in multiple ways—viewing, analyzing, and discussing. The video is viewed in its entirety and/or in segments. Students look for responses to the questions posed by the teacher and create their own problems to investigate. They consider the video anchor in conjunction with other related or disparate sources of information and points of view—which makes anchored instruction particularly appropriate for social studies. Anchored instruction has been investigated in several history classrooms. For example, in a study by Glaser et al. (1999), eighth graders in a diverse social studies classroom studied issues such as money, power, and human relationships after the first World War. The authors used the video To Kill a Mockingbird in conjunction with newspaper clippings, electronic encyclopedias, timelines, literature, oral histories, music, and literature. Later in the

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school year, the authors used the video Playing for Time as the video anchor for studying World War II. Inquiry-Based Approaches to Social Studies Most educators would agree that a major purpose of the social studies is to prepare students to take their place as informed and critical decision makers for the good of the society. Inquiry-based activities, in which students investigate authentic questions or problems that offer a framework for organizing concepts and principles, have been used successfully with students with disabilities, improving both their achievement and motivation (Dalton, Morocco, Tivnan, & Rawson, 1997; Scruggs, Mastropieri, & Okolo, 2009). Furthermore, inquiry-based learning provides students opportunities to understand social studies by engaging in the ways of thinking and the methods of inquiry used within the disciplines. The ill-structured problems that characterize much of social studies offer fertile ground for developing problem solving and decision-making skills. Finally, inquiry-based learning usually draws together students, teachers, and other members of the community of learners to collaborate, share expertise, and construct a product that represents an understanding of the topic under investigation. Simulations. Simulations are a means of merging technology and inquiry activities in the social studies classroom. Perhaps some of the best-known technology-based simulations, dating back to the days of Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego and Oregon Trail, have been developed around social studies topics. Simulations are designed to place students in a situation that would usually be too advanced, dangerous, or unrealistic to enact in a classroom context. Students are given a role or character to play that is, at least loosely, tied to reality. The specific activities students undertake are goaldirected and offer opportunities to solve problems. Struggling students may be more interested in content they would otherwise find uninteresting. Simulations can be used in a variety of ways: as springboards for further investigation of a social studies topic, as the heart of an instructional unit, or as a wrap-up or enrichment experience. When implementing simulations in the classroom, there are several factors a teacher may wish to consider to increase the likelihood of engagement and success for all students. First, these activities are typically collaborative, with students organized into groups to complete some or all of the activities. In a diverse classroom, heterogeneous grouping helps distribute strengths and expertise. However, teachers may need to be mindful of other issues, including social and behavioral dimensions of group work. Do the students in a particular group get along or are there animosities among group members that will limit collaboration? Are there some students who

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will be more tolerant of the behavior of a child who is easily distracted? Does a struggling student have a friend who could be a source of support with whom she could be grouped? Second, in many simulations group members take on specialized roles or tasks. Thus, it’s important to ascertain that students with mild disabilities are comfortable with and can successfully complete the role or task to which they are assigned. Otherwise, a student is at risk of being criticized or ostracized for disadvantaging the group progress or product. We don’t mean to suggest that students with disabilities are relegated to easy or insubstantial tasks, rather that they are guided to choose tasks based on their strengths and given materials or supports (such as the literacy tools discussed above) that will enable them to succeed at their task. Third, we’ve found it important to think of collaboration as a set of behaviors and skills that can be modeled, taught, and evaluated. We have found that group work in diverse classrooms benefits greatly from clear standards about appropriate ways to interact, including how to listen respectfully to each other, how to include all group members, and how to question, challenge, and reframe one another’s ideas to stimulate a higher level of discussion (Okolo & Ferretti, 1996; Okolo, Ferretti, & MacArthur, 2002). The instructional goals of simulations are those of inquiry, problem solving, and thoughtful activity that stimulate new insights and deeper understanding. With so many simulations to choose from, it is easy to pull up a page full of ideas and tempting to choose one that is topically aligned to a teacher’s curriculum. However, it is not enough to plunk students down, in groups, in front of a collection of technology-based resources and tell them to get to work on a task—particularly in a diverse classroom. The choice, construction, and enactment of activities are critical. We hope the ideas listed above can offer some guidance to social studies educators, as they seek ways to improve and extend the learning of all students. The Virtual History Museum In our efforts to improve social studies learning for all students, and to take advantage of the richness of technology in some of the ways we have discussed above, we created the Virtual History Museum (VHM). The VHM uses the metaphor of a museum, in which one may take on the role of a curator, member, or guest. Curators (e.g., teachers and experienced students) have access to tools that enable them to create museum exhibits, and then to design the learning activities that will help their viewers investigate, analyze and interpret an exhibit, and communicate to others their findings about it. Members (who, typically, are students) may view all public information in the museum and may also be asked to engage in the activities to

