Scott Waring | University of Central Florida (original) (raw)
Papers by Scott Waring
Advances in Early Childhood and K-12 Education, 2019
It is undeniable that students today are fundamentally different than those of previous generatio... more It is undeniable that students today are fundamentally different than those of previous generations and that many students of this generation do not enjoy history, as it is typically ranked as one of the least favorite subjects in K-12 schools. A large reason for this is the fact that much of the curriculum and instructional approaches are outdated and of little interest to students and do not mirror the approaches and methods employed by historians. As educators increasingly move towards teaching in online environments, it is critical that history educators structure instruction to meet the needs of the student, while making it effective, engaging, and authentic. This chapter focuses on ways that educators, in a mixed-mode or online environment, can attend to the four dimensions of the college, career, and civic life (C3) framework for social studies state standards: helping students in evaluating sources and using evidence, developing questions and planning inquiries, applying dis...
History teachers are continually seeking new ways in which they can actively involve their studen... more History teachers are continually seeking new ways in which they can actively involve their students and allow them to think more creatively. Creating local history projects allows students to look beyond the information on the pages of their text and forces them to look deeper into the history of their local environment. Properly constructed community and local history projects assist students in "actually doing history" and engage them in authentic activities directly related to the study of history. As educators, we need to utilize the communities in which we live, because they offer a wealth of opportunities for learning and continue to be one of the least tapped resources for social studies teaching (Martorella, 1998). Presented in this paper are methods and resources that can be used when conducting local histories in the K-12 classrooms in a manner encouraging students to engage in historical inquiry in authentic and meaningful ways.
Journal of Computing in Teacher Education, 2006
Current evidence indicates that the blended course delivery method can reduce costs, improve stud... more Current evidence indicates that the blended course delivery method can reduce costs, improve student academic performance, and improve instructor success in meeting course learning objectives when compared to face-to-face instruction. The present examination of best practices employed the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) (2000) quality benchmarks for Internet-based instruction as a framework for organizing 19 suggestions for designing and delivering blended courses. Results indicated that our specific faculty development experiences mirrored the more general IHEP framework.
... historians, it becomes the responsibility of the classroom teacher to create encounters with ... more ... historians, it becomes the responsibility of the classroom teacher to create encounters with various historical sources and firsthand accounts (Seixas, 1998). ... opportunity to investigate this list of web sites pertaining to the Battle of Lexington Green, they are asked to fill in sections ...
The Science Teacher, 2015
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Primary sources, as defined by the Library of Congress, are the "raw ... more [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Primary sources, as defined by the Library of Congress, are the "raw materials of history--original documents and objects which were created at the time under study" (Library of Congress, 2014, p. 1). Primary sources differ from secondary sources, which interpret events without the benefit of firsthand experience. While often employed in English, history, and social science courses, primary sources also can be used in science classes to help students acquire knowledge and become more engaged in their coursework, while supporting Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS Lead States 2013), Common Core State Standards (NGAC and CCSSO 2010), and 21st-century skills (Partnership for 21st Century Skills 2014). This article describes a framework called SOURCES (Waring 2014; Waring and Scheiner-Fisher 2014), which is an acronym for a series of steps teachers can follow to integrate primary sources in the science classroom. The unit we offer as an example has students address the question of whether Earthlings are alone in the universe. While this activity, which can be completed in five days, centers on Earth and space science, the method can easily be adapted for use in any science discipline. Using digital resources from the Library of Congress Among online repositories of primary sources, one of the most valuable is the Library of Congress. Among the LOC's digital collections is Finding Our Place in the Cosmos: From Galileo to Sagan and Beyond (see "On the web"). This online collection of artifacts illustrates how the human perspective of the universe, including ideas about extraterrestrial life, has changed over time. The collection includes perspectives of noted scientists such as Carl Sagan, an astrophysicist, writer, television personality, and professor who simplified astronomy, science, and math for the everyday person to understand. The artifacts include audio recordings, video and movie clips, manuscripts, books, notebooks, lectures, newspaper articles, sheet music, and more. These resources can help educators as they create integrated curricula that students can follow to address such questions as "Are we alone in the universe?" Learners can explore differing historical perspectives and then postulate and