Civic Learning in a Digital World: Supporting Students to Reason about Controversial Public Issues on the Internet

Abstract

Young people have knowledge and lived experiences related to pressing social and political issues in their communities. Yet, all civic actors need to consider additional information from credible sources as they decide what we should do, together, to take action on these issues. Young people frequently seek and encounter information about civic issues on the internet, where they may struggle to find sources they can trust. Digital platforms are powered by algorithms that provoke strong emotions, spread disinformation, and exploit systems of inequality. Social studies education can support students to develop reliable strategies for finding credible digital sources and to reflect on the ways that they (like all of us) are prone to accept or reject information based on its alignment with our existing worldviews. This dissertation explored how social studies teachers and their students can build on their civic knowledge and lived experiences by seeking credible digital sources about controversial public issues.The first study was a comparative case study that investigated how 8th grade social studies teachers and their students researched and deliberated about a controversial issue by searching for and evaluating digital sources. Using the Digital Civic Inquiry (DCI) curriculum (civicinquiry.umd.edu), the teachers guided students to 1) activate prior knowledge about a controversial issue, 2) evaluate the credibility of digital sources, 3) read sources they deemed credible, and 4) deliberate about the controversial issue and what, if any, civic actions they should take. While facilitating this inquiry required complex pedagogical moves, the social studies teachers successfully guided students through each stage of the inquiry. They did so by helping students understand when to evaluate sources and when to learn more about the controversial issue through close reading. In turn, their 8th grade students engaged in the deliberation by drawing on evidence from their prior knowledge and experiences as well as evidence from credible, digital sources. The second study used design research methodologies to analyze two iterations of a teacher professional development workshop that supported teachers to implement the DCI curriculum. The workshop aimed to prepare 8th grade social studies teachers to facilitate discussions about the credibility of digital sources that may provoke strong reactions from students. Through revisions to the workshop, teachers were better able to analyze the teaching practices involved in teaching a DCI. However, I also found that teachers did not consistently use the facilitation moves that the professional development team suggested: affirming students’ personal experiences and orienting them to evaluate sources. Rather, the teachers used a variety of other discussion moves; most notably, they frequently critiqued, rather than affirmed, students’ contributions. The third study focused on how pre-service social studies teachers (PSTs) used social media sources to consume, circulate, and discuss information about politics and how they planned to do so with their secondary students. Through analyses of surveys, interviews, and audio- and video-recordings of PSTs’ participation in a professional development workshop, I found that they engaged with a diverse set of digital sources typical of social media platforms. They also encountered challenges when trying to rely on those platforms for accurate and relevant information. Despite believing there was value in engaging students with social media platforms that they so often occupy, almost all of the PSTs were reticent about doing so in the classroom. Together, these dissertation studies provide models for teaching and learning about controversial, civic issues with sources from authentic digital environments. This kind of civic education is essential to support students to build informed perspectives on pressing issues and decide how to take informed action in their communities.