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which they have been given access by a curator. Viewers, or individuals who have not registered with the VHM, may view anything that has been made publicly available on the VHM site. Anyone interested in the VHM can visit the site and register: http://www.vhm.msu.edu. The VHM contains a number of features that facilitate its use in a history classroom. First, it is designed to support history learning as an active, mindful investigation of multiple perspectives on people, events, and ideas. Teachers who use the VHM can choose from a plethora of artifacts (or images, documents, music, videos) that display a variety of perspectives on historical topics. The multimedia nature of the web makes it possible for teachers to choose different representations of ideas. They can use artifacts already available on the VHM, or they can add their own from the web or other sources (e.g., a text file or a jpg file). But the VHM is more than a tool to display information to students, as a teacher might do in a PowerPoint presentation. Learning activities, created by the teachers or chosen from those already available, are essential for helping learners explore, better understand, and communicate their reflections and conclusions about the exhibit they are investigating. At one basic level, curators, or teachers, can create knowledge acquisition activities for students to complete involving question-answer and multiple-choice formats. Or, at a deeper level of processing, teachers can create interpretive, inquiry-based activities in which students engage in extended writing about an exhibit they are investigating. These written responses can include the generation of: (a) a diary entry, (b) position paper, (c) essay, (d) newspaper account, (e) prediction paper, and (f) letter. Teachers also can construct for students a variety of activities that involve organizing and communicating information in the form of charts, representational tools or graphic organizers, tables, and diagrams. These representational tools are important devices for students to learn to use in order to gather and organize data, conduct inter-textual analyses, and to form interpretations and conclusions. The VHM representational tools include: (a) Compare/Contrast Chart, (b) Alike and Different Table, (c) Cause and Effect Table, (d) Problem and Solution Chart, (e) Descriptive Chart, (f) KWL (Know-Want to Know-Learn), (g) Venn Diagram, and (h) Flow Chart. In addition, each student can have his or her own historian’s notebook, into which s/he can enter text about any item or artifact on the VHM. The notebook is available to the student at any time and from all the learning spaces in the VHM. The notebook is designed to promote self-regulation through active and critical reading, note taking, and engagement with information in an exhibit. Second, the VHM makes it feasible for teachers to differentiate instruction. The VHM runs in any browser and works with all major screen-reading software programs. As we stated above, literacy tools that enable anything

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on the screen to be read to users is a major advantage of a learning environment such as the VHM, and the students who have participated in our studies express highly positive opinions of the text-to-speech options (Bouck, Courtad, Heutsche, Okolo, & Englert, 2010). The VHM also has a built-in spell-checker that can be used by teachers as they create exhibits and activities, and by students as they complete activities. One of the more unique features of the VHM is the set of built-in utilities that make it easy for teachers to create multiple versions of an activity in order to tailor instruction to individuals or groups of students. Procedural and/or substantive prompts can be added to all activities. Activities can be segmented so that students complete them in a specific order, or with explicit directions for each section of the activity. Or, teachers can assign students different activities based on the same exhibit—for example, multiple-choice questions for some learners, extended writing for others. When a student logs onto the VHM and works within an exhibit, she sees on the computer screen a version of the activity to which her teacher has assigned her. However, when she prints out her responses to her assigned activity, the prompts and supports are no longer present, and her paper looks just like those of her peers. Third, the VHM is designed to be easy for teachers to use, thus more likely to be integrated into classroom instruction. Artifacts are added to an exhibit and activities are created through a series of drop-down menus that offer explicit guidance to the curator. More advanced users can opt for a more efficient, but less explicit, mode of exhibit construction. Public and shared exhibits can be borrowed by teachers, copied, and edited to meet the needs of a particular class, curriculum, or students. Copies of a VHM exhibit give credit to both the original author and the teacher who modified that exhibit. Teachers in our studies to date have appreciated the copying function, as they can share exhibits with other teachers in their building who are teaching the same or similar content. This feature allows teachers to collaborate in designing history curriculum at the grade or building level to meet the needs of their diverse learners. Sharing also enables a teacher who is more comfortable with technology to scaffold a teacher who is less comfortable. A novice teacher can modify an existing exhibit, rather than starting from “scratch.” Finally, instructional management tools are a key feature of the VHM, and are essential for allowing teachers to differentiate instruction. These types of tools are rarely available on other history websites developed for use in the classroom. Teachers can create groups within their classes, allowing them to assign different exhibits with supported or non-supported versions of activities to particular students. When students log onto the VHM, they receive a message about the exhibits to which they have been assigned. VHM also has a grading feature that permits teachers to provide feedback

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and assign grades to students’ work within the VHM. An electronic mail feature facilitates communication among teachers, students, and VHM staff. Teachers can restrict their students’ e-mail access to others within their class or within their school, if desired. Research with the VHM among middle school students with and without mild disabilities has shown that it promotes students’ knowledge of history topics. We’ve found smaller, but nevertheless, significant improvements in students’ historical reasoning. Students with disabilities, in the studies we’ve conducted to date, learn as much using the VHM as do students without disabilities. That is, the rate of improvement in historical knowledge and understanding is comparable for all students, despite the fact that students with disabilities often learn at a slower pace than their peers without disabilities in other situations. Furthermore, we have witnessed higher rates of engagement in and motivation for social studies when students are using the VHM, as compared to textbook based instruction (Bouck, Okolo, Englert, & Heutsche, 2008). Conclusion Prior to educational reforms that required all students to be assessed on common content standards, such as No Child Left Behind and the 1994 reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, social studies was not viewed as a priority for students with disabilities (Lintner & Schweder, 2008; Passe & Beattie, 1994). We’re thrilled to be contributing a chapter to a book that demonstrates that this is no longer the case. Social studies has so much to offer to all students, with their focus on informed decisionmaking, inquiry, problem solving, and preparation for citizenship. These educational outcomes are important for all students, but perhaps even more so for students with disabilities who may need more explicit instruction, guidance, and repeated exposures to information and experiences to maximize their potential. In this chapter we have reviewed ways in which social studies educators can use technology to improve the participation and success of students with mild disabilities. Digital literacy applications, including audio and digital text, text-to-speech tools, browser add-ons and extensions, provide new ways to access text and demonstrate knowledge. Many of these applications are free or inexpensive and are becoming more commonplace in our everyday lives. This bodes well for the ways in which our notions of text, literacy, and competence are expanding—perhaps leaving fewer students behind. And this is an important point: good technology-based instruction is good for all students, and the ways in which teachers support technology use is likely to benefit all learners. If you’ve reached this point in the chapter, you’ve