defend their own hypothesis or thesis statement based on available sources from the collection. In general, the collection is appropriate for use in middle grades through high school, though some manuscripts and notebooks have concepts and computations understandable only to students with advanced skills; however, with teacher scaffolding, even these items may still help novice learners understand perspectives on life beyond Earth without actually comprehending the computations. The vast collection may overwhelm some students, so the teacher may wish to provide these students with only selected parts of the collection to assess and analyze. Students may wish to work in groups with the teacher using the SOURCES framework to structure the inquiry process. The SOURCES framework The SOURCES framework for using primary sources has seven steps: 1. Scrutinize the fundamental source 2. Organize thoughts 3. Understand the context 4. Read between the lines 5. Corroborate and refute 6. Establish a plausible narrative 7. Summarize final thoughts 1. Scrutinize the fundamental source Before beginning instruction, the teacher should select a primary source that could be considered fundamental to the learners' understanding of Carl Sagan's perspective concerning our place in the universe and the possibility of extraterrestrial life. We have chosen for our fundamental source an audio recording of Sagan titled the Pale Blue Dot (see "On the web"), which is also the title of a Sagan book. This four-and-a-half-minute recording presents Sagan's thoughts about the Voyager spacecraft and the place of humans in the universe. …
Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 2015
In Hicks, Lee, Berson, Bolick, and Diem (2014), the authors revisited and revised a series of pri... more In Hicks, Lee, Berson, Bolick, and Diem (2014), the authors revisited and revised a series of principles focusing on the preparation of social studies teachers for using digital technologies in the classroom, originally presented in the inaugural issue of Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education (Mason et al., 2000). This commentary aims to extend dialog associated with the updated guidelines, through an enhanced discussion of each of the four revisioned principles within the context of time, technology, and teacher education. The authors’ efforts to more effectively guide the preparation of social studies educators in the utilization of technological applications in more useful, efficient, and appropriate ways is readily apparent and appreciated. In "Guidelines for Using Technology to Prepare Social Studies Teachers" (Hicks, Lee, Berson, Bolick, & Diem, 2014), the authors revisited and revised a series of principles focusing on the preparation of social stu...
Journal of Social Studies Education Research, 2017
The purpose of this study was to partially replicate the Historical Problem Solving: A Study of t... more The purpose of this study was to partially replicate the Historical Problem Solving: A Study of the Cognitive Process Using Historical Evidence study conducted by Sam Wineburg in 1991. The Historical Problem Solving study conducted by Wineburg (1991) sought to compare the ability of historians and top level students, as they analyzed pictures and written documents centered on the Battle of Lexington Green. In this version of the study, rather than compare historians and students, we sought out to compare the analytical skills of teachers and students. The main findings relate to the fact that the participants lacked the ability to engage in the very complex activities associated with historical inquiry and the utilization of primary sources in learning about the past. This lack of ability should be used to improve teacher professional development programs and help them develop the skills needed to not only engage in historical evaluation themselves but to also develop skills that wi...
Journal of Social Studies Education Research, 2015
As advocates of engaging students in historical inquiry and of the use of primary sources to aid ... more As advocates of engaging students in historical inquiry and of the use of primary sources to aid in this inquiry, we support the claims of numerous student benefits, such as learning to detect bias, appreciating the interpretive nature of historical thinking, and the drawing of conclusions based on judgments about evidence (Fehn
Computers in the Schools, 2010
As it has been shown that teachers of social studies content are less likely than teachers of oth... more As it has been shown that teachers of social studies content are less likely than teachers of other content areas to utilize technology in their classroom, this study focuses on one instructional technology coordinators’ beliefs towards technology, instruction, and students and how these beliefs impacted how technology was utilized during a technology-enriched community history project with a group of fourth-grade
… AND TEACHER EDUCATION …, 2008
The de-valuing of social studies is becoming prevalent as schools shift emphasis to other subject... more The de-valuing of social studies is becoming prevalent as schools shift emphasis to other subjects addressing national and state accountability. The teacher candidate perspective is presented from an original study regarding the de-emphasis of social studies in elementary schools (Rock, Heafner, O‟Connor, Passe, Oldendorf, Good, & Byrd, 2006). Teacher candidates gathered data Current Issues in Education Vol. 13 No. 4 2 during their clinical experiences, from five teacher preparation programs in North Carolina. Teacher candidates recognized difficulty in finding instructional time for the entire curriculum, conveyed social studies is de-valued in the elementary curriculum, stated integration is important to social studies instruction, and recognized it is their responsibility social studies is taught.
