Program Level Outcomes

The professional portfolio developed by social studies students at Minnesota State University relates to the following program outcomes. Students demonstrate mastery knowledge and skill outcomes through their portfolio. The portfolios are assessed by the Social Studies Advisory Board which consists of three practicing secondary social studies teachers.

Outcomes

1. Content/Body of Knowledge.
   Students will:
   1. Understand the fundamental ways of thinking in each of the seven disciplines associated with social studies including methodology, competing theories and critical concepts, generalizations and questions.
   2. Understand important themes in the teaching of secondary social studies including:
      • culture and cultural diversity;
      • time, continuity and change: ways human beings view themselves in and over time;
      • people, places and environments;
      • individual development and identity;
      • interactions among individuals, groups and institutions;
      • how people create and change structures of power, authority, governance;
      • how people organize for production, distribution and consumption of goods and services;
      • relationships among science, technology and society;
      • global connections and interdependence;
      • ideals, principles, and practices of citizenship in a democratic society.
2. Skills.
   Students will be able to:
   1. Read critically and actively, social studies literature.
   2. Effectively apply information technologies to teaching secondary social studies.
   3. Apply multiple perspectives to understanding the social world in teaching secondary social studies.
   4. Develop strategies for promoting social responsibility among secondary social studies students.
   5. Relate with people of different age groups, different cultural, racial and ethnic groups and different gender.
   6. Apply an integrated understanding of concepts in the social sciences and history to teaching secondary social studies.
   7. Plan and provide a variety of learning opportunities to meet the developmental needs of diverse learners that challenge secondary social studies students to think critically and creatively, be active learners, and interact with fellow students.
   8. Design and use multiple assessment techniques that demand high level of performance among secondary social studies students.
3. Attitudes/Behaviors.
   Students will:
   1. Demonstrate a disposition to be involved in the political and civic life of the community.
   2. Demonstrate a disposition to be open to ideas different from their own.
   3. Express values indicative of intellectual curiosity, a disposition for logical thought and creative problem solving.
   4. Express values consistent with a concern that extends beyond personal fulfillment to the well being of others.
   5. Express values consistent with a commitment to personal and professional integrity.
4. Experiences/Applications.
   Students will:
   1. Demonstrate significant out of classroom global, multi-cultural, civic and community service experience.