In-Depth Study in an Issues-Oriented Social Studies Classroom

Much social studies instruction at the secondary level emphasizes the coverage and memorization of fragmented information; critics of this learning method have called for more in-depth instruction. This article proposes a definition of in-depth instruction, and constructs a portrait of its inception in one issues-oriented high school classroom. Gathering and analyzing data from classroom observations, interviews, and a student survey, the author asserts that (1) central to such instruction is the organization of knowledge around essential issues, the use of knowledge to take positions on issues, and extensive classroom discourse; (2) three teaching dilemmas give practical pedagogical meaning to in-depth study; and (3) students voice a more tentative, complex, diverse, and tolerant disposition toward knowledge at the end of the instruction. The author offers cautionary words and provides direction for instituting such reforms in the future.