Advances in Early Childhood and K-12 Education, 2019
It is undeniable that students today are fundamentally different than those of previous generatio... more It is undeniable that students today are fundamentally different than those of previous generations and that many students of this generation do not enjoy history, as it is typically ranked as one of the least favorite subjects in K-12 schools. A large reason for this is the fact that much of the curriculum and instructional approaches are outdated and of little interest to students and do not mirror the approaches and methods employed by historians. As educators increasingly move towards teaching in online environments, it is critical that history educators structure instruction to meet the needs of the student, while making it effective, engaging, and authentic. This chapter focuses on ways that educators, in a mixed-mode or online environment, can attend to the four dimensions of the college, career, and civic life (C3) framework for social studies state standards: helping students in evaluating sources and using evidence, developing questions and planning inquiries, applying dis...
History teachers are continually seeking new ways in which they can actively involve their studen... more History teachers are continually seeking new ways in which they can actively involve their students and allow them to think more creatively. Creating local history projects allows students to look beyond the information on the pages of their text and forces them to look deeper into the history of their local environment. Properly constructed community and local history projects assist students in "actually doing history" and engage them in authentic activities directly related to the study of history. As educators, we need to utilize the communities in which we live, because they offer a wealth of opportunities for learning and continue to be one of the least tapped resources for social studies teaching (Martorella, 1998). Presented in this paper are methods and resources that can be used when conducting local histories in the K-12 classrooms in a manner encouraging students to engage in historical inquiry in authentic and meaningful ways.
Journal of Computing in Teacher Education, 2006
Current evidence indicates that the blended course delivery method can reduce costs, improve stud... more Current evidence indicates that the blended course delivery method can reduce costs, improve student academic performance, and improve instructor success in meeting course learning objectives when compared to face-to-face instruction. The present examination of best practices employed the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) (2000) quality benchmarks for Internet-based instruction as a framework for organizing 19 suggestions for designing and delivering blended courses. Results indicated that our specific faculty development experiences mirrored the more general IHEP framework.
... historians, it becomes the responsibility of the classroom teacher to create encounters with ... more ... historians, it becomes the responsibility of the classroom teacher to create encounters with various historical sources and firsthand accounts (Seixas, 1998). ... opportunity to investigate this list of web sites pertaining to the Battle of Lexington Green, they are asked to fill in sections ...
The Science Teacher, 2015
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Primary sources, as defined by the Library of Congress, are the "raw ... more [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Primary sources, as defined by the Library of Congress, are the "raw materials of history--original documents and objects which were created at the time under study" (Library of Congress, 2014, p. 1). Primary sources differ from secondary sources, which interpret events without the benefit of firsthand experience. While often employed in English, history, and social science courses, primary sources also can be used in science classes to help students acquire knowledge and become more engaged in their coursework, while supporting Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS Lead States 2013), Common Core State Standards (NGAC and CCSSO 2010), and 21st-century skills (Partnership for 21st Century Skills 2014). This article describes a framework called SOURCES (Waring 2014; Waring and Scheiner-Fisher 2014), which is an acronym for a series of steps teachers can follow to integrate primary sources in the science classroom. The unit we offer as an example has students address the question of whether Earthlings are alone in the universe. While this activity, which can be completed in five days, centers on Earth and space science, the method can easily be adapted for use in any science discipline. Using digital resources from the Library of Congress Among online repositories of primary sources, one of the most valuable is the Library of Congress. Among the LOC's digital collections is Finding Our Place in the Cosmos: From Galileo to Sagan and Beyond (see "On the web"). This online collection of artifacts illustrates how the human perspective of the universe, including ideas about extraterrestrial life, has changed over time. The collection includes perspectives of noted scientists such as Carl Sagan, an astrophysicist, writer, television personality, and professor who simplified astronomy, science, and math for the everyday person to understand. The artifacts include audio recordings, video and movie clips, manuscripts, books, notebooks, lectures, newspaper articles, sheet music, and more. These resources can help educators as they create integrated curricula that students can follow to address such questions as "Are we alone in the universe?" Learners can explore differing historical perspectives and then postulate and defend their own hypothesis or thesis statement