Social Studies Today

100 Key Points

by Walter C. Parker (Editor)

Social Studies Today will help educators―teachers, curriculum specialists, and researchers―think deeply about contemporary social studies education. More than simply learning about key topics, this collection invites readers to think through some of the most relevant, dynamic, and challenging questions animating social studies education today. With 12 new chapters highlighting recent developments in the field, the second edition features the work of major scholars such as James Banks, Diana Hess, Joel Westheimer, Meira Levinson, Sam Wineburg, Beth Rubin, Keith Barton, Margaret Crocco, and more. Each chapter tackles a specific question on issues such as the difficulties of teaching historical thinking in the classroom, responding to high-stakes testing, teaching patriotism, judging the credibility of Internet sources, and teaching with film and geospatial technologies. Accessible, compelling, and practical, these chapters―full of rich examples and illustrations―showcase some of the most original thinking in the field, and offer pre- and in-service teachers alike a panoramic window on social studies curricula and instruction and new ways to improve them. Walter C. Parker is Professor and Chair of Social Studies Education and (by courtesy) Professor of Political Science at the University of Washington, Seattle.

320 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2009

Reviews

[Adam Gutschenritter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like a lot of these research books, this book offers interesting perspectives to a variety of problems and a lot of varying solutions. The wide variety of topics makes the book generally helpful, but the lack of specific solutions makes this book a starting location for a teacher planning a new way to teach/update methods and not a resource for a new teacher planning lessons.