How Can the Science of Human Learning and Development Inform Preparing Students to Engage in Civic Reasoning?

Session Type: Invited Speaker Session

Abstract

This symposium draws from two recent syntheses: Educating for Civic Reasoning and Discourse (Lee, White & Dong, 2020) by the National Academy of Education and The Handbook on the Cultural Foundations of Learning (Nasir et al, 2020). The presentations synthesize from these two publications, but also extend the findings to address the conceptual, systemic, and ecological tasks that must unfold if we are to transform the opportunities for our young people to prepare for the complex and consequential challenges of sustaining our democracy, including the special role education – broadly defined – plays in such transformation. It addresses recent contestations over how schools address the country’s complex history and how these dilemmas must be addressed in all content areas across the K-12 sector.

Sub Unit

• AERA Presidential Session

Chair

• Carol D. Lee, Northwestern University

Papers

• Introduction to the Problem - Carol D. Lee, Northwestern University

• An Integrative View of Human Learning and Development in Service of Equitable Robust Learning: RISE Principles - Roy D. Pea, Stanford University

• What Is Entailed in Civic Reasoning - Na'ilah Suad Nasir, Spencer Foundation

• The Unique Challenges of the U.S. System of Governance - James D. Anderson, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Conceptual and Pedagogical Challenges of Teaching Civic Reasoning Across the Curriculum - Carol D. Lee, Northwestern University

• Systemic and Ecological Challenges and Opportunities - Linda Darling-Hammond, Learning Policy Institute

Discussants

• Kris D. Gutiérrez, University of California - Berkeley

• Alan H. Schoenfeld, University of California - Berkeley