EDUC 637 Literature Review InstructionsGeneral Overview Please read the instructions and rubric for the Literature Review assignment BEFORE you sign-up for a topic. You will want to select a topic wisely so you will be able to identify 5 trends in your research. For this assignment, you will select a topic in the general area of social studies instruction in middle grade education and examine accompanying literature related to that topic to identify the latest trends and issues. Ultimately, you will compile these results into a PowerPoint presentation of around 10 slides to identify these trends.Learning Objective You will develop a presentation identifying general trends in middle-grade social studies education associated with a set of articles in the content area.Assignment Process 1. Begin classifying and compiling articles and sub-topics into groups of information for presentation (note 5 trends). 2. You should have scanned at least 30 articles in the process, which then need to be provided as part of this assignment in an attached bibliography list. 3. The final product should be a PowerPoint presentation consisting of: a. a minimum of 10 but not to exceed 20 slides b. 5 trends related to your topic (a paragraph or 2 on each trend) c. identify issues with the type of research and/or writing undertaken d. identify gaps in the research by identifying areas for further research on the trend e. bibliography submitted as a Word document of about 30 articles in APA format 4. The final product is to be submitted by 11:59 p.m. (ET) in Sunday of Module 4. Topic · Effective Testing Strategies in Social Studies Literature Review Integrated Learning in Social Studies Education Based on the literature reviewed for this assignment, there seems to be a fairly widely-held consensus (though largely anecdotal (see Research Methodology Issues)) among many education professionals that social studies, when integrated with other subjects, increases one's ability to learn more effectively across a broad range of subject matter. Nuthall (1999), for example, analyzed the learning habits of five students in an integrated science and social studies unit on Antarctica. His study concluded that the integration of these two subjects allowed students to acquire new knowledge in each of the disciplines that may not have been similarly acquired had the courses been taught separately. Educators in other areas of study have conveyed similar anecdotal results concerning their respective areas of study as well. Matheus' (2000) study on using an integrated content social studies class as a means of developing problem-solving skills also cites the validity of integrated social studies curriculum. The author concludes that the integration of social studies curriculum with other subject matter creates connecting pathways between each which can apply across disciplines and even beyond the classroom. Theodore Kaltsounis (1990) also concludes that, although.

1. EDUC 637
Literature Review InstructionsGeneral Overview
Please read the instructions and rubric for the Literature Review
assignment BEFORE you sign-up for a topic. You will want to
select a topic wisely so you will be able to identify 5 trends in
your research.
For this assignment, you will select a topic in the general area
of social studies instruction in middle grade education and
examine accompanying literature related to that topic to identify
the latest trends and issues. Ultimately, you will compile these
results into a PowerPoint presentation of around 10 slides to
identify these trends.Learning Objective
You will develop a presentation identifying general trends in
middle-grade social studies education associated with a set of
articles in the content area.Assignment Process
1. Begin classifying and compiling articles and sub-topics into
groups of information for presentation (note 5 trends).
2. You should have scanned at least 30 articles in the process,
which then need to be provided as part of this assignment in an
attached bibliography list.
3. The final product should be a PowerPoint presentation
consisting of:
a. a minimum of 10 but not to exceed 20 slides
b. 5 trends related to your topic (a paragraph or 2 on each trend)
c. identify issues with the type of research and/or writing
undertaken
d. identify gaps in the research by identifying areas for further

2. research on the trend
e. bibliography submitted as a Word document of about 30
articles in APA format
4. The final product is to be submitted by 11:59 p.m. (ET) in
Sunday of Module 4.
Topic
· Effective Testing Strategies in Social Studies
Literature Review
Integrated Learning in Social Studies Education
Based on the literature reviewed for this assignment, there
seems to be a fairly widely-held consensus (though largely
anecdotal (see Research Methodology Issues)) among many
education professionals that social studies, when integrated with
other subjects, increases one's ability to learn more effectively
across a broad range of subject matter. Nuthall (1999), for
example, analyzed the learning habits of five students in an
integrated science and social studies unit on Antarctica. His
study concluded that the integration of these two subjects
allowed students to acquire new knowledge in each of the
disciplines that may not have been similarly acquired had the
courses been taught separately. Educators in other areas of
study have conveyed similar anecdotal results concerning their
respective areas of study as well.

