University Class Hosts New Jersey Social Studies Coordinator

In February, Ashley Woolsey-Greene, social studies coordinator in the Office of Standards at the New Jersey Department of Education, presented a session for students in EDST 3003 – an elementary social studies methods course. This was the second time she has worked with Seton Hall students this year. Her focus was on the New Jersey Student Learning Standards (NJSLS) for Social Studies.

Describing the importance of Woolsey-Greene’s visit, James Daly, Ed.D. a professor in the Department of Educational Studies within the College of Human Development, Culture, and Media, said, “Standards are widely misunderstood, by families, community leaders, even educators.” As a result, the concept of social studies itself can become a controversial topic. That’s why “understanding the standards, and how they can be used in planning, delivering and assessing instruction is essential to educator and student success,” added Daly.

During the session, Daly said that the class worked in small groups and analyzed performance expectations while also designing lesson plans. “In the social studies standards, the performance expectations describe the knowledge and skills students are expected to demonstrate at the end of instruction,” noted Daly. “Each group was given a disciplinary practice, another feature in the standards, to use as the guiding framework for their lesson to ensure it was skill-driven and student-centered.”

Included in social studies disciplinary practices are developing questions and planning inquiry, gathering and evaluating sources, seeking diverse perspectives, developing claims and using evidence, presenting arguments and explanations, engaging in civil discourse and critiquing conclusions, and taking informed action. Woolsey-Greene’s session sought to bring these practices to the students so they are better prepared to deliver productive social studies lessons. “As each group shared their proposed lessons with the entire class, it was evident that the future elementary educators were able to better understand and apply the standards because of Ms. Woolsey-Greene’s presentation,” said Daly.

Reflecting on the session, student Jodiann Morgan said that she “truly enjoyed scaffolding and debunking the framework of social studies.” She also was “allowed to explore more themes and concepts of social studies and I was able to witness the breakdown of the five disciplines of social studies.” Student Olivia Bernhart described the session as eye opening because it gave her the ability to communicate social studies lessons to students in a more impactful way. “I do not want to teach it the way I was taught,” she said. Instead, she would use what she learned from the session to make her lessons more memorable for students so they can learn more than she did as a young student.

About the College of Human Development, Culture, and Media

Seton Hall’s College of Human Development, Culture, and Media activates the synergies of communication, education, and media to equip the change makers of tomorrow with cutting-edge skills that drive social innovation. Through our interdisciplinary approach to learning, our graduate programs embrace today’s digital culture while training students to lead and solve pressing problems in their chosen field as well as society. Graduates are prepared to practice in a multi-media world — whether that be as a multi-media communicator, teacher, counselor, psychologist, school or law enforcement leader. Visit here for more information on our Department of Educational Studies.

Categories: Education