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2021/2022

Research and Innovation in Social Science Teaching

Code: 102041 ECTS Credits: 6
Degree Type Year Semester
2500798 Primary Education OT 4 0
The proposed teaching and assessment methodology that appear in the guide may be subject to changes as a result of the restrictions to face-to-face class attendance imposed by the health authorities.

Contact

Name:
Neus González Monfort
Email:
Neus.Gonzalez@uab.cat

Use of Languages

Principal working language:
catalan (cat)
Some groups entirely in English:
No
Some groups entirely in Catalan:
Yes
Some groups entirely in Spanish:
No

Other comments on languages

The works in writing will present in Catalan language

Prerequisites

None. However, it is recommended to have passed two subjects: Teaching and Learning Natural, Social and Cultural World; and Social Studies Education. 

Objectives and Contextualisation

Main goals

  • To analyze and assess the status of research and innovation in social studies education.
  • To use research results and innovation projects in order to make decisions about teaching and learning in the social studies elementary classroom.
  • To do small research projects formulating the real educational problem, assumptions, objectives, and methodology and theory frameworks.
  • To develop research reports and share the results.
  • To reflect on the role of research and innovation in the professional development of school teachers.

Competences

  • Act with ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights and duties, diversity and democratic values.
  • Assume the educating dimension of the teacher’s role and foster democratic education for an active population.
  • Design and regulate learning spaces in contexts of diversity that take into account gender equality, equity and respect for human rights and observe the values of public education.
  • Develop and evaluate contents of the curriculum by means of appropriate didactic resources and promote the corresponding skills in pupils.
  • Foster democratic education of the population and the practice of critical social thought.
  • Foster reading and critical analysis of the texts in different scientific fields and cultural contents in the school curriculum.
  • Know and apply information and communication technologies to classrooms.
  • Maintain a respectful attitude to the natural, social and cultural environment to foster values, behaviours and practices that attend to gender equality, equity and respect for human rights.
  • Make changes to methods and processes in the area of knowledge in order to provide innovative responses to society's needs and demands.
  • Reflect on classroom experiences in order to innovate and improve teaching work. Acquire skills and habits for autonomous and cooperative learning and promote it among pupils.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Analyse history, geography and social sciences from their contributions to the understanding of our society and the solution of social problems.
  2. Analyse teaching sequences that favour the construction of social discourse to promote the values of a critical and democratic population.
  3. Analyse the contributions of the teaching of history, geography and other social sciences to solving important social problems and understanding the society in which we live.
  4. Assessing the value of the contributions made by the teaching of history, geography and other social sciences to educational innovation.
  5. Assessing the value of the contributions to educational innovation made by work done in projects to address the study of society based on relevant social problems.
  6. Conducting research in primary schools on social science teaching and learning.
  7. Critically analyse the principles, values and procedures that govern the exercise of the profession.
  8. Demonstrate that attitudes regarding gender equality are identified, practiced and defended.
  9. Demonstrate that attitudes regarding human rights as knowledge and tools for coexistence are identified, practiced and defended.
  10. Design models of didactic sequences related to social, critical and creative thinking in primary schooling.
  11. Interpreting existing research and innovation by applying information and communication technologies to the teaching of the social sciences in primary education.
  12. Know and use images and simulation as resources for teaching and learning social sciences.
  13. Knowing how to foster communication, personal interaction and social skills when designing a didactic sequence.
  14. Produce models of didactic sequences for primary education, especially those that can facilitate understanding of democratic pluralism, cultural diversity and the development of critical thinking.
  15. Produce models of didactic sequences related to historical, geographical and social thought in primary education in observance of a critical paradigm.
  16. Propose new methods or well-founded alternative solutions.
  17. Using the resources of the environment in order to design teaching and learning activities that develop autonomy and cooperative work in primary school pupils.
  18. Using the resources of the environment in order to design teaching and learning activities.
  19. Weigh up the impact of any long- or short-term difficulty, harm or discrimination that could be caused to certain persons or groups by the actions or projects.
  20. Weigh up the risks and opportunities of both one’s own and other people’s proposals for improvement.

Content

  1. Innovation and research on social studies education: main concepts
  2. Inquiry in the problems of teaching and learning social studies in primary education: time, space, causes and consequences, intentions, social relations, gender and social invisibility...
  3. Research on student learning process: social representations and learning concepts, such as power, conflict, difference, change and continuity, interrelation...
  4. Research on social knowledge and school contents.
  5. Research on educational proposals, the use of textbooks and curriculum materials.
  6. Research on the skills of social studies school teachers.
  7. Research on educational innovation. Teachers and research.
  8. Qualitative research on social studies education; and research tools, such as questionnaires, interviews, focus groups, biographies, observations, and lesson plan experimentation...

Methodology

The protagonist in the teaching-learning process is always the student. It is under this premise that this subject methodology has been planned.

We are going to carry out different types of activities to ensure the acquisition of knowledge:

  • Presentation of the main research lines on social studies education.
  • Studies of social studies education research oriented to innovation.
  • Readings and text commentaries, individual and group level, and a assesment activity.
  • Presentation and discussion of research group projects, and monitoring of individual or group work on small research planning.
  • Doing a small research to support innovation social studies primary classroom, and writing a scientific article.
  • Creating a learning portfolio.