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probably concluded that many of the applications and practices we described are familiar and, perhaps, already in use in your social studies classes. We hope we’ve pointed out ways in which many of these applications are especially appropriate and advantageous for learners who struggle in school. Technology continues to evolve in ways we can’t even begin to predict. For example, Shuler (2009), in a content analysis of the 100 top-selling iPhone Apps, found that almost half were developed with preschool or elementary school children in mind. Who would have thought that preschoolers use iPhones? Who knows what technologies we’ll see over the next few years that are developed or can be adapted for social studies education. Indeed, these are exciting times to be a social studies educator. Note The Virtual History Museum was supported by Steppingstones of Technology Innovation Grants from the United States Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. References Anderson-Inman, L., & Horney, M. A. (2000). Transforming text for at-risk readers: Literacy for the 21st century. In D. Reinking, M. C. McKenna, L. D., Labbo, & R. Kieffler (Eds.), Handbook of literacy and technology: Transformations in a posttypographical world (pp. 15–44). Hillsdale, NJ, Erlbaum. Armbruster, B. B., & Anderson, T. H. (1984). Structures of explanations in history textbooks, or so what if Governor Stanford missed the spike and hit the rail? Journal of Curriculum Studies, 16, 247–274. Bean, R. M., Zigmond, N., & Hartman, D. K. (1994). Adapted use of social studies textbooks in elementary classrooms: Views of classroom teachers. Remedial and Special Education, 15, 216–226. Beck, I. L., & McKeown, M. G. (1991). Substantive and methodological considerations for productive textbook analysis. In J. P. Shaver (Ed.), Handbook of research on social studies teaching and learning (pp. 496–512). New York: McMillan. Bierman, P. (2006). Reconsidering the textbook. Paper presented at Reconsidering the Textbook Workshop. Washington, DC: National Academy of the Sciences. Bouck, E. C., Courtad, C. A., Heutsche, A., Okolo, C. M., & Englert, C. S. (2010). The Virtual History Museum: Helping bring UDL to social studies instruction. Teaching Exceptional Children,42(2), 14–21. Bouck, E. C., Okolo, C. M., Englert, C. S., & Heutsche, A. (2008). Cognitive apprenticeship into the discipline: Helping students with disabilities think and act like historians. Learning Disabilities: A Contemporary Journal, 6(2),31–40. Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, R. R. (Eds.). (1999). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington DC: National Academy Press.

Technology in the Social Studies for Students with Disabilities     85 Bransford, J. D., Sherwood, R. D., Hasselberg, T. S., Kinzer, C. K., & Williams, S. M. (1993). Anchored instruction: Why we need it and how technology can help. In D. Nix, & R. Spiro (Eds.), Advances in Computers and Instruction. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Brophy, J. (1990). Teaching social studies for understanding and higher-order applications. The Elementary School Journal, 90, 351–417. Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt University (CTVG). (1993). Anchored instruction and situated cognition revisited. Educational Technology, 33(3), 52- 70. Cunningham, A. E., & Stanovich, K. E. (2001). What reading does for the mind. Journal of Direct Instruction, 1, 137–149. Dalton, B., Morocco, C. C., Tivnan, T., & Rawson, P. (1997). Supported-inquiry science: Teaching for conceptual change in the urban classroom. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 30(6), 670–684. Deshler, D. D. & Shumaker, J. B. (2006). Teaching adolescents with disabilities: Accessing the general education curriculum. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Ferretti, R. P., MacArthur, C. D., & Okolo, C. M. (2001). Teaching for historical understanding in inclusive classrooms. Learning Disability Quarterly, 24(1), 59–71. Ferretti, R. P., MacArthur, C. D., & Okolo, C. M. (2007). Students’ misconceptions about U. S. Westward migration. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 40(2), 145–154. Garner, R., Brown, R., Sanders, S., & Menke, D. J. (1992). “Seductive details” and learning from text. In K. A. Renninger, S. Hidi, & A. Krapp (Eds.), The role of interest in learning and development (pp. 238–254). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Gersten, R., Baker, S. K., Smith-Johnson, J., Dimino, J., & Peterson, A. (2006). Eyes on the prize: Teaching complex historical content to middle school students with learning disabilities. Exceptional Children, 72(3), 264–280. Glaser, C. W., Rieth, H. J., Kinzer, C. K., Colburn, L., & Peters, J. (1999). A description of the impact of multimedia anchored instruction on classroom interactions. Journal of Special Education Technology, 14(2), 27–43. Harris, K. R., Graham, S., Mason, L. H., & Friedlander, M. A. (2008). Powerful writing strategies for all students. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes. Hasselbring, T. S., Lott, A. C., & Zydney, J. M. (2006). Technology-supported math instruction for students with disabilities: Two decades of Research and development. Washington, DC: CITEd, Center for Implementing Technology in Education (www.cited.org). Hsu, J., (2009). Students recall more Hollywood than history. LiveScience. Retrieved from: www.livescience.com/culture/090812-movie-memory.html Lintner, T., & Schweder, W. (2008). Social studies in special education classrooms: A glimpse behind the closed door. Journal of Social Studies Research, 32(1), 3–9 Lowenthal, D. (2000). Dilemmas and delights of learning history. In P. N. Stearns, P. Seixas, & S. Wineburg (Eds.), Knowing, teaching, and learning history. New York: New York University Press. McKenna, M. C., & Robinson, R. D. (1997). Teaching through text: A content literacy approach to content area reading (2nd ed.). New York: Longman. Meyers, M. P., & Savage, T. (2005). Enhancing student comprehension of social studies material. The Social Studies, 96, 18–24.