3. Matheus' (2000) study on using an integrated content social
studies class as a means of developing problem-solving skills
also cites the validity of integrated social studies curriculum.
The author concludes that the integration of social studies
curriculum with other subject matter creates connecting
pathways between each which can apply across disciplines and
even beyond the classroom.
Theodore Kaltsounis (1990) also concludes that, although there
could be more research to establish the validity of this widely-
held claim, integrated social studies units can indeed enhance
higher-level skills such as critical thinking, problem solving,
and decision making.
Trend 1
Integrating social studies with other curriculum as a means of
acquiring knowledge and problem solving
Research Methodology Issues: Although, as stated previously,
there does indeed seem to be a consensus among educators in
the affirmative, the value of integrated social studies curriculum
as a means of promoting successful learning across disciplines
seems to be lacking the substantive research with which to
definitively validate such a claim. As Kaltsounis (1990) noted
in his own research, “Although there is a considerable amount
of research in the various individual subjects…there is limited
research on how to integrate the various subjects in order to
enhance teaching and learning in social studies.” Although
such research may indeed exist elsewhere, given his limited
resources and knowledge, this author was unable to locate any
current evidence that this research has indeed been conducted.
Knowledge Gaps: Though admittedly slightly dated, the
aforementioned work by Kaltsounis concerning the interrelation
between social studies and other curriculum areas is an
excellent starting point for further research and investigation.

4. The author himself states as much when he says, “There is no
question that the publication of this section can assist in an
effort to fill this gap.”
Trend 1 (Cont’d)
Integrating social studies with other curriculum as a means of
acquiring knowledge and problem solving
Trend 2
The prevalence of social studies and science integration
As this author perused the available literature discussing social
studies integration, science seemed to be more prevalent than
many other areas of study. Examples of this include the
following:
Nuthall (1999) authored a journal article entitled, “The Way
Students Learn: Acquiring Knowledge from an Integrated
Science and Social Studies Unit.” In this article, the author
speaks of a study involving five students who conducted a study
of Antarctica utilizing an integrated social studies/science
approach. The results of this study indicate that students were
able to learn a great deal more about Antarctica using the
integrated approach as opposed to students who learned via the
non-integrated, single-subject method. Using a three-model
approach to understanding how students learn, the author was
able to leverage the differences in how students learn
differently from a variety of classroom activities in which they
are exposed to new information. By integrating social studies
and science, students were shown to possess the ability to tap
into what they knew from their exposure to science in order to
help them understand the new social studies information and
vice-versa.
Kirkwood-Tucker and Bleicher (2004) also studied the
effectiveness of the integration of social studies and science by
examining how pre-service elementary teachers integrated the

5. two subjects from a global perspective. The term “global
perspective” is based on the authors’ interest in infusing
Science, Technology, and Society (STS) curriculum into social
studies curriculum as a means of teaching students about the
people and places of the world in which they live (social
studies) with, among other things, an awareness of the “state-of-
the-planet,” and knowledge of global dynamics (science).
Trend 2 (Cont’d)
The prevalence of social studies and science integration
In her journal article entitled “A River Runs through Science
Learning,” Stanley (1995) provides an excellent example in
which fourth and fifth grade students were taken beyond the
classroom and taught about the history of their local community
(social studies) while simultaneously learning important skills
concerning ecosystem management.
Many other articles citing the integration of social studies and
science were noted during this author’s research.
Research Methodology Issues: As stated elsewhere in this
assignment, this author has had very limited exposure to all of
the available research done in this area. His assertions,
therefore, concerning the seeming prevalence of social studies
and science integration is based purely on what he was able to
glean in the time given.
Knowledge Gaps: On a humorous note, as one anonymous
armchair philosopher put it, “You don’t know what you don’t
know until someone who knows tells you about it. That’s when
you know that there is more to know than you’ll ever know.”
This author believes that more research needs to be done in
order to ascertain exactly how prevalent integration is in each
subject area.

