Abstract

Educational experts believe that utilizing primary sources opens new doors for students by allowing them to think like historians, which ultimately hones in on the purpose of developing critical thinking skills (Rodeheaver, 2009). Historians constantly question documents, events, and credentials in order to form their own opinions while using primary source documents (Drake, 2002). When students have the opportunity and freedom to question documents and events and form their own opinions, learning may be enhanced. This study examines the possible power of allowing students to explore primary documents and learn by doing during social studies instruction (Dewey, 1916). This thesis examines middle school students' perceptions of the effectiveness of using primary source documents in social studies. Through a survey given to general education students and to ESE students, this thesis explored eighth graders' perceptions of using primary sources. The survey included questions pertaining to the depth of knowledge on using primary sources as well as questions about how to determine a primary source from a secondary source and which of the two is more interesting and/or of more benefit to the learning process. By analyzing the responses to the survey given, the results found that a number of eighth graders thought that primary sources were more interesting, but preferred to lean from secondary sources. These findings do not necessarily agree with what educational experts and historians are suggesting, yet, they may offer insights into the educational implications for middle school teachers and provide opportunities for future research.

Notes

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Thesis Completion

2012

Semester

Fall

Advisor

Roberts, Sherron Killingsworth

Degree

Bachelor of Science (B.S.)

College

College of Education and Human Performance

Degree Program

Social Science Education

Subjects

Dissertations, Academic -- Education;Education -- Dissertations, Academic

Format

PDF

Identifier

CFH0004275

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Document Type

Honors in the Major Thesis

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