Key Considerations
What do I need to know before I use Needs and Nations?As with any teaching method or learning activity, everything depends on the context of the classroom and the needs of the students. You know your students best. The biggest benefit of the Needs and Nations framework is that it can be altered, adjusted, and modified to function in any context or achieve any outcome. However, there are also core design philosophies built into the system. These core teaching philosophies must be acknowledged for the system to function as intended. The three core philosophies that must remain intact for the Needs and Nations framework are flexibility, inquiry, and cooperation.
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FlexibilityThe Needs and Nations framework requires flexibility and adaptability from instructors in a consistent basis. Due to the inquiry driven nature of the delivery, students will likely veer into unexpected directions frequently. In these moments, it will naturally fall to the instructor to direct the decision, action, or policty to address curricular outcomes. At times, this can be a great challenge to ensure that students are meeting relevant outcomes. Additionally, it is paramount that the teacher resist the natural urge to define the boundaries of the students' ideas. The most difficult part of this approach for some teachers is the aspect of giving up temporary control of their classrooms.
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InquiryThe core fundamental for students is the accent on inquiry-based learning. The biggest issue with high school social studies is that is struggles to create real and relevant opportunities for students to work with major concepts in a direct mannern due to the vast scope of the concepts. Therefore, it is incredibly important that teachers maintain the pure integrity of the inquiry process that this approach enables. By giving students the opportunity to build their own choices, we are giving them a space to play with these ideas directly. If we create a system of only binary decisions, we limit the level of learning that students can achieve through this program.
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CooperationCooperation is of utmost importance to this approach. Not only does the cooperative nature of the framework lend itself well to the curriculum already, it gives students practice in building arguments and supporting their ideas with evidence. This framework forces students to work with each other so that they are able to focus on developing and broadening their understanding of course concepts while simultaneously integrating and compromising with the understandings of others. While certain portions of the framework can be altered to produce more clear individual formative feedback, the basis of the structure must be cooperative.
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