86    C. M. OKOLO et al. National Center for Educational Statistics (2009). Fast fact. Retrieved from http:// nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display=asp?id=59 Oakes, J., & Saunders, M. (2004). Education’s most basic tool: Access to textbooks and instructional materials in California’s public schools. Teachers College Record, 106(10), 1967–1988. Okolo, C. M., & Bouck. E. (2007). Research about assistive technology 2000–2006: What have we learned? Journal of Special Education Technology, 22(3),19–33. Okolo, C. M., Englert, C. S., Bouck, E., & Heutsche, A. (2007). Web-based history learning environments: Helping all students learn and like history. Intervention in School and Clinic, 43(1), 3–11. Okolo, C. M., Englert, C. S., Bouck, E. C., Heutsche, A., & Wang, H. (2010). The Virtual History Museum: Learning American History in diverse eight grade classrooms. Remedial and Special Education, 42(2), 14–20. Okolo C. M., & Ferretti, R. P. (1996). The impact of multimedia design projects on the knowledge, attitudes, and collaboration of students in inclusive classrooms. Journal of Computing in Childhood Education, 7, 223–252. Okolo, C. M., Ferretti, R. P., & MacArthur, C. D. (2002). Westward expansion and the ten-year old mind: Teaching for historical understanding in a diverse classroom. In J. E. Brophy (Ed.), Advances in research on teaching. Social constructivist teaching: Affordance and constraints (pp. 299–331). New York: JAI Press. Paris, M. J. (1997). Integrating film and television into social studies instruction. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. 415177). Passe, J., & Beattie, J. (1994). Social studies instruction for students with mild disabilities: A progress report. Remedial and Special Education, 15(4), 227–233. Paxton, R. J. (1999). A deafening silence: History textbooks and the students who read them. Review of Educational Research, 69, 315–339. Peire, M., Grigg, W., & Donahue, P. (2005).The nation’s report card: Reading 2005 (NCES 2006-451). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Educational Statistics. Washington DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Rees, J. (2008). Teaching history with YouTube. Retrieved from http://www.historians. org/Perspectives/issues/2008/0805/0805tec2.cfm Reynolds, B., & Ioffe, Y. (2010). Digital textbook sales in U. S. higher education: A five-year projection. Retrieved from http://blog.xplana.com/reports/digitaltextbook-sales-in-u-s-higher-education-%E2%80%93-a-five-year-projection/ Rose, D. H., & Meyer, A. (2002). Teaching every student in the digital age: Universal design for learning. Washington, DC: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Scruggs, T. E., Mastropieri, M. A., & Okolo, C. M. (2009). Science and social studies for students with disabilities. Focus on Exceptional Children, 41(2), 1–23. Shuler, C. (2009). iLearn: Content analysis of the iTunes Apps Store’s Education Section. New York: The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop. Stanovich, K. E. (1986). Matthew effects in reading: Some consequences of individual differences in the acquisition of literacy. Reading Research Quarterly, 21, 360–407. Swanson, H. L., & Saez, L. (2006). Memory difficulties in children and adults with learning disabilities. In H. L. Swanson, K. Harris, & S. Graham (Eds.), Handbook of learning disabilities (pp. 182–198). New York: Guilford.

Technology in the Social Studies for Students with Disabilities     87 Twyman, T. & Tindal, G. (2006). Using a computer-adapted, conceptually based history text to increase comprehension and problem-solving skills of students with disabilities. Journal of Special Education Technology, 21(2), 5–16. Vaughn, S. R., Bos, C. S., & Schumm, J. S. (2011). Teaching students who are exceptional, diverse, and at risk. Boston: Pearson. Vaughn, S., Gersten, R., & Chard, D. J. (2000). The underlying message in LD intervention research: Findings from research syntheses. Exceptional Children, 6(1), 99–114. Viney, P. K. (2004). Techniques for teaching with video. Retrieved from http://www. viney.uk.com/original_articles/vidtech/vidtech.htm Wineburg, S. (2001). Historical thinking and other unnatural acts. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

Chapter 9

Teaching Social Studies Through Big Ideas A Strategy for All Students Timothy Lintner