based on available sources from the collection. In general, the collection is appropriate for use in middle grades through high school, though some manuscripts and notebooks have concepts and computations understandable only to students with advanced skills; however, with teacher scaffolding, even these items may still help novice learners understand perspectives on life beyond Earth without actually comprehending the computations. The vast collection may overwhelm some students, so the teacher may wish to provide these students with only selected parts of the collection to assess and analyze. Students may wish to work in groups with the teacher using the SOURCES framework to structure the inquiry process. The SOURCES framework The SOURCES framework for using primary sources has seven steps: 1. Scrutinize the fundamental source 2. Organize thoughts 3. Understand the context 4. Read between the lines 5. Corroborate and refute 6. Establish a plausible narrative 7. Summarize final thoughts 1. Scrutinize the fundamental source Before beginning instruction, the teacher should select a primary source that could be considered fundamental to the learners' understanding of Carl Sagan's perspective concerning our place in the universe and the possibility of extraterrestrial life. We have chosen for our fundamental source an audio recording of Sagan titled the Pale Blue Dot (see "On the web"), which is also the title of a Sagan book. This four-and-a-half-minute recording presents Sagan's thoughts about the Voyager spacecraft and the place of humans in the universe. …
Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 2015
In Hicks, Lee, Berson, Bolick, and Diem (2014), the authors revisited and revised a series of pri... more In Hicks, Lee, Berson, Bolick, and Diem (2014), the authors revisited and revised a series of principles focusing on the preparation of social studies teachers for using digital technologies in the classroom, originally presented in the inaugural issue of Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education (Mason et al., 2000). This commentary aims to extend dialog associated with the updated guidelines, through an enhanced discussion of each of the four revisioned principles within the context of time, technology, and teacher education. The authors’ efforts to more effectively guide the preparation of social studies educators in the utilization of technological applications in more useful, efficient, and appropriate ways is readily apparent and appreciated. In "Guidelines for Using Technology to Prepare Social Studies Teachers" (Hicks, Lee, Berson, Bolick, & Diem, 2014), the authors revisited and revised a series of principles focusing on the preparation of social stu...
Journal of Social Studies Education Research, 2017
The purpose of this study was to partially replicate the Historical Problem Solving: A Study of t... more The purpose of this study was to partially replicate the Historical Problem Solving: A Study of the Cognitive Process Using Historical Evidence study conducted by Sam Wineburg in 1991. The Historical Problem Solving study conducted by Wineburg (1991) sought to compare the ability of historians and top level students, as they analyzed pictures and written documents centered on the Battle of Lexington Green. In this version of the study, rather than compare historians and students, we sought out to compare the analytical skills of teachers and students. The main findings relate to the fact that the participants lacked the ability to engage in the very complex activities associated with historical inquiry and the utilization of primary sources in learning about the past. This lack of ability should be used to improve teacher professional development programs and help them develop the skills needed to not only engage in historical evaluation themselves but to also develop skills that wi...
Journal of Social Studies Education Research, 2015
As advocates of engaging students in historical inquiry and of the use of primary sources to aid ... more As advocates of engaging students in historical inquiry and of the use of primary sources to aid in this inquiry, we support the claims of numerous student benefits, such as learning to detect bias, appreciating the interpretive nature of historical thinking, and the drawing of conclusions based on judgments about evidence (Fehn
Computers in the Schools, 2010
As it has been shown that teachers of social studies content are less likely than teachers of oth... more As it has been shown that teachers of social studies content are less likely than teachers of other content areas to utilize technology in their classroom, this study focuses on one instructional technology coordinators’ beliefs towards technology, instruction, and students and how these beliefs impacted how technology was utilized during a technology-enriched community history project with a group of fourth-grade
… AND TEACHER EDUCATION …, 2008
The de-valuing of social studies is becoming prevalent as schools shift emphasis to other subject... more The de-valuing of social studies is becoming prevalent as schools shift emphasis to other subjects addressing national and state accountability. The teacher candidate perspective is presented from an original study regarding the de-emphasis of social studies in elementary schools (Rock, Heafner, O‟Connor, Passe, Oldendorf, Good, & Byrd, 2006). Teacher candidates gathered data Current Issues in Education Vol. 13 No. 4 2 during their clinical experiences, from five teacher preparation programs in North Carolina. Teacher candidates recognized difficulty in finding instructional time for the entire curriculum, conveyed social studies is de-valued in the elementary curriculum, stated integration is important to social studies instruction, and recognized it is their responsibility social studies is taught.