ERIC Number: EJ1002606
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012
Pages: 5
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1056-0300
EISSN: N/A
Four Strategies for Teaching Open-Mindedness
Merryfield, Merry M.
Social Studies and the Young Learner, v25 n2 p18-22 Nov-Dec 2012
An open mind--the willingness to consider experiences, beliefs, values, perspectives, etc. that differ from one's own--allows the learner to explore how diverse people across the world think and act. Open-mindedness creates opportunities to rethink assumptions, identify misinformation, and consider alternative ways to make decisions. Open-mindedness is critical in teaching students to understand how contextual factors (economic, historical, religious, geographic, political, and technological) shape the way people in their own neighborhood, or across the world, think and live. In this article, the author shares four strategies for increasing open-mindedness that she has learned from teachers identified as exemplary global educators. These are methods that work best if used regularly in grades PreK-8, and they can be scaffolded to meet the developmental needs and backgrounds of specific students. These four strategies are the following: (1) Make cross-cultural interaction ordinary; (2) Challenge stereotyping, prejudgment, and overgeneralization; (3) Demonstrate ways to learn from ordinary people; and (4) Teach the habit of seeking out multiple perspectives. (Contains 6 online resources and 4 notes.)
Descriptors: Classroom Techniques, Consciousness Raising, Social Justice, Stereotypes, Cultural Pluralism, Interaction, Generalization, Intergroup Relations, Familiarity
National Council for the Social Studies. 8555 Sixteenth Street #500, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Tel: 800-683-0812; Tel: 301-588-1800: Fax: 301-588-2049; e-mail: membership@ncss.org; Web site: http://www.socialstudies.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Elementary Education; Grade 1; Grade 2; Grade 3; Grade 4; Grade 5; Grade 6; Grade 7; Grade 8; Middle Schools; Preschool Education
Audience: Teachers
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A