For a multitude of reasons—particularly teacher confidence and the adherence to standardized testing—social studies is typically taught as a stream of “facts and faces” that are hastily presented, cursorily contextualized, and marginally relevant to the lives and experiences of students (Vogler & Virtue, 2007; Yeager & Davis, 2005). Though there have been calls (i.e. pleas) to revisit the way social studies is taught (White, 2000), both pedagogically and perceptually, little has changed; students still find the subject boring, irrelevant, and a waste of time (Houser, 1995; Zhao & Hoge, 2005). This apparent disconnect is evident when teaching social studies to students with disabilities. Instruction is often textbook-driven, which limits student understanding and interpretation. Consequently, social studies is presented (and experienced) as disconnected dates and facts that marginalizes multiple perspectives and limits the opportunity for deeper, more substantive learning (Scruggs, Mastropieri, & Okolo, 2009). The traditional classroom method of lecture-read-group discussion often does not Practical Strategies for Teaching K–12 Social Studies in Inclusive Classrooms, pages 89–97 Copyright © 2011 by Information Age Publishing All rights of reproduction in any form reserved.

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meet the needs of students with disabilities because many read below grade level (Horton, Lovitt, & Slocum, 1998; McCoy, 2005). Rote memorization and timeline-based chronologies are also ineffective (Lintner & Schweder, 2008). As well, students with disabilities (and it can be argued that all students in general), come to class with limited opportunities to have truly contemplated the concepts, principles, and ideals inherent in social studies. If asked to analyze the impact of Industrialization on the environment, many will not possess the cognitive tools with which to do so (Lintner & Schweder, 2008). Many will struggle. And this struggle may be attributed more to a lack of opportunity than ability. The scant research on how best to teach social studies to students with disabilities advocates instruction that is hands-on, practical, collaborative, relevant, and presented in small, digestible pieces that ultimately create more varied and more purposeful opportunities for understanding (Crawford, Carnine, Harniss, Hollenbeck, & Miller, 2007; Fontana, 2004; Lintner & Schweder, 2008; McCoy, 2005; Passe & Beattie, 1994; Scruggs, Mastropieri, & Okolo, 2009). These practices are appropriate for teaching social studies to students in general education settings as well. Thus, to meet the learning needs, not just of students with disabilities but of all students, sound social studies instruction should: (a) broaden and enrich personal experiences, (b) benefit students through the selection of activities based on reality and that possess predictable outcomes, (c) include activities that are premised on cause/effect relationships, and (d) develop and refine student thinking and problem-solving skills (Sunal & Haas, 2005). When teaching social studies to students with disabilities in particular, there is no panacea. Rather, good social studies instruction employs an array of strategies and tools designed to enhance the learning opportunities of all students (Welton, 2005). How can big ideas help? What Is a Big Idea and Why Is It Important? Big ideas are questions or generalizations that serve to anchor the content, making the “smaller bits of information” easier to understand and easier to intellectually digest (Duplass, 2008; Mastropieri & Scruggs, 2010; McLesley, Rosenberg, & Westling, 2010). Big ideas allow students to organize the content and to apply their understandings of this content by making meaningful connections between their lives and the social studies content being presented (Brophy, Alleman, & Knighton, 2009; Crawford et al., 2007). Ultimately, big ideas provide all students with opportunities to understand the social studies content in the most efficient, appropriate, and accessible way (Ellis, Farmer, & Newman, 2005).

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Conceptualizing Big Ideas Conceptualization begins with content competence. Teachers need to know the facts, concepts, themes, and patterns inherent in social studies. Teachers also need to know how their students learn, process, and experience social studies. One way to transform social studies is to couple teacher content knowledge with student interest designed around a big idea. Grant and Vansledright (2006) offer teachers three cornerstones when conceptualizing a big idea. First, begin with a question or issue of personal interest. Teachers should evaluate what they already know and what they want their students to know about social studies. Secondly, when beginning the process of generating big ideas, teachers should ask: • What should students know or experience? • Why will students care about or be interested in this idea? • How will students demonstrate their understanding/internalization of the big idea? • What resources will be needed? Lastly, creativity is the key in the presentation of big ideas. Complementary strategies should be relevant, participatory, and innovative. Teacher creativity coupled with student interest leads to engaging social studies for all students. When conceptualizing big ideas, Brophy, Alleman, and Knighton (2009) advocate a three-step process that examines big ideas from a cross-curricular and inclusive manner. At the macro level, a big idea is a sweeping construct used throughout the curriculum, throughout the year. An example may be, “Sometimes things are different than what was first thought. People do things differently than others. Just because something is different does not necessarily mean it is bad.” This generative and potentially transformative big idea anchors a conceptual strand (e.g., tolerance), which can be revisited throughout the school year. Secondly, big ideas can be found at the unit-level. Here, a series of lesson plans are tied to a single big idea. For example, a unit can be anchored around the big idea, “A Worm’s Impact on History.” By the end of the unit, students will have generated multiple understandings of precisely how and why the silk worm influenced history. Lastly, a big idea can literally be tied to a single lesson plan. A different big idea can be used each day. Constructing Big Ideas Though there are a number of curricular schools-of-thought concerning how best to create, organize, and use big ideas to teach social studies to

