User:Stomaino
Navigation links: ETAP 623 Spring 2023 (Zhang) | Mini-Course: Simulations in the Social Studies Classroom
About Me
I was born and raised in a suburb just outside of Utica, NY. I graduated from St. Bonaventure University in 2018 with a degree in history and a minor in secondary education. I am currently in my 4th year as a social studies teacher. I have coached baseball every year I have been in the district and just completed my second season as the JV girls basketball coach. Outside of school I like to travel, socialize, watch movies, play sports when I can.
My Topic and Purpose
My mini-course is about the process of creating and implementing simulations into the classroom. I chose this topic because I love to create simulations for students in the classroom and would like to learn more about the process while also reflecting more on my own practice and use of simulations. Additionally, I believe the use of simulations is a great tool for all teachers to use. I hope that through the use of what I post on here, teachers can create their own simulations without having to just find them online or on teacherspayteachers.
Scope of Learning Outcomes and Content
The goal of this mini-course is to help teachers create simulations to be implemented in their own classroom. After completing this mini-course, teachers will have more confidence and a guide to help them create their own simulations to implement in their classrooms.
Needs Assessment
- The educational problem or opportunity: One of the current problems in education is the lack of engagement. Students have an immense amount of entertainment right at their fingertips nowadays which makes battling for their focus more and more difficult. Standard teaching practices are often considered "boring." However, get students up and moving, with a purpose, with a focus, and then connect that activity to history and now students begin to connect to the content. While engaging students today is harder than ever, it also presents the education field with an opportunity to adapt to more engaging lessons.
- The learners/participants: The learners are both the teachers taking this mini-course and for the students who be the beneficiaries to the simulations.
- Analysis and Solutions for Gaps: For the most part, students will know little about a topic when beginning. Even if they claim to know of a topic or that something "rings a bell," many students will not be able to elaborate much more on a topic at the beginning. To begin, one can simply post a picture of the topic or simply ask a question as a bell ringer - "what do you know about the American Revolution?" The class discussion will allow the teacher to know what students know versus what they need to know. From there, the teacher can focus their lessons and focus. Next, give simple definitions and basic background knowledge of the content AND of your simulation. Next, run the simulation with that context in mind. When the simulation is over ensure that loose ends are tied up through questions, class discussion and more. In the next classes to come, students should now have an idea and a feel for what the unit and topic is about.
- Intent statement: how will this mini-course help your participants address their needs? The intent of this mini-course is to give teachers a guide, practice, and confidence to create their own simulations through a process of establishing students known background knowledge, making a connection to their simulation and the content, and then appropriate follow up, feed back, and reflection on their simulation to ensure the right connections were made.
Analysis of the Learner and Context
Learners: Participants of this mini-course will be social studies teachers who teach grades 5-12. Any teacher could take this course and use helpful hints or tips or strategies and incorporate it into their curriculums, I will be focusing on social studies with my examples and ideas.
Instructional Context: Participants will learn about simulations, why they are important in education, what are some examples and why they work and then be given the opportunity to create their own. The participants will be able to access this any time they wish and be able to access any and all modules at any point during their glance through the mini-course. The hope is that after completing the mini-course, teachers will have a better understanding of why they should incorporate simulations and how to create their own from scratch. In order to complete this mini-course, users would just need access to the internet.
Goals: The goal of this mini-course is to help teachers understand why they should incorporate simulations into their classroom and be able to implement their own simulations into their content.
Performance-Based Objectives
After completing this mini-course, learners will be able to:
- What are classroom simulations and why are they important?
- Understand what makes an effective classroom simulation
- Identify ways to improve simulations to make them more engaging and geared towards the learning objectives
- Create their own simulations
Task and Content Analysis
Prerequisite Knowledge and Skills - Before taking this course, students should have an understanding of
- Their social studies curriculum
- How to use educational technology
- How to create lesson plans to meet their curriculum standards and goals
Unit 1 - What are Classroom Simulations? Why are they important?
After this unit, participants will be able to explain what a classroom simulation is AND understand the benefits of using simulations
Unit 2 - What makes an effective and ineffective simulation?
After this unit, participants will be able to identify ways in which a simulation could work or fail
Unit 3 - How to make a simulation connect
- After this unit, participants will be able to identify ways in which already created simulations could be improved
Unit 4 - Create your own classroom simulation
- After this unit, participants will have their own created classroom simulation
Curriculum Map
File:SS Curriculum Map Final - Tomaino.pdf