Última revisión realizada:11/06/2020

Subject Name: Didactics in Social Science in Primary
Study: Grado en Maestro de Educación Primaria (Grupo bilingüe)
ECTS Credits: 6
Year and four month period: Fourth year, first four month period
Type of subject: Compulsory
  • Presentation

    The subject Didactics in Social Science in Primary consists of eleven units that cover all the training spectrum that teaching in and for the 21st century requires.

    Knowledge of the natural, social and cultural environment is the area that traverses this 6-year educational stage, and contributes to vertebrate it in asmuch as this environment is the vital space in which the children grow up; our training in this field is fundamental, as well as the responsibility of students and teachers (from potence to act).

    The best motivation is that which comes from within, so it willl be interesting to search for the reasons that makes us enthusiastic about this multiple task, fundamentals of didactics (not without reason, as it is the specific technique of a teacher), History, Geogaphy, Arts... that are brought together and must focus on the human being.

    It is important to highlight that the readings (manual of the subject, Key Ideas, books, articles, films, activities, etc.) are thought for reflection and maturation, and might feed an undeniable process, whose main character is you, and that will allow the third indispensable element: personalisation.

  • Basic competences

    • BC1: Students have shown that they have and understand knowledge in an area of study, starting from the basics of general secondary education, which is usually found at a level that, although supported by advanced textbooks, also includes some aspects that imply knowledge from the cutting edge of their field of study.
    • BC2: Students know how to apply their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional manner, and possess the skills that they usually demonstrate through the development and defence of arguments, as well as the resolution of problems within their area of study.
    • BC3: Students have the ability to gather and interpret relevant data (usually within their area of study) to make judgements that include a reflection on relevant social, scientific or ethical issues.
    • BC4: Students can transmit information, ideas, problems and solutions to a specialised and non-specialised public.

    General competences

    • GC1: Know the curricular areas of Primary Education, the interdisciplinary relationship between them, the evaluation criteria and the didactic knowledge section around the respective teaching and learning procedures.
    • GC2: Design, plan and evaluate teaching and learning processes, both individually and in collaboration with other teachers and professionals in the school.
    • GC4: Encourage reading and critical commentary of texts from the various scientific and cultural areas in the school curriculum.
    • GC6: Promote coexistence inside and outside the classroom, resolve discipline issues and contribute to the peaceful resolution of conflicts.
    • GC16: Acquire habits and skills for autonomous and cooperative learning and promote it among students.
    • GC18: Selectively distinguish audio-visual information that contributes to learning, civic education and cultural richness.

    Specific competences

    • SC32: Know the school curriculum of social sciences.
    • SC33: Integrate the study of history and geography from an instructive and cultural direction.
    • SC34: Promote the democratic education of citizens and the practice of critical social thinking.
    • SC37: Develop and evaluate curriculum content through appropriate teaching resources and promote the corresponding competences in students.

    Unit 1. What are Social Sciences?

    • How to study this unit
    • Teach and learn Social Sciences in the 21ST century
    • Characteristics and elements common to all social sciences
    • The place of Social Sciences in knowledge: beyond positivism

    Unit 2. Contents, objectives and evaluation of Social Sciences in Primary

    • How to study this unit
    • Main features of the basic curriculum of the LOMCE
    • Social Sciences in the curriculum of Primary Education of the LOMCE
    • Contents, evaluation criteria and learning standards
    • Technical evaluation criteria

    Unit 3. Teaching principles to take into account in the teaching of Social Sciences in Primary

    • How to study this unit
    • The curricular models in Social Sciences
    • Methodological guidelines according to the physical, intellectual and psychological characteristics of the students
    • Methodological strategies for teaching and learning Social Sciences: interaction, cooperation and participation

    Unit 4. Didactics of Geography

    • How to study this unit
    • Current concept of geographical space
    • The evolution of the concept of geographical space in our students
    • The world in the minds of our students
    • Teaching Geography: work with maps
    • Teaching Geography: field work

    Unit 5. Didactics of History I

    • How to study this unit
    • Why teach history?
    • Chronological time, historical time
    • Research on teaching and learning about time
    • Dimensions and variables of historical time

    Unit 6. Didactics of History II

    • How to study this unit
    • The difficulties of teaching History
    • The method of History and the teaching-learning process
    • The method of History: learning to formulate hypotheses
    • The method of History: working with sources
    • Historical thinking and the problem of learning causality

    Unit 7. Competencies and Social Sciences

    • How to study this unit
    • What are competences?
    • Social and civic competences
    • Awareness and cultural expressions
    • Evaluate by competences in Social Sciences

    Unit 8. Didactics of artistic manifestations in Primary

    • How to study this unit
    • Art and artists
    • How can we analyse a work of art?
    • Resources for teaching Art History
    • The observation pattern

    Unit 9. Teaching society, citizenship and coexistence in Primary School

    • How to study this unit
    • How do children represent the social world?
    • Didactic strategies and methods for teaching-learning about society
    • Democratic values and educating for citizenship

    The different tasks and activities programmed during the semester have been developed with the goal of adapting the learning process to the different capabilities, necessities and interests of the students.

    The activities included in the subject are:

    • Work. These are activities of different types: reflection, case analysis, practice, etc.
    • Participation in events. Events are scheduled every week of the semester: virtual face-to-face sessions, discussion forums, tests.
    • Reading commentary. This is a very specific type of activity that consists in the analysis of texts of articles by expert authors in different units of the subject.

    In the weekly program you can find the specific tasks you need to complete in this subject.