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all students, this chapter will focus on three: The Inside-Out Model, the Outside-In Model, and the Multiple Perspectives Model. Inside-Out Model A simple way to construct social studies content around a big idea is through the Inside-Out Model. Here, the big idea is presented first. From this starting point, facts and/or insights are generated that support the big idea. Content generation starts “in the middle” (with the big idea) and moves outward. Ultimately, the big idea will be surrounded by “smaller bits of information.” The model below (see Figure 9.1) uses “Big Cities: Is Bigger Better?” as an anchoring idea. Outside-In Model This model of big idea construction is the converse of the Inside-Out Model. Information is generated first that, when combined, forms a big idea. Teachers can initially ask students what they know about maps. Students will then provide small, individualized bits of information that, ultimately, leads to the construction of a big idea. An example is provided in Figure 9.2. Both the Outside-In and the Inside-Out models are quick, efficient ways of generating information that can be directly related to a specific big idea. Though social studies is most often presented in a fact-based fashion,

Seen as State’s “Status Symbol”: Bigger the City = Better the State

Havens for Crime, Poverty, and Homelessness

Congestion, Pollution Big Cities: Is Bigger Better? Centers of Economic Opportunity

Figure 9.1  Inside-Out model.

Rich in Cultural and Physical Attractions

Teaching Social Studies Through Big Ideas    93

“Maps show me where to go”

“You can make a map of anything”

“My mom has a GPS in her car” How Do I Know Where to Go?

“Maps show where things are”

“Maps have a legend or a key”

Figure 9.2  Outside-in model.

“knowing a bunch of facts alone does not guarantee that students will be able to think about anything in particular. Facts need to be connected to make sense, and those connections can emerge through the construction of big ideas” (Grant & Vansledright, 2006, p.112). Multiple Perspectives Model An additional model teachers can use to present big ideas in their social studies classrooms is premised on the belief that virtually any topic can be viewed from multiple perspectives (Crawford et al., 2007). Presenting social studies through multiple perspectives broadens student core knowledge, fosters tolerance, spurs critical inquiry, and facilitates deeper, more complete and complex understandings (Dulberg, 2002; Marcus & Stoddard, 2009; Morgan, 2009; Ogawa, 2001). “Movin’ On or Movin’ Out: Westward Expansion” will be used to illustrate how a big idea can be presented using the multiple perspective model. The table below (Table 9.1) illustrates how teachers can design a single compare–contrast scenario whereby students are presented with validations for both perspectives. Though not complete by any means, the concept is just as important as the content. Using Photographs to Support Big Ideas Using photographs is another way to present a big idea through the multiple-perspectives model. Research indicates that using photographs or

94   T. LINTNER Table 9.1 “Movin’ On”

“Movin’ Out”

Manifest Destiny—the innate notion that Americans had the preordained right to expand. The west (and more) was for the taking.

The Decimation of the Buffalo—a necessity of native life for centuries, the American buffalo (bison) was hunted for sustenance, sport, and commerce by Native Americans, settlers, and sportsmen alike. In little over a century, the buffalo population was effectively halved.

Lewis and Clark—the expedition that singlehandedly opened the west for further settlement. Contributed greatly to scientific, geographic, and cultural understandings. Louisiana Purchase—with a signature and $15 million, the US effectively doubled its size. River-based commerce increased. The Homestead Act—the federal government’s plan to settle the west, some 1.6 million homestead grants were approved. Land, a home, a “better life” seemed more attainable than ever. Telegraph/Railroad lines—expanded communications and commerce to unprecedented levels. Goods, ideas, and services traveled farther and faster, creating new markets and spawning new industries and technologies. The Gold Rush—with gold discovered at Sutter’s Mill in 1849, peopled flocked to California. Small businesses and big cities grew.

The Trail of Tears—the forcible removal (relocation) of native tribes. By 1837, some 46,000 Native Americas had been removed from their homelands, opening up roughly 2 million acres for future settlement. The Environmental Impact—as folks traveled west, trees were felled, grasslands/pastures were disrupted, and wagon trail ruts were carved into the ground. Unwanted goods were often discarded by the side of the trail. Eventually, mining (particularly for gold in California) displaced habitats and fouled water sources. Exploitation of Workers—arguably nowhere more profound and systemic than with the Chinese railroad workers. Their cultural and economic exploitation was justified under the guise of “progress.”

other visual aids in both special education and general education settings accommodates the visual learner, helps contextualize the content, and provides another avenue of understanding and insight (Bryant, 2007; Dallmer, 2007; Lee, 2008; Lintner, 2005; Mastropieri & Scruggs, 2010; Rosenberg, Westling, & McLesley, 2011; Thompson & Williams, 2008; Vaughn, Bos, & Schumm, 2011). These two seminal paintings (see Figure 9.3) represent varying perspectives of Westward Expansion, writ large. The first concerns Manifest Destiny (Figure 9.3a), the second The Trail of Tears (Figure 9.3b). Students can initially brainstorm what they literally see in the photographs. From this superficial grounding, students can contextualize their interpretations into other understandings of Westward Expansion.

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(a)

(b)

Figure 9.3  (a) Manifest Destiny; (b) The Trail of Tears.

