An Outside Place for Social Studies.

Abstract

This article was motivated by Summer 2006 Canadian Social Studies: History Alive! Old Sources, New Technologies. In light of technological advancements, programs, and efforts to enhance social studies, it appears history educators have forgotten about and overlook the benefits of leading children to authentic, historical places that exist outside school settings. In many schools, social studies education has become strictly a classroom experience that is divorced from the community; consequently, students experience only the concept of content within the confines of the classroom. One strategy to transform curriculum requires teachers move away from a traditional mode of teaching and toward a partnership with their students as they create knowledge together within authentic places of learning.