6. Trend 3
Social studies and multi-discipline integration
While completing another class in which the concept of subject
matter integration was only briefly touched upon, this author
was very interested to learn how multiple disciplines can
actually be combined into a meaningful curriculum emphasizing
a single subject. The examples below reflect how social studies
can indeed be taught through multi-discipline integration.
Koirala and Goodwin (2002) describe how middle school
teachers integrated mathematics and social studies using a U.S.
map to determine the respective areas of the states. In this five
day assignment, in addition to learning about the states,
students also learned about the concepts of ratio, percentage,
and mean by examining each state in relationship to the other.
They were also introduced to graphing using Microsoft Excel as
they recorded the results of their studies. Thus, in a single
social studies unit, students learned about social studies, math,
and technology.
In another journal article entitled, “Threading Mathematics into
Social Studies,” Smith (1995) describes how she helps students
“experience mathematics as it applies in the real world” by
using popular historical literature. Some examples of the books
used in this exercise were “Jumping Broom,” “Sweet Clara and
the Freedom Quilt,” “The Patchwork Quilt,” and “Aunt
Harriet’s Underground Railroad in the Sky.” In this integration
of language arts, mathematics, and social studies, the author
states that there are mathematical themes subtly imbedded into
the historical story lines which help students to “develop an
awareness for ways in which mathematics has played an
important role throughout history.”
Trend 3 (Cont’d)

7. Social studies and multi-discipline integration
Another very interesting article on the integration of
mathematics and social studies is “Ten Black Dots and
September 11: Integrating Social Studies and Mathematics
through Children’s Literature.” As the title aptly describes, in
this particular example, children were able to learn valuable
concepts in these three disciplines.
Lockett (1996) also provides several good examples of how to
prepare lessons across multi-disciplinary platforms in her
journal article entitled, “Reaching out to Make Connections:
Engendering Efficacy through Interdisciplinary Thematic Units
in the Social Studies.”
Research Methodology Issues: In each of the examples cited, it
must be understood that the results therein are to be considered
as largely anecdotal. In other words, what may have indeed
worked in what are obviously limited and controlled
circumstances (including very small sampling groups) may not
meet with the same level of success in every instance. While he
is sure that there must be some in existence, this author was
unable to find any truly comprehensive studies reflecting
concrete empirical data gleaned from the employment of
thorough research methods.
Knowledge Gaps: Each of the authors whose articles were
reviewed seemed to be quite knowledgeable in their respective
areas of expertise.
Trend 4
An undercurrent of dissention still exists among some educators
concerning subject matter integration
As Kirkwood-Tucker and Bleicher (2004) point out, “there
exists great confusion in the literature as to what integration of
two subject areas means.” Citing Berlin (1991), the authors

8. indicate, “In her review of 555 articles pertaining to integration,
Berlin noted that terms such as thematic, interdisciplinary,
multidisciplinary, and transdisciplinary, among others, were
used to refer to a concept akin to integration.” This lack of
clarity at the very outset of the discussion on subject matter
integration seems to be indicative of the larger problem of the
resistance of some educators to accept integrated curriculum as
a viable option.
In their journal article entitled, “The Dark Side of Curriculum
Integration in Social Studies,” university professors in
curriculum planning and integration, Schug and Cross (1998)
express the opinion that the integration of social studies with
other disciplines has yielded unfortunate results in terms of
meeting stated educational goals. Indeed, they consider the
entire concept of integrated curriculum to be the unfortunate
byproduct of the mid-20th century progressive movement in
education. To make their point, the authors cite and expound on
what they refer to as the “myths” surrounding integration.
These eight myths include:
Myth 1 – Curriculum Integration Has Much Empirical Support
Myth 2 – Separate Disciplines Reduce Academic Achievement
Myth 3 – Elementary Schools Do It Better
Myth 4 – Integration Leads to More Time for All Subjects
Myth 5 – Integration Leads to Better Curriculum Planning
(Continued)
Trend 4 (Cont’d)
An undercurrent of dissention still exists among some educators
concerning subject matter integration
(Continued from previous slide)
Myth 6 – Integration Results in Better Pedagogy
Myth 7 – The Real World is Not Organized around Disciplines

