Deepening Civics Skills Through Classroom Dialogue

How can we prepare students to be thoughtful, respectful participants in a diverse society? Promoting civics skills—especially active listening, empathy and reasoned dialogue—can help students engage in meaningful conversations, no matter their differences. By modeling and teaching these skills, educators can create classroom environments where students learn to listen generously, ask thoughtful questions, and respond with understanding, not hostility. This kind of discourse is foundational to a healthy democracy, and it must be nurtured intentionally in classrooms if we are to equip future citizens with the tools to engage constructively in civic life.

This course will:

• Discuss why civics matters;
• Focus on discussion strategies to use in the classroom to create a safe and brave space for students to express themselves;
• Explore media literacy, both news and social media, to help students find truth in an increasingly digital landscape;
• Learn how to equitably engage students in authentic learning tasks that mimic real life issues;
• Create independent learners by moving from teacher-led discussions to student-led dialogue;
• Dive into experiential learning through civic action projects where students can practice how to participate; and
• Provide tools and strategies that can be implemented immediately in the classroom.

Take the full course (16 hours) or customize the modules to suit your needs. All module strategies are aligned with the C3 and Common Core Frameworks for 6-12 social studies and ELA Education and contain hands-on activities to model the learning process through the eyes of students.

• Why Civics? Learn how civics education is the heart of a healthy democracy.
• Creating a Safe and Brave Space for Student Dialogue: Reflect on the role that culture plays in the classroom and how you can leverage student buy-in to allow for rich classroom discussion, where everyone feels respectfully seen and heard.
• What Is Truth? Become a sleuth in detecting misinformation and disinformation in our mass and social media streams, and how to teach students to do the same.
• Philosophical Chairs: Learn how to use this teacher-directed discussion strategy to engage students in evidence-based debate.
• Structured Academic Controversy: Kick your classroom discussion up a notch by pairing up teams to research and present one point of view, listen to an opposing pair, and then come to a consensus on a course of action.
• Harkness: Get ready to let go and let your students determine the class discussion. Learn how to scaffold this incredibly rich discussion strategy that is almost entirely led by the students.
• Civic Action Projects: This is experiential learning combined with student agency. Learn how to turn your students into change-makers. This session walks you through the civics action process and shows you how to get your students involved in making change in their community.