My time in Social Studies Methods this semester has completely changed who I am as a teacher. I believe that the educator I have become throughout this semester is far beyond any expectations I had beginning this semester. One of the most impactful experiences for me this semester was learning how to teach using concepts, and learning how to turn concepts into a unit. Teaching using concepts helps students to become interested in social studies because concepts helps the material to become relevant for students. Combining these concepts to create units that create authentic experiences for students will help students connect to their learning in ways that learning about facts and taking tests could never create for students.
Teaching through the use of concepts and concept based units also helps students to learn meaningful information that will help them in their lives at present and in the future by creating informed citizens that are prepared to face the world they live in. This connects directly to standard 3, element d, of the North Carolina Teacher Candidate Standards which states that "Teachers make instruction relevant to students." Social studies is one of the perfect ways to make instruction relevant to students, especially through the use of concepts. We cannot be satisfied with teaching students facts that do not affect them personally when social studies gives us the opportunity to connect learning to students in a way that will help them for the rest of their lives.
According to historysimulation.com, when creating a concept based lesson plan, you must first ask yourself "What are you trying to accomplish with this lesson plan?" I think that this is such an important question that educators must ask themselves before creating assignments, lesson plans, and even units. This helps us keep our students in mind, and ensures that our concepts are relevant and important for our students. In my future classroom, I plan to continue to create concept based units that are relevant with teaching that students find importance in. I will do this by staying up to date on what is happening in the world, and by using concepts that are timeless, transferrable, universal, abstract, and are big ideas to create units that create authentic experiences that will help my students learn to the best of their ability.
link: https://www.historysimulation.com/concept-based-learning.html