9. Myth 8 – Curriculum Integration Encourages Higher Levels of
Thinking
The authors also raise the question of whether the benefits of
curriculum integration are actually worth the costs saying, “the
costs of curriculum integration are high, real, and certain. The
benefits of integration are low, vague, and difficult to measure.”
More recently, Stern (2005), in her journal article entitled,
“Debunking the Myth,” seeks to refute the idea that an
integrated approach to social studies, namely history, results in
a deficient content knowledge being gained by students, a claim
reportedly made by the Fordham Foundation publication,
“Where Did Social Studies Go Wrong?” At issue in this
publication is the assertion that “the rigorous study of history
through primary source documents and readings would be the
answer to the lack of content knowledge of American students.”
The mere fact that Stern wrote the article indicates that there is
indeed an undercurrent of dissension among some educators
concerning subject matter integration.
Trend 4 (Cont’d)
An undercurrent of dissention still exists among some educators
concerning subject matter integration
Research Methodology Issues: Schug and Cross (1998) relate
that their research is based on their interaction with “hundreds
of teachers who have done their best to follow the prescriptions
of progressive leaders who advocate the integration of the
school curriculum.” In this author’s opinion, the authors’ work
is very compelling as it contains numerous citations indicating
that extensive research has indeed been conducted in this area.
Ironically, as pointed out above, they also state that the benefits
of integration are “difficult to measure.” This contradiction
makes this author wonder if there actually is enough research
available sufficient to render a verdict on the success of

10. integrated social studies curriculum.
Stern’s (2005) refutation of the aforementioned Fordham
Foundation publication, “Where Did Social Studies Go Wrong?”
is also fairly deficient in true research as it is based largely on
both personal conjecture and the opinions of others who agree
with her.
Knowledge Gaps: While each of the authors whose articles
were reviewed seemed to be quite knowledgeable in their
respective areas of expertise, meaningful research into the
subject at hand in which empirical data is gathered and
examined would no doubt replace much of the conjecture with
real knowledge.
Trend 5
Social Studies education is enhanced when integrated with
language arts studies
Social studies and language arts are very compatible disciplines
and are therefore often combined in the interest of meeting
various subject matter integration goals. Evidence of this
particular trend was observed in several journal articles.
In “The Great American Prairie: An Integrated Fifth Grade
Unit,” Stange and Wyant (1999) relate how children’s literature
can broaden students’ views and understanding of the past. The
authors also provide a sample integrated unit which makes the
literature/social studies connection through a focus on the great
American prairie during the pioneer period. The authors also
provide a list of other children’s literature that supports
integration with social studies.
In her article entitled, “An English and Social Studies
Interdisciplinary Program,” Moss (1991) also provides some
valuable insight concerning social studies/English integration

11. by giving an example of a program developed by the Coconut
Creek High School in Florida.
In an article entitled, “Mingling ‘Fact’ with ‘Fiction’: Strategies
for Integrating Literature into History and Social Studies
Classrooms” (2007), authors Turk, Klein, & Dickstein offer
teachers a series of strategies designed to assist them with
integrating literature into their social studies classes “without
losing the flavor or essence of either the literature they are
using or the history they are trying to teach.” The various
techniques offered can be used separately or combined
depending on the particular emphasis or goal of each lesson.
Trend 5 (Cont’d)
Social Studies education is enhanced when integrated with
language arts studies
Other interesting articles dealing with the integration of
language arts and social studies include Beyer, Barry, and
Gilstrap’s “Integrating Writing and Social Studies, K-6,” and
Madole, Fry, Phillips, and Lobaugh’s “Halliday’s Functions of
Language: A Framework to Integrate Elementary-level Social
Studies and Language Arts.” The former work focuses on what
the authors cite as a 20 percent decline in the ability of students
to analyze, interpret, and express views of written prose. This
decline led to critical changes in elementary school social
studies curriculum which now requires students to practice
writing and analytical skills. The latter work presents the
argument for integrating language arts and social studies
curriculum through the use of pen pal letters and journals.
Research Methodology Issues: As stated previously, each of the
articles reviewed by this author contained ample evidence that
the programs/approaches in question were successful. What
seems to be lacking in each of them is the rigorous research that
he has grown accustomed to seeing in relation to other

12. educational issues. Granted, some of them contained impressive
research, however, most did not.
Knowledge Gaps: Each of the authors whose articles were
reviewed seemed to be quite knowledgeable in their respective
areas of expertise.