A. Engaging in meaningful discussion
Sawyer*, a Harvard Civics teacher who has volunteered for the program for the past 3 years, recognizes that the program has changed since he first joined as a freshman. Now in his senior year, Sawyer notes that the main changes have been in curriculum activities, and the incorporation of video resources to explain certain lessons. He also notes how the leadership has improved the presentation and depth of the curriculum. The Civics curriculum, he argues, “has changed from merely defining terms on a whiteboard, to engaging students in discussions about their surroundings and current events.” Sawyer teaches a 5th grade Civics class at Peabody School in North Cambridge and expressed how he is marveled at the students’ willingness to participate when he presents engaging activities in the classroom.
The Civics curriculum for the fall is divided into eight units and each unit is covered in a single class session. The curriculum provided to teachers is structured so that main objectives of each lesson are designed and so that by the end of the lesson students are able to answer specific questions and be able to define particular terms. For instance, in the 6th unit of the fall term, Sawyer had to teach about campaigns and elections. His unit objectives were thus to “facilitate a clear understanding of the American electoral process” and “encourage involvement in electoral politics”. By the end of his lesson, the curriculum asked that students be able to define the terms “candidate”, “campaign”, “citizen”, “direct democracy”, “electoral college”, “general election”, “nominating convention”, “primary election” and “voter”.
However, the activities prepared made it so that students were not just regurgitating information fed to them, but so that they actually absorbed the information and were able to explain these concepts in their own words. Inthis particular unit, Sawyer describes how he started his lesson briefly describing the concepts through a brainstorming session, wherein he asked his students questions about the electoral process so that he could gage what they already knew. In this way, he was able to relay information, while keeping the students engaged in class dialogue. This section of the lesson was followed by a brief lecture, where terms were explained to the students. However, the lesson culminated in a mock election, where basically the students put into practice the concepts the had learned. In this case, students were divided into teams of 4-5 and each team was asked to come up with a candidate to represent their “party”, devise a platform where they came together on “planks” or issues that they were concerned with, and then they had to inform the rest of the students (who were acting as “voters”) about why they needed their vote. Students were given material to prepare campaign posters and were asked to come up with slogans. After each team presented their party platform, the class was asked to vote for a candidate.
Sawyer noted that the mock election was the activity that really helped the students grasp the terms he had explained earlier. This was probably because this activity made it easy and engaging for the students to comprehend the political process seeing as they were acting it out on their own terms and basically seeing it come to life in a small scale. This sort of activity is beyond what traditional civics courses would call for, but Sawyer notes how the program has transformed and taken into consideration that the kids need to be stimulated with activities that allow them to participate and engage in dialogue with their peers. During these classroom simulations, Sawyer says that “students really come together and you see them argue with each other in constructive ways,” this sort of dialogue he claims “is what really goes on in our government, so exposing them to these discussions really helps them relate to the political process and really understand how it works.”
The incorporation of activities where students can participate and not just sit and listen are what really sets the civics program apart from traditional civics instruction. In a post titled “Teaching Civics in a Digital Age”, Adam Strom argues that “civic education can foster character and empathy in adolescents who are at the right time in life to reflect their developing views and actions.”4 The emphasis on character and empathy can be seen in the Harvard Civics curriculum, seeing as it provides for opportunities for students from different backgrounds, races, and creeds to engage in meaningful and respectful conversation. The program is intended to go beyond just a presentation of facts, it is geared so that the students can develop the skills and habits that are required for participating in their communities.
B. Using digital tools
James*, another interviewee in his senior year at Harvard, teaches Civics at the Baldwin Early Learning Pilot School in Brighton. James has taught civics since his sophomore year and during his interview, expressed how he thinks that the program has made use of digital tools, but there is potential for further immersion into the digital sphere. James for instance, says that the classrooms that he has taught in are mostly equipped with smart boards and projectors that he can use to display videos and show sites. When probed about the sorts of videos that he shows to his students, he claimed that he used them for a variety of purposes. For the unit on political parties for instance, he used videos of political candidates giving speeches so that his students could identify what the candidates’ stances on particular issues were. He also used videos to explain how bills are made into laws when he had to teach a unit on the legislative branch. Audio-visual content is useful to his classroom because there are dearths of online resources that can better explain hard concepts to students. James noted “if I can show students a music video that explains how bills can become laws, the students will be more entertained and more likely to retain the information that if I were to just stand before them and lecture them on the subject.”
Students themselves are already well versed in using technology, James claimed. Although the civics program teaches 4th, 5th and 6th graders for the most part, at this age they have already been in contact with social media platforms and the web. These are individuals who watch television on their computers, access textbooks online and complete math modules in web programs, they Skype with relatives and friends using webcams. Therefore, adapting the civics curriculum to incorporate the digital tools that these kids are already familiar with is crucial. The MacArthur Foundation found that what we consider traditional forms of civic engagement, such as organizing and debating, are currently moving online.5 For this reason, the civics program also has a responsibility to help its students navigate these resources and learn about the proper ways to conduct themselves responsibly while online. Joseph Kahne advances the above in his article “Redesigning Civic Education for the Digital Age: Participatory Politics and the Pursuit of Democratic Engagement.” He claims “core practices of civic and political engagement, such as investigation, dialogue, circulation, production, and mobilization, must be taught differently because they are now frequently enacted differently and in different contexts.”6
* Pse* Pseudonym
4 Strom, Adam. “Teaching Civics In A Digital Age.” LinkedIn. 28 Feb 2016.
5 Bennett, W. Lance. “Civic Life Online: Learning How Digital Media Can Engage Youth.” The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Series on Digital Media and Learning, MIT Press, 2008.
6 Kahne. Joseph. “Redesigning Civic Education for the Digital Age: Participatory Politics and the Pursuit of Democratic Engagement.” Theory and Research in Social Education, Vol. 44, Iss.1, 2016.udonym
4 Strom, Adam. “Teaching Civics In A Digital Age.” LinkedIn. 28 Feb 2016.
5 Bennett, W. Lance. “Civic Life Online: Learning How Digital Media Can Engage Youth.” The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Series on Digital Media and Learning, MIT Press, 2008.
6 Kahne. Joseph. “Redesigning Civic Education for the Digital Age: Participatory Politics and the Pursuit of Democratic Engagement.” Theory and Research in Social Education, Vol. 44, Iss.1, 2016.