Building Civic Agency Through Problem-Based Enhanced Language Learning

• In Event: 61.032 - Literacies and Language Across the Curriculum

Abstract

Civic agency is the ability to navigate and "take confident, skillful, imaginative and collective action in fluid and open environments" (Boyte, 2008, p. 11). In today’s post-truth era, educators must strive to equip students with the knowledge, skills and dispositions necessary to become engaged citizens (Shapiro & Brown, 2018). Problem-Based Enhanced Language Learning (PBELL) is an innovation in which students explore real-world meaningful problems.
The purpose of this study was to investigate how professional development paired with coaching focused on PBELL translates into classroom practice related to civic agency. In a post-truth era teachers must feel confident in their ability to showcase all kinds of citizenship as they prepare students for the kind of society they want to build.

Authors

• Melanie Baca, Arizona State University

• Sarah Saltmarsh, Arizona State University

• Stephanie Lund, Arizona State University

• Silvia Araceli Aparicio, Arizona State University

• Malissa Thibault, Arizona State University