Amy J. Good

From the Green Mile to the Yellow Brick Road: Using a Practical Model to Fill in the Social Studies Content Gaps

Since the inception of mandated testing in reading and mathematics, social studies instruction has been marginalized in elementary and middle schools. After the genesis of several state-mandated testing programs and nearly a decade after the launch of the No Child Left Behind legislation, the effects of limited K–8 social studies instruction are being recognized at the high school level, specifically in high school test score data. This article reveals the obstacles generated by marginalizing social studies in the elementary and middle schools and offers a model for helping teachers understand their role in offsetting the problems associated with early social studies marginalization. The article also provides a way to help teachers collaboratively fill the social studies content gaps.

Teaching Genocide through GIS: A Transformative Approach

Abstract The utilization of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and geobrowsers (Google Earth) have become increasingly prevalent in the study of genocide. These applications offer teachers and students the opportunity to analyze historical and contemporary genocidal acts from a critical geographic perspective in which the confluence of historical background, sociocultural perspective, and geospatial context further understanding. We provide three examples of Web-based tools and applications for exploring genocide through geography in a secondary social studies classroom. We then examine these tools through an instructional scaffold of transformative geography. In this practice piece, we propose that teachers and students move beyond the static, pejorative representations of geography to enact dynamic instruction that encourages discourse and social action.

Innovative Practices in Teacher Preparation and Graduate-Level Teacher Education Programs

Innovative Practices in Teacher Preparation and Graduate-Level Teacher Education Programs presents critical and relevant research on methods by which future educators in high-level courses are equipped and instructed in order to promote the best experience in academic scholarship. Featuring discussion on a diverse assortment of topics, such as social justice for English language learners, eld-based teacher education, and student satisfaction in graduate programs, this publication is directed at academicians, students, and researchers seeking modern research on the approaches taken by instructors to qualify and engage future educators.