Reflections on Social Science: Personal Insights
To start with, this is reflective essay about social science. So social science is an active and multi-faceted subject with both History and Geography that will be taught in Social Science. History and Geography should be taught and assessed during every term. History and geography will be both tested separately and taught separately the values of South Africa are taught in history. Human rights, leadership peace. History brings together information. Geography teaches leaners the skills that are needed for interpreting visual information. Physical and human geography. Where people live. People can ask when, who, what, where, why after being taught these two subjects. Ask questions and identify issues. If social science is taught correctly it can help to develop critical thinking and skills. Social science will help the learners how to read a map and how a map works. The learners will carry that knowledge with them until they are done with school.
By teaching Social Science in the Intermediate phase will have an important role in a student’s life. It will benefit in the future. How to use keys on a map one day and to know the importance of history about something and understand why and how thins happened.
Social science aims to provide opportunities for the students to look at their own worlds with critical thoughts. Learners will develop knowledge demands that learners will be confident as a result of in – depth learning. Leaners learn how to debate, make connections and to select. Learners get good insights and insights that is why it is important that social science needs to be integrated.
Social science teachers can make a positive impact. A social science teacher needs to be passionate and motivating the learners to give them courage in the and out the classroom to become the best they can be. Social science teachers can support the learners and show affection that they care for the students. ‘’lesson plans and work schedule’s must be according to Department of education ,2011document'. Social science teachers should be the winner of the subject and use all resources available to ensure that the learners understand the importance of the subject.
Social science teachers should always have newspapers available in the classroom for the learners to use in activities and pictures to use. Access to a DVD or CD player for audio and visual material for the learners, about a topic to get their attention, and make the lesson more interesting. Maps for the learners about their local area. It is important that there is a balance between History and Geography with visuals arts in the classroom. Portrayals of historic figures, maps and mind maps. Most of the space available in the classroom, should be used to promote and intrigue. In the classroom displays of historical artefacts and geographic features are interesting. Social science teachers can change a learner view about the past and that is why a social science teacher need to be confidence about the work and understand the content and can make a positive impact on why social science should be integrated.
Why learners need to have rich source opportunities in schools and is a social science classroom? If the learners have skype in the classrooms they can have a skype conversation with a guest speaker who cannot make it to class and can assist the learners over skype and answering their questions that they may have. The speaker can talk about where people live and the difference between the places and can give examples of the places.
There are different ways to use rich source opportunities. Auditory opportunities can be used that the learners m ay listen to the text out loud that may be diverse students; asking and answering questions from the audio that is being played in the classroom. Like doing a listening comprehension with the learners in the classroom or participating in a debate about the news that were on the radio or being played in the classroom. The audio can also be used to play a sound of the different transport in different places.
Using Visual resources. Giving the learners activities by using a dictionary to find certain words or to gain a better knowledge about something the learners does not understand. The learners can design a poster, the learners can match the name to the correct photo of a village, towns, farms and cites
By showing the students pictures in the class on the projector can give them a better understanding and can give them an idea of what they were imagining and know seeing it makes it better for their understanding. The learners can draw something. Pictures of the different places will help them see the bigger picture in and to draw their own village. Giving learners the opportunity to use the internet to see how people live and get information for a task will help to make an engaging social science classroom. Access to internet is a rich source that schools should have available for the learners.
Learners need books to learn. Having the correct text books in class and let the learners read the story or the questions in the work book will improve their vocabulary as well and get the learners involve by talking and discussing. The learners that is reading with brail can use a brail dictionary. That is why it is important that learners need rich source opportunities to be able to use things for the brail. The learners can use respond cards in order to respond to a question maybe the learners that is deaf and can only read. They can answer by using the respond card and showing it in the Social Science class.
Overall, there are enough ways to improve student learning at the Faculty of Social Sciences. These methods/ways can be easily implemented in the form of online learning. It is extremely important to continue to study social sciences qualitatively and to develop them!
