Social Studies, Humanities, and Inquiry
Similar standards for student performance are common in documents from state education agencies, local school corporations and national associations. Application of the Scientific Method and information inquiry as a student of information science are also found in the social science portions of curriculum outlines. Such is never an “add on” to the curriculum, but always a clear basic expectation that enriches the learning experience and takes both teaching and learning to levels that are beyond simply memorizing facts, names and events. Mary Dalbotten’s organization of student performance skills across the curriculum is a valuable tool to relate national learning standards to critical and creative thinking for inquiry. Examples that illustrate this are:
History and Social Sciences
Historical thinking skill enable students to differentiate past, present, and future times; raise questions; seek and evaluate evidence; compare and analyze historical stories, illustrations, and records from the past; interpret the historical record; and construct historical narratives of their own.
Real historical understanding requires that students have opportunity to create historical narratives and arguments of their own. Such narratives and arguments may take many forms – essays, debates, and editorials, for instance. They can be initiated in a variety of ways. None, however, more powerfully initiates historical thinking than those issues, past and present, that challenge students to enter knowledgeably into the historical record and to bring sound historical perspectives to bear in the analysis of a problem.
On contemporary issues across the full range of social science studies, students should practice skills that focus on relevant local and global issues in which they use information to identify, describe, explain, explain a position, take a position, and defend a position. An example is for the student to evaluate historical and contemporary political communications using such criteria as logical validity, factual accuracy, emotional appeal, distorted evidence, appeals to bias or prejudice and establishing criteria for judging information sources in light of such manipulation of communication. Another common example, this time relevant to simulating what political scientists do, is evaluate, take, and defend positions on the influence of the media on American political life.
Language Arts and Humanities
- Students present information, concepts, and ideas to an audience of listeners or readers on a variety of topics. Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
- Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment.
- Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features, including graphics.
- Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources (print, nonprint, artifacts, people) to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience.
- Students use a variety of technological and information resources (libraries, databases, computer networks, video, mass media, human experts) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.
- Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.