SOCIAL STUDIES CLASSES LEAD TO CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS 1

Social Studies Classes Leads to Critical Thinking Skills

Arly Rodriguez

Manhattan College

Education 206

Sr. Mary Ann Jacobs

November 19, 2021

SOCIAL STUDIES CLASSES LEAD TO CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS 2

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to understand the reasons why students in high school

are disengaged in social studies classes. Understanding this then allows teachers to try to create

solutions. In this research the solution I am proposing is to connect the content to modern day

issues. Students will feel more engaged in these classes because they will understand the benefit

of learning past issues. Which is that it will help them understand what has shaped our society

today. This connection can be done through classroom debates. Which can lead to students

making more of an initiative to make changes. Learning about current issues allows students to

understand how it impacts people's lives. In addition, learn why it is necessary to stand up

against these issues.

SOCIAL STUDIES CLASSES LEAD TO CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS 3

Social Studies Classes Lead to Critical Thinking Skills

In high school I took several different history classes. Most students were engaged in U.S

Government and Politics. We enjoyed the course more because the topics we discussed in class

directly impacted us. Especially since in my senior year we were discussing the election of 2020.

In the class we kept up with the polls and discussed the debates that candidates would do. But

most importantly we were learning about the electoral process since most of the seniors would be

voting in the 2020 presidential election. Most of the students in my high school were never

engaged in other social studies courses like history. My classmates used to always ask “Why do

we have to take four years of history?”. They made comments that the classes were “boring” or

useless. I felt this until my junior year. For the first two years of high school the history classes I

took had the same procedure every day. Which was a do now, lecture and annotating a reading

and answering questions. It was disengaging to listen to a long lecture and read every day. In

addition, the classes were focused on teaching us the material to pass the regents exam in June.

The last two months of these classes were test prep every day. I recall that in one class we would

have to complete packets everyday just to prepare for the regents. As a result of this it felt like

we were learning to pass an exam therefore, we just had to memorize everything and pass the

test. After, we passed the test the information was no longer going to be useful so we would just

forget it.

Now that I am a social studies adolescent major and taking higher level history classes I

understand the importance of taking history classes. Studying the causes and outcomes of past

events allow individuals to understand similar issues that are currently going on in the world.

High School history classes should not be focused on preparing students for an exam. These

courses should be intended to allow students to make connections with today’s society. But also,
SOCIAL STUDIES CLASSES LEAD TO CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS 4

should allow them to express how they feel about certain issues. The problem with having

students memorize information is that they will eventually forget. But also, never understand

what the value and purpose was of learning it. In this research paper the following questions will

be addressed: How can teachers, teach social studies in a more engaging way? And why is it

important for students to take social studies classes?

The Research

To begin, it is important to understand why students are not engaged in social studies

classes to create solutions to those issues. John J. Chiodo and Jeffery Byford published an article

called “Do They Really Dislike Social Studies? A Study of Middle School and High School

Students”. What sparked their interest in researching this topic was that most students were

found to be disengaged in their social studies classes and often described them as “boring”

(Chiodo, 2004, p.18). For their research they interviewed students from eighth and eleventh

grade. This allowed them to analyze how the perspective of a middle scholar could be different

from a high school student. As a result of this research, they were able to find out why these

students from different grades are disengaged in their social studies classes.

During the interviews students discussed what could be done so that their classes would

more engaging. Both the eighth graders and eleventh graders stated that they would prefer for

teachers to use different forms of teaching methods (Chiodo, 2004, p.20). Most social studies

classes rely on textbooks for the information but also for the questions students get asked during

class (Caron, 2004, p.11). As a result of this social studies classes become dependent on

textbooks which then does not allow students to have the capability of using higher thinking

skills to be more creative. Then, the eleventh graders expressed interest in being able to debate

issues in the classroom (Chiodo, 2004, p.20). If students can debate more in their classes, then
SOCIAL STUDIES CLASSES LEAD TO CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS 5

they could connect what they are learning to modern day problems. In the article it states that

“teaching with discussion enables students to develop an understanding of a specific issue,

enhance critical thinking skills and to improve interpersonal skills” (Chiodo, 2004, p.20). Critical

thinking skills could also be used in other subjects such as English, but it could be beneficial in

decisions made in our everyday lives. Students should be presented with questions that do not

have one answer and help them to analyze current societal issues (Caron, 2004, p.5). Questions

that drive thinking and are not easy to answer are the type of questions that make students remain

engaged.

Therefore, the eleventh graders expressed an interest in civic courses because it helped

them understand politics which directly impacts their lives (Chiodo, 2004, p.20). Helping

students understand how politics and their government functions allow them to make informed

decisions. These courses can also increase their interest in political participation. This is

extremely important because elections are crucial to our society and impact everyone.

Similarly, Edward Caron published the article “The Impact of a Methods Course on

Teaching Practices: Implementing Issues- Centered Teaching in the Secondary Social Studies

Classroom” which promotes the use of teaching social studies with difficult questions that make

students think about modern world issues. With the use of issue-centered lessons, teachers will

move away from the typical classroom setting which is listening to a lecture and taking notes

(Caron, 204, p.5). This is the set up for most history classes which leads to students feeling bored

because they do not understand why they have to learn about the past. The teachers that used this

method of teaching were astonished to see how engaged their students were in the classroom

(Caron, 2004, p.11). Therefore, creating an issued centered classroom, allows for students to

remain engaged with the course.

