Abigail Pelletier

EDU 371
Herzog
Article Review #1
7/21/14
Inquiry-Based Social Studies Article Review
The article that I chose from the University library is titled Constructing the Past:
Assessment of Elementary Preservice Teachers Perceptions about History, and it was written by
J.D. Ohn in the Journal Social Studies in 2013. I chose this article in particular for my
analytical review, because of its relevance and interesting subject matter. I also appreciated that
it was relatively recent and up to date. I believe that it relates directly to the studies curriculum
and instruction in elementary schools because it discusses an alternative or preferable method of
to implement into teaching social studies to not only make it more interesting, but also relatable.
In this article, Ohn discusses a study done where 134 preservice elementary school teachers were
required to do a class project using the inquiry based method. They were surveyed before and
after the experiment to see if their opinions, views or perceptions about history changed at all
after experiencing this. Their reflections were used to determine whether or not the inquiry
based methods were impactful.
Ohn also mentions that an inquiry based education is extremely important in social
studies and the current shift taking place. History is no longer relying so heavily on textbooks,
and the old fashioned importance and method of memorizing facts is fading. So called drill and
kill is no longer an acceptable way to teach social studies, and inquiry based social studies can
help to change the face of social studies and make it more dynamic as well. Ohn is quoted
saying engaging students in historical inquiry is an effective method to make history concrete
and meaningful for others. I strongly agree with his viewpoint, and I do think that students
would be more interested in inquiry-based social studies and it also allows multiple viewpoints
and perspectives to be analyzed and understood better. Ohn mentions the multi-faceted and
subjective aspect of social studies, and how inquiry can help students to find their own meaning
or come to their own conclusions about what has happened in the past as well as what is taking
place now.
In an inquiry-based classroom or curriculum, students are encouraged to discuss what
they would like to know about a topic or time period. This makes the material more personal to
them and likely they will be more engaged because they actually want to know what the answers
are to their questions. The first time that I was really presented with the idea of inquiry based
education was with a fourth grade teacher. She was very open about sharing new ideas and
methods she was implementing in the classroom and she discussed her experience with allowing
students to choose what topic they wanted to know more about. The subject science-specifically
weather, and they were able to choose what they wanted to research and do a follow up project
on. She discussed how they were so excited to learn about something that they found interesting,
and how the experience was very positive overall. Students were more engaged with the

materials and eager to share what they had learned with others. After hearing about her ideas
and methodology, I became very open to the idea of an inquiry-based education. I believe that
social studies would be a great area to implement inquiry as well.
When I was in elementary school, I truly did not learn much about social studies at all. I
remember coloring pages of Columbus in third grade and a little bit of history in middle school.
Unfortunately, my teacher was not very open to new or different ways of learning social studies.
He was a teaching principal at the school, and notorious for his monotone voice and being very
shy. This was not a very good combination for a rambunctious group of eighth graders. I had
him a couple of years in a row (sixth through eighth), and things unfortunately stayed
consistently boring and lifeless over that span of time. We were asked to read from a textbook
the required chapter(s) each morning and then complete the follow up questions then you could
go on the computer and play games (not even education I might add!). That was it! We had no
lesson for the day, no quizzes, no videos, no projects, no virtual tours, no plays, no reenactments
or anything of the sort. I actually look back now and wonder how this was acceptable at the
time. To say the least, I was uninterested in social studies and I had no desire to go to class each
morning and do the same routine. Sadly, my teacher had no interest in the subjects he taught (he
actually taught language arts for me as well). He was only teaching in this positon because of
the budget cuts, and you could tell he didnt have a love for teaching in general.
In my past schooling experience, I clearly did not experience an inquiry-based education
and I believe that I would have been much more interested in social studies if I was given the
chance to ask questions and become personally involved with what I was learning. If students
were given a chance to discuss what they would like to know, I think they would be much more
likely to develop a love for learning social studies. This week (week 3-chapter 10), we are
learning about different types of instructional methods and I tend to lean more towards the
student-centered approach. The importance of inquiry is also discussed, and this is really
reiterated throughout the article I reviewed.
I believe that I can apply the ideas discussed by the authors in designing social studies
curriculum and/or instruction by creating learning opportunities for my students where they can
decide what they want to know about a topic or time period in history. For example, I could start
a lesson by asking what students know and want to know. Then activities can be done or
research conducted where students can discover answers to their questions. One technique that
many of the teachers in the schools I work in use is a chart divided into three categories. They
are; What I Already Know, What I Want to Know, What I learned. The teacher works with
students to fill in this chart on a particular topic as they go. Students really understand the
concept of attaining knowledge and also begin to understand that learning can be fun, and that
their interests are important to teachers. This can also be beneficial in getting students to be
more involved and active in the classroom. Some may shy away from answering a question, but
few will be anxious to announce their questions to the class.
In conclusion, I support the findings and inferences that J.D. Ohn discusses in this article.
I find the information presented to be informative and useful, and I plan to implement this
methodology into my own future classroom. Inquiry-based education is shown to impact even

the way that preservice teachers perceive history, so just imagine how much it can benefit our
learners!

References
Ohn, J. D. (2013). Constructing the Past: Assessment of Elementary Preservice Teachers
Perception about History. Social Studies, 104(1), 15-22.
doi:10.1080/00377996.2011.644641