Deep and Fragile Knowledge

Within a classroom, there is several different types of knowledge. One type of knowledge is inert knowledge which can be defined as knowledge that is used on a test but is not retained for much longer. Naive knowledge requires very simple explanations. Ritual knowledge is a type of routine that will work within your classroom but not outside the classroom. A deeper understanding requires the students to be able to explain what they learned, give new example about what they learned, apply what they learned to new concepts, justify how they came to their answer, and make generalizations. In a classroom, to reach a deeper understanding, the teacher must create an environment that promotes positive learning and interactions. The information must be interesting and not just read off of a slide or out of a textbook. Deeper understanding goes hand-in-hand with Bloom's Taxonomy. In Bloom's Taxonomy, higher order thinking is essential and very hard to reach.

What is Social Studies?

There are many misconceptions about what social studies really is. From reading several articles, I have come across the true meaning of what social studies is and it's main purpose. Social studies is the study of a variety of different subjects such as language arts, science, mathematics, geography, history, and sociology. The goal of all of these subjects is to create civil competence. In order to create civil competence, the educators who teach these subjects need to be able to convey to their students that they need to use their knowledge about the community and the nation to understand our democratic republic. In school systems, there are K-12 programs. In the primary levels, the units are more structured around various themes. In middle and higher levels, the curriculum is more structured.