We have a serious problem in the Social Studies classrooms throughout this country, a growing number of students cannot properly identify the majority of countries on a blank map of the world and few can even place countries in their proper regions. Furthermore, most students are not engaged in the events occurring throughout the world. In a growing global-community that is literally shrinking the social, religious, political, and economic world that we live in, it is imperative that students understand the geographical make-up of the world and how global events affect them as human beings. It is now, more than ever, vital for students to have a strong academic foundation of our geographical and geo-political make-up as a global-community.
The key to successfully solving this problem is to show students from the beginning why a deep understanding of world geography is relevant. This can be accomplished in several ways. First, by presenting real-world examples such as the geo-political reasons why American troops are deployed in Iraq, Afghanistan, and South Korea, or the global-economic factors contributing to a growing trade deficit with China and how it affects the American economic market, and the socio-economic effects of monetary and civil unrest in African nations students will begin to understand how our world is shrinking and how events around the planet affect them. As individuals influenced by the social, religious, political, and economic events of the world students need to have an understanding of what is happening globally, where it is happening, why it is happening, and how it shapes them. Second, by combining activities such as weekly discussions over current events, weekly reviews of the class RSS feed page covering national and global media and then writing a weekly two-paragraph summary of an event of their choice on their personal blog, and successfully completing on-line inter-active world map activities and games they begin to see how they can connect individually with events happening around the world. Mix knowledge of current events with on-line inter-active world map activities and the students begin to form a base of understanding of what events are occurring in the world and where they are happening. As students combine their newly gained knowledge of world geography with their knowledge of global current events they begin to understand why this knowledge is significant to their daily lives. This understanding then builds relevance to this activity in the student’s minds and they begin to take ownership of gaining this knowledge as a necessity of everyday life rather than just another memorization assignment. Finally, students will leave this class with the necessary knowledge to understand global events, know where in the world they are occurring, understand the regional and global effects of the events and as a result, they will be able to function better in their daily professional and personal lives as citizens.
I realize this seems like enormous undertaking; however, with planning, organization, the evolution of Web2.0 tools, and the fact that technology is increasing at an exponential rate this problem can be addressed and solved with little effect on your normal curriculum. In the implementation of this plan, the instructor will use several different activities to accomplish the set objectives. First, through lecture, video, on-line information, and other sources the instructor will show current world events and demonstrate how they have relevance to our daily lives. Second, the instructor will create and maintain a class RSS Page for world news and information, as well as a class Blog. Through these two sources, the students will review current global events a few times a week and then write a weekly two paragraph summary defining the facts of a given event and how it is relevant to each of us. Third, the instructor will lead a weekly classroom discussion of current events and allow the students to share their views and opinions in a safe and educationally conducive environment. Fourth, the students will meet in the computer lab three times a month to utilize inter-active on-line world map activities and games that are structured to teach them the proper geographic location of every country in the world. Through this exercise, it is expected that 100% of the students will successfully identify all countries of the world in their proper location on a blank world map at the end of the semester. Finally, each student will complete a capstone multi-media project where they will present their knowledge and understanding of a current “hot-bed” topic in the world and demonstrate its relevance to our lives. By completing each of these goals, the students will exit this class with a thorough knowledge of world geography and the importance of understanding world events and analyzing how they affect each of us in our daily lives.
When reviewing this proposal and comparing it to the TPACK model, I believe that this is a well-developed and comprehensive plan that extends throughout the entire semester and encompasses a variety of technologies and instructional strategies. I am sure that when this project is implemented I will find areas of improvement and that it will evolve over time, but I have made great efforts to assure that all areas of TPACK are properly represented. When looking at this plan the area of Technological Pedagological Knowledge is addressed in a variety of ways. Class lectures and discussions are enhanced with the use of videos, multimedia presentations, on-line tools, and interactive webinars and fieldtrips. The creations of class and student RSS Feeds and Blogs will also allow students to remain engaged with ever changing current events and have the ability to communicate and share their opinions both in the classroom and outside of school through their personal blog and the class blog. The inclusion of social media sights such as Twitter also allows students the ability to share their opinions on various topics and comment on the ideas of their classmates. To address the need for knowledge of world geography, students will meet in the computer lab three times a month. During this lab time, students will use various online inter-active map and geography sources to learn and practice identifying countries throughout the world. These sites will also be available to the students outside of school. By implementing varied technology tools to implement this plan, students will have opportunities to learn the curriculum in a variety of methods and allow them to find ways that best suit their needs to communicate and practice modeling their newly gained knowledge.
In regards to Technicological Content Knowledge, by incorporating these various teaching methods and resources students will be given a much broader and more comprehensive exposure to World Geography and Global Current Events. By creating a class RSS Feed, I can assure that my students are getting factual and relevant information and knowledge delivered directly to their computers. However, by allowing them to create their own RSS Feed pages, they can also incorporate news and information sources that are both relevant and trustworthy but also personal to them. By utilizing technology tools that can be accessed online, students can work from virtually anywhere and have access to their projects and assignments both in the classroom and outside of school. Through blogs and social media such as Twitter, students can communicate and share ideas with ease. Finally, by utilizing online tools, I can have greater access to my students beyond our normal class time an parents can be more involved in their students’ academic life.
The final TPACK Phase is Pedagogical Content Knowledge. Both World Geography and Current World Events are curriculum standards for Social Studies and are often areas that are missed or slightly touched upon. With the growing online global community and development of a more global society, it is more important than ever that our students understand the world they live in and what is going on. Where only events in one’s own state or region once carried a profound effect on their day to day lives, world events now affect each and every person daily. In order to prepare our students for life, this knowledge is extremely important. I believe that this plan will work towards better preparing our students for what lies ahead of them over the coming years and decades.
I invite you to watch this short presentation on my Wicked Problem Project and see how all of this comes together!
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