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Activities

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Presentation and analysis of the fundamental lines of research on teaching and learning of social studies in primary education. Conducting a debate. 45 1.8 1, 3, 2, 12, 9, 8, 14, 13, 17, 4, 5
Type: Supervised      
Text analysis research and innovation in social studies education, individual or group level, and final examination. 30 1.2 1, 3, 2, 12, 9, 8, 10, 14, 15, 18, 11, 17, 4, 5
Type: Autonomous      
Creating a learning portfolio. 5 0.2 1, 3, 2, 12, 9, 8, 10, 14, 15, 11, 13, 17, 4, 5
Making a small research. Presentation of results and writing an article. 60 2.4 1, 3, 2, 12, 9, 8, 18, 11, 6, 17, 4, 5
Reading and writing text commentaries on social studies education research and innovation. 10 0.4 1, 3, 11, 4, 5

Assessment

To obtain a pass in the final mark for this module it is essential to pass (minimum mark of 5 out of 10) each of the assessment blocks: group work, written exam and individual work.


All the assessment tasks carried out throughout the course must be submitted before the deadline indicated by the teacher in the module programme.


The marks for each paper or the exam will be available within 1 month after their submission.


In case of failing the exam, a re-sit exam will be made available on a date and time set by the teacher. This exam will result in a capped mark of 5.

 

Attendance to field trips is compulsory. Students must attend a minimum of 80% of seminars; otherwise, they will be deemed as "absent".

 

In accordance with UAB regulations, plagiarism or copying of any individual or group paper will be penalised with a mark of 0 for that paper, without any possibility of a re-sit. During the completion of a paper or the individual exam in class, if the teacher has reason to believe that a student is trying to copy or s/he discovers any kind of non-authorised document or device, the student involved will obtain a mark of 0, without any possibility to re-sit.

 

In order to get a pass mark in this course, students should prove, through their oral presentations and their written assignments, they have superior communicative skills and an excellent command of the vehicular language or languages listed in the course syllabus. Assessment of all course individual and group work tasks include criteria based on the quality, in terms of accuracy and fluency, of the assignments submitted by the learners. Learners are expected to display academic skills, which include the abilities of expressing themselves fluently and accurately and comprehending written academic texts. All potential primary and early years teachers should prove they have a very good command of Catalan (C1 Level for first and second year students and C2Level for third year students, as described here: http://www.uab.cat/web/informacio-academica/avaluacio /normativa-1292571269103.html


IMPORTANT DATES:

DATES: 

- on late november: Oral presentation (group) 

- on late december: Individual evaluation. 

- Re-sit examination will be on Late January / Early Febrary. 

Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Analysis of changes and continuities of their own social representations (individual) 5% 0 0 2, 12, 10, 14, 15, 18, 16, 6, 13, 17
Conducting an educational research (grupal) 30% 0 0 1, 3, 9, 8, 11, 6, 17
Construction of the learning portfolio (individual) 5% 0 0 12, 10, 14, 15, 18, 6, 13
Oral presentation of the results of the social studies education research (individual) 15% 0 0 7, 1, 3, 12, 9, 8, 18, 11, 6, 13, 4, 5
Readings of texts, analysis and reflection on the topics discussed in class (individual) 25% 0 0 1, 3, 2, 12, 9, 8, 11, 20, 4, 5
Writing a research paper (group) 20% 0 0 1, 3, 9, 8, 11, 6, 19

Bibliography

References

Magazine: 

Enseñanza de las Ciencias Sociales / REIDICS / Iber

General:

ELLIOTT, John. (1989): Pràctica, recerca i teoria en educació. Vic. Eumo editorial

STENHOUSE, Lowrence. (1987): La investigación como base de la enseñanza. Madrid: Morata

Basic:

BARTON, Keith C. (ed.) (2006): Research Methods in Social Studies Education. Contemporary Issues and Perspectives. Information Age Publishing Inc.

JARA, Miguel Ángel i SANTISTEBAN, Antoni (2018). Los retos de futuro en la enseñanza de las ciencias sociales, la historia y la geografía. En M.A. Jara y A. Santisteban (Coords). Contribuciones de Joan Pagès al desarrollo de la didáctica de les ciencias sociales, la historia y la geografía en Iberoamérica. Universidad Nacional del Comanche y Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona BARTON, Keith C. (ed.) (2006): Research Methods in Social Studies Education. Contemporary Issues and Perspectives. Information Age Publishing Inc.

LEVSTIK, Linda S./TYSON, Cynthia A. (eds.) (2008): Handbook of Research in Social Studies Education. Routledge, New York/London.
PAGÈS, Joan. (1997): "Líneas de investigación en didáctica de las Ciencias Sociales". Benejam, Pilar./Pagès, Joan. (coord.): Enseñar y aprender Ciencias Sociales, Geografía e Historia en la Educación Secundaria. ICE-Universidad de Barcelona/Horsori, p. 209-226
PÀGÈS,Joan.; SANTISTEBAN,Antoni. (2011). La investigación sobre la enseñanza y el aprendizaje en la educación primaria. En Santisteban,A.; Pagès,J. (coords.). Didáctica del Conocimiento del Medio Social y Cultural. Madrid: Síntesis. 105-121.
PAGÈS, Joan. (2004): "La investigación en didáctica de la historia". Educación XX1 nº 7, Facultad Ciencias de la Educación, UNED, 63-83.

Basic bibliography about competences for democratic culture:

  • Council of Europe. (2018). Reference framework of competences for democratic culture. Volume 1. Context, concepts and model. Council ofEurope. Council of Europe: Strasbourg
  • Council of Europe. (2018). Reference framework of competences for democratic culture. Volume 2. Descriptors of Competences for Democratic Culture. Council of Europe: Strasbourg
  • Council of Europe. (2018). Reference framework of competences for democratic culture. Volume 3. Guidance for Implementation. Council of Europe: Strasbourg

Software

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