Big Ideas: The Take-Away Big ideas anchor the social studies content providing students with a central theme, a central question, from which to ground their understandings. Big ideas serve to design and present the content in a logical, concise, and “digestible” fashion. Big ideas also afford teachers a variety of presentation strategies; the creative potential for social studies design and delivery is conceivably endless. Knowing the strengths and learning preferences of all students is essential to big idea design and delivery. Big ideas can tap into student interest, generating increased responsiveness and reflection. Lastly, using big ideas in social studies creates powerful learning opportunities for all students. References Brophy, J., Alleman, J., & Knighton, B. (2009). Inside the social studies classroom. New York: Routledge. Bryant, J. (2007). Photographs as primary documents in social studies classrooms. Childhood Education, 83(4), 224. Crawford, D. B., Carnine, D. W., Harniss, M. K., Hollenbeck, K. I., & Miller, S. K. (2007). Effective strategies for teaching social studies. In M. D. Coyne, E. J. Kame’enui, & D. W. Carnine (Eds.), Effective teaching strategies that accommodate diverse learners. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill. Dallmer, D. (2007). Teaching students about civil rights using print material and photographs. The Social Studies, 98(4), 153–158. Dulberg, N. (2002). Engaging in history: Empathy and perspective-taking in children’s historical thinking. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 474135)

96   T. LINTNER Duplass, J. A. (2008). Teaching elementary social studies: Strategies, standards, and internet resources (2nd ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Ellis, E., Farmer, T., & Newman, J. (2005). Big ideas about teaching big ideas. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 38(1), 34–40. Fontana, J. L. (2004). Social studies and students with disabilities: Current status of instruction and a review of intervention research with middle and high school students. In T. E. Scruggs, & M. A. Mastropieri (Eds.), Research in secondary schools: Advances in learning and behavioral disabilities (pp. 175–205). Oxford, US: Elsevier. Grant. S. G., & Vansledright, B. (2006). Elementary social studies: Constructing a powerful approach to teaching and learning (2nd ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Horton, S. W., Lovitt, T. C., & Slocum, T. (1998). Teaching geography to high school students with academic deficits. Learning Disability Quarterly, 11, 371–379. Houser, N. (1995). Social studies on the back burner: Views from the field. Theory and Research in Social Education, 23(2), 147–168. Lee, J. (2008). Visualizing elementary social studies methods. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Lintner, T. (2005). A world of difference: Teaching tolerance through photographs in elementary school. The Social Studies, 96(1), 34–38. Lintner, T., & Schweder, W. (2008). Social studies in special education classrooms: A glimpse behind the closed door. Journal of Social Studies Research, 32(1), 3–9. Marcus, A., & Stoddard, J. (2009). The inconvenient truth about teaching history with documentary films: Strategies for presenting multiple perspectives and teaching controversial issues. The Social Studies, 100(6), 279–284. Mastropieri, M. A, & Scruggs, T. S. (2010). The inclusive classroom: Strategies for effective differentiated instruction (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill. McCoy, K. (2005). Strategies for teaching social studies. Focus on Exceptional Children, 38(3), 1–14. McLeskey, J., Rosenberg, M. S., & Westling, D. L. (2010). Inclusion: Effective practices for all students. Boston: Pearson. Morgan, H. (2009). Picture book biographies for young children: A way to teach multiple perspectives. Early Childhood Education Journal, 37(3), 219–227. Ogawa, M. (2001). Building multiple historical perspectives: An investigation of how middle school students are influenced by different perspectives.(ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 465 685) Passe, J., & Beattie, J. (1994). Social studies instruction for students with mild disabilities. Remedial and Special Education, 15(4), 227. Rosenberg, M. S., Westling, D. L., & McLeskey, J. (2011). Special education for today’s teachers: An Introduction (2nd ed.). Boston: Pearson. Scruggs, T. E., Mastropieri, M. A., & Okolo, C. N. (2009). Science and social studies for students with disabilities. Focus on Exceptional Children, 41(2), 1–24. Sunal, C. S., & Haas, M. E. (2005). Social studies for the elementary and middle grades: A constructivist approach. Boston: Pearson. Thompson, S., & Williams, K. (2008). Using photography to tell a story. Social Studies and the Young Learner, 20(3), 18–21. Vaughn, S. R., Bos, C. S., & Schumm, J. S. (2011). Teaching students who are exceptional, diverse and at-risk in the general education classroom. Boston: Pearson.

Teaching Social Studies Through Big Ideas    97 Vogler, K., & Virtue, D. (2007). “Just the facts, ma’am”: Teaching social studies in the era of standards and high-stakes testing. The Social Studies, 98(2), 54–58. Welton, D. A. (2005). Children and their world: Strategies for teaching social studies (8th ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. White, C. (2000). Issues in social studies: Voices from the classroom. Springfield, IL: Thomas, Ltd. Yeager, E. A., & Davis, O. L. (2005). Wise social studies teaching in an age of high-stakes testing. Greenwich, CT: Information Age. Zhao, Y., & Hoge, J. D. (2005). What elementary students and teachers say about social studies. The Social Studies, 96(5), 216–221.

