The Freedom to Teach: Contrasting History Teaching in Elective and State–Tested Courses

Policy in the Way of Practice: How Assessment Legislation Is Affecting Social Studies Curriculum and Instruction in Ohio

“…Teachers who value student-centered methods are modifying what they consider to be best practice in order to address external demands, while active teaching appears to be relegated to elective courses whose content is not part of the high-stakes tested curriculum (Gerwin & Visone, 2006). Generally, we found there is an insistent focus on breadth over depth.…”

“…Although the absence of a social studies test in Florida led Suzanne to focus on teaching her students literacy skills that were directly tested on the state exam, in Virginia the end-of-year state tests led Claire to cover the required curriculum for the courses she taught "at a brisk pace" (p. 354), as she would be personally held accountable for her students' test scores. In New York, Gerwin and Visone (2006) found that teacher instructional strategies differed in classrooms with tested and non-tested history courses, as teachers enjoyed the freedom to diversify strategies in elective classes, thus indirectly reporting constraints imposed on teaching by the presence of high-stakes tests.…”

Outliers: Elementary Teachers Who Actually Teach Social Studies

“…However, if these teachers are given autonomy but they choose not to teach social studies, then their students simply are not taught those topics (Farber 1991;Ingersoll 2003). In scenario two, a maverick teacher would need to prioritize the teaching of social studies despite the numerous pressures to spend her instructional time on other subjects (Gerwin and Visone 2006;Gradwell 2006;Pace 2011;van Hover 2006;Wills 2007). Under a third scenario, social studies would be tested at the elementary level, perhaps at multiple grade levels (Au 2007;Heafner et al 2006).…”

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

“…In some studies, the teachers emphasize rote memorization and test preparation in their state exam courses (Gerwin and Visone 2006) and spend a greater amount of time on teacher-centered learning (Vogler 2006). But like some ambitious teachers (Gradwell 2006), Bender and Kramer did not let the state exam inhibit their use of active learning exercises.…”