    Download the program

    These activities are combined with the following aspects:

    • Personal Study
    • Tutoring. The tutoring class can be implemented through different tools and means. During the course of the subject, the teacher-tutor plans the individual tutoring on specific days for the resolution of academic-oriented doubts through “Consultation sessions”. Supplementing these sessions, students have also available the “Ask your teacher” forum through which they can formulate questions and check the corresponding answers on general aspects of the subject.  Due to the very nature of the media used, there are no fixed schedules for the students.
    • Mandatory on-site final exam.

    The hours dedicated to each activity are detailed as follows:

    ASSIGNMENTS HOURS
    Attendance to virtual classes 20 hours
    Master classes 12 hours
    Basic material study 50 hours
    Reading the additional resources 14 hours
    Tasks and self-evaluation tests 29 hours
    Tutoring 16 hours
    Collaborative work, forums, debates, etc. 7 hours
    Final exam 2 hours
    Total 150 hours
    You can personalize your study plan choosing the type of activity that best matches your profile. The tutor will advise you and help you elaborate your study plan. S/he will always be available to guide throughout the course.

    The evaluation system is based on the following numerical chart:

    0 - 4, 9 Suspense (SS)
    5,0 - 6,9 Approved (AP)
    7,0 - 8,9 Notable (NT)
    9,0 - 10 Sobresaliente (SB)

    The grade is made up of two components:

    On-site final exam (60 %). At the end of the semester, you need to assist a mandatory on-site final exam. You need to pass the final exam so the grade obtained from the assignments (continuous assessment) is summed up to the final grade of the subject. 

    Continuous assessment (40 %): this type of assessment will be measured through the different assignments you need to complete during the course:

      • Active participation and involvement in forums, online classes.
      • Tasks. The completion of the different activities the students need to send through our virtual classroom such as research, critical thinking, practice cases.
      • Self-evaluation tests. At the end of each unit, students will find a short quiz which will help the students to check the knowledge acquired during the course.

    Remember that you can check the points (value) of each assignment in the weekly program.

    Take into account that the sum of the grades of the assignments included in the continuous assessment is 6 points. You can do as many as you want to until a maximum grade of 4 points (which is the maximum grade you will be obtaining in the continuous assessment)In the weekly program, you can find the grade of each assignment. .

    Assessment method Min - Max Score
    Participation in forums, classes, etc. 0% - 40%
    Task, practice cases and activities 0% - 40%
    Self-evaluation test 0% - 40%
    On-site final exam 60% - 60%

    Isabel Lasala Navarro

    Formación académica: Doctora en Historia por la Universidad de Zaragoza. Máster en Relaciones Internacionales por la Escuela Diplomática de Madrid.

    Experiencia: Isabel Lasala combina su labor docente e investigadora en UNIR con la docencia en enseñanza secundaria. Es autora de diversas publicaciones científicas y tiene como ámbito de especialización la Didáctica de las Ciencias Sociales y, más concretamente, de la Historia. La doctora Lasala Navarro ha trabajo como consultora del Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores y de Cooperación, en la Dirección General de África Sub-Sahariana, siendo su principal tarea la de monitorear y evaluar la implementación de la estrategia de política exterior española para el continente africano, conocida como ‘Plan África (2009-2012)’. Es una apasionada de la comunicación, la música y los viajes. Participa regularmente en proyectos educativos en América Latina (principalmente, en El Salvador y Cuba).

    Líneas de investigación: Antigüedad tardía. Didáctica de las Ciencias Sociales.

    Studying online means you can organize your study as you wish, as long as you meet the due dates of the different assignments (activities, tasks and tests). In order to help you, we propose the following steps:

    1. From our online platform you will have access to each of the subjects you are enrolled. Apart from this, the virtual classroom of Lo que necesitas saber antes de empezar (All you need to know before starting). In this section, you have available all the documents on how to use the different tools included in the virtual classroom, how a subject is organized and you will also have the possibility to organize your study plan with the tutor.
    2. Do not forget to check the weekly program. You will see which part of the content of the course you have to work on every week. You will see which part of the content of the course you have to work on every week.
    3. After knowing your work for the week, go to Temas in your virtual classroom. There, you will have access to the study material (theory and practice) from the unit you need to study throughout the week.
    4. Start by reading the Key ideas of each unit, there you will find the specific study material and it will help you understand the most important points of the unit. Afterwards, check out the sections Specially Recommended and More Information where you will find more resources in order to deepen on the topic of the unit.
    5. Devote some time to the practical cases and tasks in the subject (assignments and test). Remember that in your weekly program you find all the information related to the schedule for each assignment and the maximum grade you can obtain in each of them.
    6. We strongly recommend you to participate in the Events of the course (online classes, forums...). To know the precise schedule of the events, you need to check the communications tools in the virtual platform. Your teacher and tutor will inform you on the updates of the course.

    In the virtual classroom of Lo que necesitas saber antes de empezar (All you need to know before starting) you will always find available information on the structure of the units and information on their sections

    Remember that in Lo que necesitas saber antes de empezar (All you need to know before starting) you can check how the different tools of the virtual classroom work: email, forum, online classes, sending the tasks, etc.

    Please, take into account the following tips…

    • Whatever you study plan is, go often to the virtual classroom so that you are always up to date about the course and you are in contact with your teacher and your tutor.
    • Remember you are not alone: send an email to your tutor if you have any doubt. If you attend the online classes, you can also ask your teacher about the contents of the unit. Also, you can always write your doubts and questions about the contents in the Forum of each subject (Ask the teacher).
    • Be active and participate! Whenever it is possible, attend the online classes and take part in the forums. The exchange of information, opinions, ideas and resources enrich us and the course.
    • And, remember, you are studying online: your effort and perseverance are the key element to obtain good results. Don’t leave everything to the last minute!!!