Lorrei DiCamillo

To Simulate or Not To Simulate? Investigating Myths about Social Studies Simulations

While some educators assert that classroom simulations assist students in learning history, others posit that simulations can trivialize the past for students. In this article the authors argue there are many myths about simulations and that simulations are a defensible teaching activity if teachers enact them to encourage students’ interest in historical topics and challenge them to think critically and develop empathy for people who lived in the past. The authors draw on their research in two middle level teachers’ classes and the research of others to explore six myths about simulations. They also offer recommendations for teachers interested in creating educative simulations.

Using Simulations to Teach Middle Grades U.S. History in an Age of Accountability.

Abstract In this year-long qualitative study we explore the case of two eighth grade U.S. History teachers who use simulations on a regular basis to teach heterogeneously-grouped students in a high-stakes testing environment. We describe the purposes the teachers espoused for implementing simulations and provide detailed portraits of three types of simulations used: role-play, game, and trial. We argue that because the ambitious teachers know their discipline well, see the potential of all their students, and feel that learning rather than testing should drive instructional decision-making, they are able to engage and challenge their students with historical simulations. This study adds to the sparse field of simulation research and to the emerging literature on ambitious history teaching. It also shows educators what is pedagogically possible in teaching history.

Preparing Citizens for Multicultural Democracy in a U.S. History Class

The authors extend the literature on multicultural democratic citizenship education (Marri, 2005) with a case study about how a highly esteemed high school teacher involved a heterogeneous group of students in a rigorous, engaging, critical study of U.S. History. Mr. Scotts teaching was noteworthy in its community building, thorough disciplinary content and deliberative pedagogies, yet obstacles to student engagement persisted. This study illustrates powerful pedagogical practice that informs research and practice and reveals ongoing challenges in high school teaching, even in a supportive environment. It adds to the research on teaching for multicultural citizenship and provides descriptive examples of how powerful pedagogical practice (Shulman, 1987) can be combined with multicultural democratic citizenship education (Banks, 1993; Parker, 1996).

How Professional Development Schools Can Help to Create Friendly Environments for Teachers to Integrate Theory, Research, and Practice

he professional development school (PDS) model has much to offer preservice teachers, inservice teachers, and P-12 students. The PDS learning community, formed through the collaboration of a college-based teacher preparation program with its P-12 partners, emerged in the 1980s from the work of the Holmes Group. The Holmes Croup proposed the formation of multi-purpose schooluniversity partnerships, comparable to the teaching hospitals of medical schools, with a focus on both education and research (Harris & van Tassell, 2005). Recently, “a new consensus has emerged” that teacher quality is the key factor in student achievement and educational improvement (Cochran-Smith, 2006, p. 106). PDSs provide an ideal way to sustain the commitment and knowledge of classroom teachers and college faculty through their involvement in inquiry and reflective practice (Shroyer, Yahnke, Bennett, & Dunn, 2007). Resources associated with PDS networks can help to overcome concerns about time, rewards, bureaucracy, and budgets (Trachtman, 2007), so that teachers feel supported in their professional development efforts. This article will describe three PDS projects supported by our college that were particularly effective in creating supportive environments to assist classroom teachers in integrating theory, research, and practices to provide high-quality education for their students. Each project took place at a different school, and the content was specific to that school’s particular priorities. These projects were powerful catalysts for engaging teachers in examining their own practice, studying new research and theory, and adapting their practices as a result of reflection and new learning. College faculty, school administrators, and student teachers were partners in this journey and also benefited in many ways. However, our focus will be on describing how these projects benefited the classroom teachers. The first project, a collaborative action research project, demonstrated to student teachers, classroom teachers, and college faculty how collaborative inquiry can benefit all parties. The second project, a Teachers’ Book Club, became an engaging form of professional development for exploring the needs of diverse students. Julie Jacobs Henry, Anne Marie Tryjankowski, Lorrei DiCamillo, and Nancy Bailey Julie Jacobs Henry is Chair and Associate Professor, Department of Education; Anne Marie Tryjankowski is Assistant Professor, Department of Graduate Education and Leadershim and Lorrei DiCamillo and Nancy Bailey are Assistant Professors, Department of Adolescence Education, Canisius College, Buffalo, New York.