SOCIAL STUDIES CLASSES LEAD TO CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS 6

Finally, students would benefit academically if social studies classes included

opportunities for students to debate. Ruth Kennedy published the article “In-Class Debates:

Fertile Ground for Active Learning and the cultivation of Critical Thinking and Oral

Communication Skills” which describes the advantages of using debates in class. To participate

in debates students must have knowledge about what they are discussing which allows them to

apply that new knowledge to other situations which develops critical thinking skills (Kennedy,

2007, p.184). Therefore, using debates in the classroom does not move students away from

learning the academic content they must learn by the end of the year. So, then it allows students

to apply that content to current issues. A benefit of debating is that students gain the ability to

feel empathy (Kennedy, 2007, p.184). Developing a feeling of empathy is necessary to

understand the seriousness of current day issues and how it impacts certain groups of people. The

use of debates in social studies class can lead to a better understanding of the world we live in.

Devising a Plan

The plan being proposed in this paper is to center the focus of social studies to

understanding the way our current society functions. Through debates students are given the

opportunity to discuss current events. Current issues place more value in their lives than issues in

the past. The reason why is because they have the chance to make change but also have a way to

discuss how they feel about it. Therefore, in my future classes I want to implement the use of

debates at least one a week. This could be an effective way of summarizing what was learned

that week and using critical thinking skills to connect past issues to present ones. The use of

debates will improve students' listening, speaking, and thinking skills. These are skills that will

be used in other classes and are valuable skills that will be used throughout their lives.
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Public speaking can be a challenge for most students, and I understand this since I was

always a shy student. I want to begin these debates by pairing up students. Debates should start

almost two weeks after the school year begins. It is important how you pair up your students.

One of the student’s should be more talkative and the other one should be a quieter student.

Pairing up two students that are very quiet, is not the best idea because it will most likely lead to

no discussion amongst them. Every week these pairs can discuss an issue for about ten minutes

on Fridays. During these debates the students will then receive a worksheet in which they will

write down important points made during the discussion. During these discussions, the teacher

should walk around and make sure each student is talking. If one group is quiet the teacher

should encourage them to speak by asking them a question. Then, about two months later,

change the pairs into groups of four students. For this you can just take two of the pairs made

previously and put them in a group. This is another step necessary in getting students ready to

have a class discussion. You do not want your students to go into the classroom discussion

feeling nervous because they had not had the chance to practice beforehand. They will use the

same worksheet they had as a pair. By the last two months of the year classroom debates should

start. For these debates it is important to let the students prepare ahead of time. Therefore, the

day before the debate, tell students to create at least three different questions they can ask during

the debate. This will allow students to go into the debate feeling more confident. These debates

will help students for previous debates and prepare them for future presentations.

To connect this to the current standard I am working on, which is understanding the

beliefs and practices of different religions and belief systems. Religions and belief systems still

exist and directly impact the lives of people. For instance, there are still many religions that are

marginalized and persecuted against. Therefore, I chose to begin with teaching Judaism first.
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One of my slides is dedicated to different points in history that Jews have been persecuted

against because of their religious beliefs. By the end of the week that I teach about Judaism, I

could have my students in pairs discuss these persecutions. You can tell them to bring in an

article about a religious group that is being persecuted and they can discuss this with each other.

This allows students to understand what persecution is, but it also allows them to get an

understanding of what is going on in the world right now. Encouraging students to research a

topic and read about it increases their awareness of issues they may not even know are going on.

As educators it is important to discuss these issues. These issues may impact the students

in your classroom, and you are allowing them to discuss how they feel in a safe environment.

Learning about other religions and beliefs allows students to understand that different beliefs are

acceptable, and that people should not be discriminated against because of that. This creates the

feeling of empathy that is important as Ruth Kennedy discussed.

Limitations and Next Step

For this research I would have liked to be in a classroom of middle school students or

high schoolers to get their input of what would engage them more in their social studies classes.

To add on, I would have liked to know if my plan for debates would have worked. Something

else that I would like to know if eight graders would be interested in debates like high school

students are. One of the limitations of wanting to teach this type of way is that it may not be

preparing students for the regent’s examinations required in New York City. Debates take more

time than lecturing which could eventually lead to us falling behind with meeting the standards.

Due to this lectures are typically used more because they ensure that the class is on track with

knowing everything that the standards require. It can also be difficult for some students to
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discuss their opinions. Which could then make some students feel uncomfortable and left out.

Debates about sensitive topics can also become problematic if people do not agree with a

comment that has been made. But I do think that creating a safe environment in the beginning of

the school year could help with that. Teaching students about respecting their classmates'

opinions is necessary as well. Teaching them the statements “I agree with….” or “I disagree

with….” is important for any class. Therefore, the skills students will learn can be applied to a

variety of different situations and our job as educators is to teach them valuable skills. Valuable

skills will stick with students for the rest of their lives.
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References

Caron, E. (2004). The impact of a methods course on teaching practices: Implementing issues-

centered teaching in the secondary social studies classroom. Journal of Social Studies

Research, 28(2), 4-19. Retrieved from http://www.library.manhattan.edu/login?

url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/impact-methods-course-on-teaching-

practices/docview/211136810/se-2?accountid=12258

Chiodo, J. J., & Byford, J. (2004). Do they really dislike social studies? A study of middle school

and high school students. Journal of Social Studies Research, 28(1), 16-26. Retrieved

from http://www.library.manhattan.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-

journals/do-they-really-dislike-social-studies-study/docview/211065996/se-2?

accountid=12258

Kennedy, R. (2007). In-class debates: Fertile ground for active learning and the cultivation of

critical thinking and oral communication skills. International Journal of Teaching &

Learning in Higher Education, 19(2).