Civic Investigation & Research
How do I help students research issues that matter to them?
Young people must learn how to investigate civic and political issues by analyzing evidence, determining the credibility of varied sources of information, recognizing multiple perspectives, and understanding the historical context of varied problems. Helping young people navigate the sea of information online today is increasingly critical. There is more information at young people’s fingertips, and there’s also an array of misinformation, so judging the credibility of sources can be complex. Explore the resources on this page to learn more about how you can help students research and investigate issues that matter to them.
Helping Students Explore Civic Issues
Explore the PARTICIPATE module of the Digital Civics Toolkit to investigate civic issues that are surfacing in their community and explore what matters to them.
For more ideas and resources related to a civic inquiry cycle, you can also explore the other modules in the Digital Civics Toolkit.
Credibility in the Digital Age
Take a look at these videos to further explore the importance of credibility in the digital age and why “fake news” is so prevalent. You can also show these videos to your students.
In the video “Understanding & Identifying Misinformation”, David Jablonsky works with his high school history class to deconstruct different types of misinformation related to the upcoming election.
Digital Civics Classroom Resources
The resources in the INVESTIGATE module of the Digital Civics Toolkit engages students in thinking about how to understand and judge the credibility of online civic information. You will find a collection of activities exploring news in the digital age, credibility, the impact of bias, visual forms of information, and investigation and research.
This quick and fun online quiz from YR Media called Don’t Get Faked will help your students determine if they’ve got a nose for fake news. And it has a bunch of resources to help them become even sharper news sleuths.
Graduate Capstone Projects
Before graduating, students from Oakland Unified School District complete a capstone project investigating a social issue they care about. To learn more about the research process students undertake, read this blog post by Young Whan Choi and watch this video from the Learning Policy Institute.
A selection of students’ final presentations and slides:
Resources
Civic Online Reasoning [Curriculum] (Stanford History Education Group)
Research and Blogging [Lesson Plan] (by Lisa Rothbard, Educating for Democracy in the Digital Age)
DIY Toolkit: Intro to Fact-Checking for Journalists (by Teresa Chin, YR Media)
How Teens Deal with the Spread of Misinformation [Lesson Plan] (PBS NewsHour Extra)
What is the Difference Between Mis- and Disinformation? [Lesson Plan] (PBS NewsHour Extra)
Evaluating Sources in a ‘Post-Truth’ World: Ideas for Teaching and Learning About Fake News (by Katherine Schulten and Amanda Christy Brown, New York Times)
Democracy and Civic Engagement [Curriculum] (Facing History and Ourselves)
Checkology (News Literacy Project)
Credibility Challenge (Annenberg Classroom)
Media Literacy Booster Pack (Newseum Ed)
Project Look Sharp (Ithaca College)
Civics in a Partisan Age: Media Literacy and the Challenge of Misinformation (by Joe Kahne and Ben Bowyer, Connected Learning Alliance)
Geo-Inquiry Process (National Geographic)
Background Info
How to Combat Fake News [Podcast] (Teaching Channel)
These Students are Learning About Fake News and How to Spot It (by Alina Tugend, New York Times)
Misinformation in the Information Age (by Erica Hodgin and Joe Kahne, National Council for the Social Studies)
Media Literacy Tools to Comprehend and Critique Fake News [Webinar] (Educator Innovator)
The Challenge That’s Bigger Than Fake News (American Federation of Teachers)
Educating Students to Think Intensively and Critically (by Lisa Rothbard, Teaching Channel)
Why We Need a New Approach to Teaching Digital Literacy (by Joel Breakstone, Sarah McGrew, Mark Smith, Teresa Ortega, and Sam Wineburg, Phi Delta Kappan)
Fake News is Everywhere. But Students Can Be Taught to Spot It, New Study Finds (by Jake Maher, Education Week)