Teaching a High School Social Studies Elective Course Without a Textbook by Sean P Beacome A Master s Project for ED 7999 In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Teaching April 2005 Major Social Studies Education Approved by Dr Bob Pettapiece Date 2 Table of Contents Chapter One Page 1 Introduction to the Project Introduction Situation The Need Purpose and Significance Summary Chapter Two Review of Related Literature Introduction Theoretical Bases and Research Suggested Approaches Summary 3 Chapter Three Methodology of the Study Introduction Hypotheses Population Sample Description Timeline Data Collection 10 Chapter Four Findings Introduction Hypothesis 1 Table 1 Hypothesis 2 Table 2 Summary 13 Chapter Five 17 Conclusions and Recommendations Introduction Conclusions Recommendations Personal Observations References 20 Appendix A Appendix B Pre test and Post test Attitude Survey Appendix C Pre test and Post test Rubric ii 3 Chapter One Introduction to the Project Introduction This study takes a look at the possibilities that are available for teachers to use effective methodologies that engage students in evaluating historical information More specifically this study looks to show how eliminating the use of a textbook in a high school social studies elective course can enhance student learning and help increase student interest level in the social studies The Situation Imagine the following scenario from an American high school social studies class Now class today we will talk about the effects of urban sprawl upon the indigenous peoples of Malaysia Please open up your textbooks to page 314 read the passage and then answer the questions that follow The problems here seem countless For one how is information from a copyrighted textbook going to even begin to shed light upon the plight of indigenous Malaysians concerning urban sprawl Secondly whom does we refer to in the above situation Who is going to be talking about the effects on the people This situation hypothetical as it may be describes what might be a common occurrence in social studies classrooms in America These classes have often placed too much emphasis upon the use of a textbook to convey subject matter to students As Tyson and Woodward 1989 reported textbooks constitute 75 to 90 percent of classroom instruction Granted this might now be an outdated statistic however as author Gilbert Sewall 2000 asserts the textbook companies will always be in business 1 4 The Need Many social studies teachers have traditionally relied upon textbooks as the main source of information within their classroom In such cases it would seem as though the classroom teacher would then only be needed for classroom management purposes and to issue directives to the students Basically a one way situation develops whereby students daily use the text to perform rote memorization along with answering a series of questions directly from the text As contrived as this situation may seem it bears to be examined due to the common occurrence in American schools of textbook based instruction as reported earlier by Sewall 2000 To sum up the need author James Loewen states High school students hate history 1995 p 12 Purpose and Significance The reason for undertaking this study actually developed somewhat prior to the commencement of this master s project A student in the class happened to ask the teacher why the class called Current Global Issues required the use of a ten year old textbook The teacher had no reply but figured that something needed to be done The significance of this study is that it can provide the catalyst for other teachers to take a chance by ending the use of a textbook and challenging themselves to provide other ways to motivate their students Summary Learning in social studies classes certainly can be interesting Unfortunately too many students in American high schools might likely disagree This might be attributed to the traditional practice by social studies teachers of using a textbook as the main basis for their lessons By removing the textbook from classroom instruction social studies teachers can attempt to further engage students in historical inquiry 5 Chapter Two Review of Related Literature Introduction Consider a scene from the movie Dead Poets Society where the teacher instructs his students to rip out several introductory pages of their poetry textbooks due to its technical instructions on how to read poetry Weir Schulman 1989 The students appear confused at first but are quickly whisked away in delight as they tear into their textbooks The academic purpose for which their teacher is having them do such a thing seems lost on the students they are simply having fun in their rebellious behavior However when looking at this scene from the perspective of an educator one could certainly relate to the fictional teacher s intentions He wants his students to experience poetry to feel it to let it permeate their beings Such should be the goal of every high school history teacher for his or her students to feel touch and experience history To do so effectively however this same teacher needs to move beyond reliance upon a textbook Theoretical Bases and Research The scope of this project is not to recommend the complete removal of textbooks from social studies instruction They serve a purpose As Gerald Danzer states Many features of modern secondary school textbooks especially those of American history would make them useful volumes on the personal bookshelves of American citizens 1997 p 12 Furthermore Gilbert Sewall states that they are familiar efficient portable and relatively cheap 2000 p 3 However there are some issues faced by social studies educators concerning the use of textbooks in their instruction Beyond the obvious bouts of boredom that textbook centered instruction can instill upon students and educators alike 6 teachers often have to use social studies textbooks that contain major inaccuracies and lack considerable content among other problems Loewen 1995 What is the goal of social studies education Can any one person or group define it According to the National Council for the Social Studies NCSS mission statement Social studies educators teach students the content knowledge intellectual skills and civic values necessary for fulfilling the duties of citizenship in a participatory democracy NCSS 2005 Can this goal or mission be met by way of the predominant use of a textbook