UNIT IV: INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS IN

TEACHING SOCIAL STUDIES.

(TEACHING APPROACHES IN SECONDARY

SOCIAL STUDIES)

Prepared by: Fhatima Ashra Waja

John Carl Mendoza
Ceraz Abdurahman
 WRITTEN REPORT IN TEACHING APPROACHES

UNIT 4: INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS IN SOCIAL STUDIES

Learning Objectives

At the end of the two week meetings, the Pre-Service Teachers should be able to attain the following
with 80% level of proficiency:

 Categorize learning experiences into three modes.

 Describe the uses of Maps, Globes, textbooks, charts, graphs, etc.; and
 Name topics in Araling Panlipunan Grades 7-10 which can be used of Maps, Globes, Textbooks,
Charts, Graphs, etc.

ABSTRACTION

The Cone of Experience

Dale’s Cone of Experience

The Dale's Cone of Experience is a model rooted in instructional design and learning theories. Edgar
Dale, in the 1960s, proposed that learners remember more through active participation than by merely
listening, reading, or observing. This idea laid the groundwork for the development of the Cone of
Experience, now commonly referred to as "experiential learning" or "action learning". The diagram and
further details of the cone will be outlined in the following sections.
How Can Educators Apply the Cone of Experience?

Dale's studies indicate that the least effective approach, shown at the apex, involves learning from
information conveyed through verbal symbols, such as listening to spoken words. Conversely, the most
effective approaches, located at the base, encompass direct, purposeful learning experiences, like
hands-on activities or real-world field experiences. These direct purposeful experiences mirror reality or
closely resemble real-life situations.

The cone illustrates the average retention rates for different teaching methods. As one moves down the
cone, the learning increases, and more information is likely to be retained. It also highlights the
importance of involving students in the instructional process to enhance knowledge retention when
selecting a teaching method.

It illustrates that "action-learning" strategies lead to retention rates of up to 90%. Individuals learn most
effectively when they utilize sensory-based perceptual learning styles.

The greater the number of sensory channels utilized when engaging with a resource, the greater the
likelihood that many students can derive learning from it. According to Dale, educators should develop
instructional activities that draw upon real-life experiences to enhance learning.

Dale's Cone of Experience serves as a tool to assist educators in making decisions regarding resources
and activities. Instructors can consider the following questions:

• Where does the student's interaction with this instructional resource fall on the cone of experience?
How closely does it resemble real-life experiences?

• What type of learning experience is intended to be created in the classroom?

• How does this instructional resource complement the information provided in the textbook?

• To what extent and through which senses can students engage with and learn from this instructional
material?

• Does the instructional material contribute to and improve the learning process?

References:

Diamond, Robert M. Designing and Improving Courses and Curricula in Higher Education. San Francisco,
Jossey-Bass, 1989.

Dale, Edgar. Audio-Visual Methods in Teaching, 3" ed., Holt, Rinchart & Winston, New York, 1969, p.

Bruner, Jerome S. Toward a Theory of Instruction, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1966, p. 49.
Instructional Materials in Social Studies

Teaching resources in Social Studies mean anything that can assist the teacher in promoting teaching
and learning. Resources in Social Studies include human, place and material resources. The teacher
(human resource) is concerned with the management of instructional materials and is a repetition of
knowledge which he transmits to the learner. . Resource places include places that 'have much value for
the purpose of classroom teaching. A trip to a place of known interest is of obvious value and ensures
the use of available resources. The value of trips can be immensely enhanced by varying or extending
the format of the trip.

TEXTBOOKS

Textbooks are, of course, another traditional instrument of instruction. In its most rigid form a
textbook represents a series of lessons which demands the teacher's initiative. In almost every study,
pupils are required to move from textbooks to specialized references for kinds of data such as
encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlases, information almanacs, government bulletins, commercial
publications and miscellaneous periodicals

According to Rice (1982). Textbooks are among the most instructional materials readily available
for the use in the classroom for the implementation of Social Studies curriculum, hence the heavy
reliance on textbooks particularly in the developing countries gave some assumptions for rational
textbook selection in Social Studies. These include the fact that:

 There is a consciously designed Social Studies curriculum for school and the curriculum
has specified objectives
  Textbooks are often primary means of translating the curriculum into the local school
teaching program.
 Textbooks often present the major source of the content for a subject. The order in
which the content is presented and the depth and scope of its treatment in the
classroom are essential things to note
 Textbooks often serve as one of the students' primary resources of learning. From these
statements, it is evident that textbooks will still continue to remain as essential
resources of learning

PICTURES AND CHARTS

Pictorial presentation is effective particularly for students having reading difficulties or small
vocabularies. Pictures help to illustrate and bring a sense of reality to what is taught, while charts
contain the lesson material itself. While pictures stimulate interest, create correct impression and bring
lesson to life, charts, on the other hand, are valuable in the presentation of materials to be taught in
their simplest form.

MAPS

Tillman (1976) emphasized the use of models in helping the teacher organize relevant
information in the process of teaching. Hence, models and specimens have distinct appeal to children
and attract their close attention better than a chart. The usefulness of models cannot be over-
emphasized because they reduce to handy sizes things that would otherwise be difficult to study.

GLOBAL

A small –scale three dimensional MODEL OF THE EARTH. It is mounted on an axis so that it can
rotated freely just like an earth.

REAL OBJECT

The category of materials resources that can be valuable in the teaching of Social Studies is the
use of the actual or real object in the classroom. These things are called REALIA and can have a powerful
impact on students' interest and motivate them to learn.

Example of these items include weapons, clothes, machines, implements etc. These things bring
the real outer world into the classroom. Real objects are valuable in teaching topics that are related to
culture, agriculture, currencies etc.

AUDIO-VISUAL DEVICES
 The application of these instructional tools range from the use of small cameras by an instructor
to show close - ups within his classroom to an airborne studio broadcasting to many states. Self-
contained classroom television system, camera, video tape recorder, radio and filmstrips offer exciting
possibilities for all sorts of teaching. Video tape would be of help in the class role-playing activities. The
varied capabilities of the computer could add an exciting instructional feature to simulation games in
Social Studies. Though the audio-visual devices have been known to improve and affect learning, the
expensive and relative sophistication of these devices have, to some extent, restricted their educational
use.

CHALKBOARD

The chalkboard is used to write outline or summary, to illustrate what the teacher intends to teach and
to draw sketches, maps and pictures. The teacher should note that whatever he or she writes on the
board should be clear visible, bold and legible. Where intended aids are not readily available, there is
the need to improvise and adapt materials for use in the class. It should be stressed that learning can be
less tedious and more functional, if efforts are made to identify and make extensive use of available
resources both material and human.

IMPROVISED MATERIALS

The National Teachers Institute (2006), defined improvisation as the making of substitute from
local materials when the real or original equipment is not available. It helps to make the lesson real to
the students; it creates opportunity for the students to participate in the provision of teaching materials
and help develop their skills of creativity and manipulation (Ololobou, 2010). Include motivation models
of an airplane, wall clock, or bird using cardboard sheets, sticks, carton etc. Other methods of
improvisation could be paper pulp making, clay molding, dry or wet mounting and many others

REFERENCES:

Funderstanding, & Funderstanding. (2023, June 27). Thematic instruction: Overview -

Funderstanding. Funderstanding: Education, Curriculum and Learning Resources - Just

another WordPress site. https://www.funderstanding.com/educators/thematic-instruction/

John J. Wallace (2007) Effects of Interdisciplinary Teaching Team Configuration upon the Social

Bonding of Middle School Students, RMLE Online, 30:5, 1-18, DOI:

10.1080/19404476.2007.11462038