About the Contributors

Emily C. Bouck is an Assistant Professor of Educational Studies in the Special Education Program at Purdue University. Her scholarship is dedicated to improving the in-school and post-school outcomes of secondary students with high incidence disabilities through advances in two strands of scholarship: standard academic curricula—particularly involving the use of technology to support student access and learning—and functional curricula. Carrie Anna Courtad is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Special Education at Illinois State University in Normal, IL. She graduated with her doctorate from Michigan State University in 2009. Her interests include pre-service teacher learning, teacher preparation, assistive technology and literacy. Prior to her doctoral studies, she was a certified teacher in Texas and Michigan. She has taught all levels of special education and has been a service provider in a wide variety of settings. Carol Sue Englert is a Professor in the Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Special Education in the College of Education at Michigan State University. Her research interests include reading and writing interventions, expository reading and writing instruction for struggling readers and writers, effective teaching practices for adolescent students in content area classes, and the role of technology in scaffolding and advancing literacy performance. Anne Heutsche is a doctoral candidate in the History Department at Michigan State University. Her area of specialization is United States Women’s HisPractical Strategies for Teaching K–12 Social Studies in Inclusive Classrooms, pages 99–102 Copyright © 2011 by Information Age Publishing All rights of reproduction in any form reserved.

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tory—Colonial to Present. She is currently working on her dissertation that focuses on courtship practices in Western Pennsylvania from 1780 to 1820. David Hicks is an Associate Professor in the School of Education, College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences at Virginia Tech. His teaching and research interests include teaching and learning within standards-based history classrooms, and the use of digital technologies to support citizenship education. He also has a personal and professional interest in examining how parents of children with disabilities negotiate the landscape of special education policy and practice. Timothy Lintner is an Associate Professor in the School of Education at the University of South Carolina Aiken. He received his Ph.D. in Social Science and Comparative Education from UCLA. His current research focuses on understanding the perceptual and pedagogical relationships between social studies and special education. Ashley G. Lucas is an Assistant Professor of secondary social studies education at Towson University in Towson, Maryland. She received her doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction from Indiana University Bloomington. Her current areas of interest include social justice issues, global education, and social studies for students with disabilities. Margo A. Mastropieri is a University Professor and Professor of Special Education in the College of Education and Human Development at George Mason University. She received her Ph.D. in Special Education from Arizona State University. Prior to working in higher education, Dr. Mastropieri was a high school teacher in Massachusetts, an elementary teacher in Arizona, and a Diagnostician at the Mt. Holyoke College Learning Disabilities Center. Her interests include how students with disabilities learn in school, and much of her research has focused on cognitive strategies designed to promote learning and retention of school-related information. She has also studied what happens during inclusive instruction with students with disabilities. Amy Matthews is a high school Special Education teacher at Lakeside High School in Evans, Georgia. The majority of her day is spent co-teaching in Social Studies classrooms. Mrs. Matthews obtained her Bachelor of Science degree at Georgia Southern University and her Masters Degree at Valdosta State. She is currently completing her Ed.S. in Teaching and Learning through Georgia Southern University. Darren Minarik is an Assistant Professor in the School of Teacher Education and Leadership at Radford University. He teaches a variety of special education courses with a focus on collaboration, transition, self-determination, and instructional methods. In a collaborative partnership with sec-

About the Contributors    101

ondary social studies, Darren teaches an introduction to special education for future secondary social studies teachers. His research interests include self-determination and citizenship education for youth with disabilities, inclusive settings, and how the social studies discipline addresses disability. Cynthia M. Okolo is a Professor at Michigan State University, where she teaches courses in instructional methods and assistive technology. Prior to obtaining her Ph.D. at Indiana University, she was a special education resource room teacher at the elementary and middle school levels. Her research focuses on improving teaching and learning for understanding in inclusive classrooms, particularly in the areas of literacy and historical understanding. Technology-based instructional experiences and tools have been key elements in her investigations and in the interventions she and her colleagues have developed. Jeff Passe is Professor and Chair of the Department of Secondary Education at Towson University. He has served as President of the National Council for the Social Studies, Chair of CUFA, and Chair of the AERA Research in Social Studies Education SIG. Dr. Passe is the author of five books, including When Students Choose Content and Elementary School Curriculum. Kimberly Pawling earned her Ph.D. in Exceptional Education from the University of Central Florida in 2010. Her research interests include Universal Design for Learning, secondary teacher education programs, as well as the integration, social, and academic success of students with disabilities in mainstream social studies settings. She plans to continue her research and collaborative efforts in social studies and exceptional education, visual impairments, and teacher preparation programs. Windy Schweder is an Associate Professor of Education at the University of South Carolina Aiken. She previously taught students with mild to profound disabilities in resource, self-contained, and inclusive settings. Her research interests include teaching students with disabilities in inclusive settings, faculty co-teaching in professional development schools, and identifying best practices for online learning in teacher education programs. Thomas Scruggs is University Professor and Professor of Special Education in the College of Education and Human Development at George Mason University. He received his Ph.D. from Arizona State University, and studied also at the University of Illinois, Pennsylvania State University, Durham University (UK), and Lesley University, Cambridge, MA. He has taught students with a variety of special needs, across all grade and age levels. His interests include cognitive and instructional strategies for students with disabilities,

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including test-taking skills, peer tutoring, mnemonic strategy instruction, and science and social studies education. Kay Usher holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in elementary education from the University of South Carolina Aiken. Her interest in students with exceptionalities stems from her eldest son being diagnosed with autism, obsessive compulsive disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and depression. As a general education classroom teacher, her driving goal is to enhance the learning opportunities for all students.