GATEways to Teacher Education

A journal of the Georgia Association of Teacher Educators their post-secondary education” and to support students in becoming adults who are “model citizens” who “make informed decisions to vote and use their voice” (Field Notes, May 2021). Additionally, participants shared that they believed that the purpose of social studies is to “teach kids the foundation of human interaction and to explain how the world works,” to be able to “comprehend one’s own history and culture and that of others” and “to teach the rights and duties of citizenship” through “logic reasoning, civic understanding, economic understanding, and the ability to contextualize histories” (Field Notes, May 2021). These sentiments highlight participants’cognizance of how the goal of teaching social studies should extend beyond what is formally assessed in school, and how content can be applied to participate in democratic and civic life.

Next, participants were asked to provide their definitions of lecture as an instructional method. Responses included, “at the base level, [lecture is] content-based instruction given verbally to students; it is enhanced by PowerPoints, slideshows, media and guided notes,” “distribution of information from teacher to student,” “Guiding an [sic] student through content by providing context and support,” “Direct instruction from the teacher to the students,” “teaching standing in front of a classroom with a PowerPoint for 30 minutes to give information,” and “lecture plus–discussion, think-pair-share, breaking up the monotony of me speaking at them for 20-30 minutes” (Field Notes, April 2021). All of these definitions emphasized the role of the teacher in conveying information to students through verbal communication with some student participation. These definitions also highlight some of the teachers’use of technology to enhance lectures based on their understanding of the needs of their students. Overall, the majority of participants defined lecture in the traditional sense that focused on teacher transmission of information to students. Subsequently, respondents were asked to explain why they chose to lecture when teaching social studies. One participant noted, “once students are given the opportunity to express an interest in social studies; it’s usually due to them having an engaging teacher that has made it interesting for them, while connecting to something important in their lives” (Field Notes, April 2021). Another respondent noted that a “healthy balance” of lecture with other instructional methods is a way to get students to “buy in” to learning content (Field Notes, May 2021). Two participants mentioned that as undergraduate history majors, they were taught via the lecture method; one participant stated that they “Lean on the ways we were taught–PowerPoints, notes” (Field Notes, May 2021). Moreover, one respondent highlighted the issue of being a new teacher, stating “it was easier to just lecture. It was a crutch” (Field Notes, April 2021). Ultimately, the participants’decision to lecture was influenced by their familiarity with the method due to their previous experiences as students in history courses and their beliefs that lecture could function as a means to spark student interest in social studies content.

Participants discussed their views on the benefits and limitations of lecture as an instructional method. According to the survey, 71.43% of respondents reported that they believed lecture was pedagogically appropriate and effective for teaching their students social studies. As stated by one participant, lecture is a method in which teachers “get to show students what they need to know…[by getting] to the point” (Field Notes, May 2021). Another