In this paper, I share the process of designing, implementing, and analyzing a community-based methods course alongside youth organizers, adult allies, and teacher candidates (TCs) through a critical qualitative research project. Informed by intergenerational grassroots community organizations, community-based pedagogy is a praxis to center the…

This study analyzes the use of community-based pedagogy in a social studies methods course to encourage teacher candidates to initiate similar practices in the classroom. Through a culturally sustaining framework, community-based pedagogy encourages teacher candidates to center the assets, knowledge, and experiences of students, families, and…

Accompanying a senior methods course, 19 teacher candidates at Southeastern Louisiana University participated in a semester-long social studies fifth grade mentorship at an International Baccalaureate World School. Teacher candidates identified factors they perceived to affect the success of the experiential learning experience through…

Although Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) has been a guiding framework for the development of novice teachers for decades, less attention has been paid to the PCK of teacher educators. This comparative case study analyzes the PCK of two social studies methods instructors as they teach the practice of facilitating historical discussions and…

Looking at the effects of globalization from numerous perspectives: economic, spatial, cultural, and environmental, it has become abundantly clear that today's students must possess geographic knowledge and associated skills to be prepared for civic life and informed decision-making. However, the current state of geographic proficiency among U.S.…

This study contributes to a body of research exploring sets of learning experiences for developing global competencies among middle childhood social studies teacher candidates. This multi-year study examines data related to teacher candidates' global knowledge, skills, and dispositions using a convergent parallel mixed methods design. Findings…

With a focus on methods courses, this article makes a case for social studies teacher educators to employ in their pedagogy an intersectional perspective. I ask social studies teacher educators to consider critical history monographs, specialized book-length studies that center on marginalized perspectives, as pedagogical tools that complement…

This conceptual article explores the use of threshold concepts to help pre-service teachers develop antiracist dispositions. Threshold concepts are "troublesome knowledge" within a discipline that serve as gateways to expanded modes of thinking about subject matter. Grappling with threshold concepts places learners in a liminal space as…

As a profession, we must have a shift in both perspective and practice to transform teaching at all levels. Are pre-service education classrooms preparing students to be flexible, adapt to new situations, and rely on their own expertise and understanding while seeking support when needed? Lieberman and Miller (2004) identify the following shifts…

This study advances our understanding of the role social studies methods courses can play in supporting pre-service teachers' development of their awareness of civic identities. Specifically, this study examines the use of interactive civic activities in developing preservice teachers' awareness of how their civic identities shape their social…

The present study examined preservice teachers' (N=47) perceptions and preparedness to teach for global mindedness and social justice. A phenomenological approach helped the researcher to gain deeper understanding of participants' perceptions of the effectiveness of instructional practices used in a social studies methods course. Of particular…

This article explores the researcher's use of field trips as an experiential learning tool in a social studies methods course as a pilot study. The researchers analyzed course evaluations and student reflection papers using document analysis to determine (a) the positive and negative aspects of utilizing field trips during the course, and (b) the…

Contextualized in the critical pedagogies of universal design for learning (UDL) and social justice education, our study aimed to equip teacher candidates (TCs) to provide students with equitable access to learning social studies content knowledge, skills, and processes as a way to equally empower all students to be civically engaged, and thus to…

In this study, we explore how preservice teachers utilized Twitter during one middle grades social studies methods course. Specifically, we analyzed how various Twitter assignments--following specific accounts, weekly communication with class members, and participation in #sschats--contributed to either "restricted" or…

This article introduces the social studies field to Dorothy Heatchote's Mantle of Expert (MOE). MOE is a dramatic inquiry approach used in several subject areas and can work at all levels in the social studies curriculum. The authors go into the development of using this approach in an elementary and middle teacher education program. After sharing…