Authenticity is critical to meaningful civic learning, from understanding history and exploring current issues to discovering how government works and engaging with diverse forms of civic participation. This article explores authenticity in student-led civics through three dimensions: (1) being authentically connected to the self (culturally…

Courses: This semester-long assignment is suited for any course that highlights cultural differences, diversity and equity, social advocacy, social justice, intercultural communication, and intercultural awareness and understanding. Objectives: This series of inclusivity projects will help students to: (1) equip themselves with communication…

Drawing on challenges I experienced when teaching a political communication course, I designed an upper-level undergraduate course with the objective of developing students' civic competence and democratic engagement. The major class assignment, which is the focal point of this best practices essay, was a four-step collaborative voter mobilization…

While project-based learning (PjBL) and asset-based equity pedagogies (ABEPs) have traditionally been studied separately, there is reason to believe that the combination of the two strategies can produce even more impactful possibilities. This study examines the relationships between students' perception of both PjBL and ABEPs as it relates to…

This study examines a student-created "pop-up museum" about the opioid epidemic that was part of a project-based service-learning (PBSL) experience in a college course. A survey of student perceptions of the learning experience, a course evaluation, and a survey of museum visitors' perceptions of their experiences with the museum…

The paper investigates the effect of active civic education using project-based learning (PBL) on attitudes towards civic engagement in a heterogeneous society. The study used a qualitative research approach involving a content analysis of responses to open-ended questionnaires, students' reports and weekly discussions with the students. The study…

Opportunity and learning gaps between upper-middle-class students and lower SES students that impact academic performance and social development are widening. The purpose of this Action Research study was to understand the interests of students, as well as the academic support most needed, to cultivate the development of 21st century skills and…

Engagement in citizen science can result in participant outcomes including increased science and environmental literacy and civic action. One factor which may increase the likelihood of these outcomes is facilitation by groups such as employers, schools, or other organizations. We examined how a partnership between SciStarter and Girl Scouts of…

The Small Scale Food Production for Cultural Preservation and Economic Inclusion project is a critical social participatory action research project that utilizes critical pedagogies to facilitate spaces of learning and research where power differentials are both recognized and dismantled. The process of consciousness raising those results is an…

Separating students in a variety of ways from one another in school systems based on either their perceived abilities or the part they may play in the future world is a codified component of systemic public educational systems. Much pontificating and research has been devoted to reflecting on these stratifying and segregating practices, especially…

Project-based learning (PBL) is an instructional approach that provides civics, social studies, and American government students with the opportunity to actively and cooperatively engage with real-world issues and situations. Students typically identify a problem in their community or school, research the problem and policy-based solutions,…

For a pre-kindergarten (preK) class, designing a 3-D map of a newly constructed playground offered authentic opportunities to participate, deliberate, and solve an authentic problem. Responding to the compelling question--"How do we build community spaces that are welcoming to, representative of, and sustaining for all community…

In this paper, I describe the implementation of a project-based economics unit in a fifth-grade classroom in Michigan, titled One Hen. One Hen is a curricular unit designed to teach students about social entrepreneurship as a way for students to learn economic concepts while developing their own civic efficacy by engaging in a project where they…

Project Citizen is an interdisciplinary curriculum for students, youth organizations, and adult groups that encourages citizens' competent and responsible participation in local and state governments in about 35 countries worldwide. In this article, based on an example of Project Citizen activities done with university students, the application…

Research suggests that America today is more politically polarized and less capable of conducting civil public discourse than at least the last several decades. These greater cultural factors unsurprisingly seem to have trickled into American schools, as teachers report increased divisiveness and conflict, particularly directed toward…