| Student Perspectives
The students profiled in the eight workshop programs were interviewed
several times during the course of the lesson featured in each program.
Here you can read their reflections on the featured lesson and their thoughts
about civics and constructivist learning.
Student
Perspectives
These ninth-grade students at Southwest High School in Minneapolis, Minnesota
were enrolled in Kristen Borges’s Team 9 Arts and Humanities Civics
class when they participated in this lesson on freedom of religion. Here
they discuss their experiences role-playing as lawyers and Supreme Court
justices in a simulation of a Supreme Court trial dealing with the First
Amendment. They reflect on the impact their teacher’s constructivist
methodologies have had on their level of interest and learning.
Student
Perspectives
These 12th-grade students at University High School in Newark, New Jersey
were enrolled in Jose Velazquez’s Law in Action course when they
participated in this lesson on electoral politics. Here they discuss their
experiences participating in the Student Voices Project, in which they
identified and researched issues of importance to youth, studied the positions
of candidates for mayor, and created a Youth Issues Agenda for presentation
to the mayoral candidates.
Student
Perspectives
These ninth-grade students at West Forsyth High School in Clemmons, North
Carolina were enrolled in Leslie Martin’s Economic, Legal and Political
Systems class when they participated in this lesson on public policy and
the Federal budget. The students discuss their experience creating a Federal
budget. First, they worked in cooperative-learning groups to develop a
budget that reflected the priorities of the executive branch and later
represented a member of Congress in a Congressional budget hearing.
Student
Perspectives
These 12th-grade students at Benjamin Banneker
Senior High School in Washington, D.C. were enrolled in Matt Johnson’s
AP Comparative Government class when they participated in this lesson
on the constitutional convention. They reflect on a simulation in which
students worked in cooperative groups to develop a constitution for a
hypothetical country and then engaged in a full-class debate to determine
what constitutional provisions they would adopt.
Student
Perspectives
These 12th-grade students at Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington,
D.C. were enrolled in Alice Chandler’s U.S. Government class when
they participated in this lesson on patriotism and foreign policy. Here
they discuss their experiences using their arts interests to create a
Museum of Patriotism and Foreign Policy.
Student
Perspectives
These 11th- and 12th-grade students at Anoka High School in Anoka, Minnesota
were enrolled in Bill Mittlefehldt’s Human Geography course when
they participated in this lesson on civic engagement. Here they reflect
on a service learning project in which they identify a community problem,
select a student partner with a similar interest, identify a community
partner and make a presentation first before their classmates and ultimately
before the City Council.
Student
Perspectives
These 12th-grade students at Champlin Park High School in Champlin, Minnesota
were enrolled in JoEllen Ambrose’s Social Studies 12 Law class when
they participated in this lesson on controversial public policy issues.
Here they discuss their experience participating in a structured academic
debate on the topic of racial profiling.
Student
Perspectives
These 12th-grade students at Benjamin Banneker Senior High School in Washington,
D.C. were enrolled in Matt Johnson’s Constitutional Law class when
they participated in this lesson on the rights and responsibilities of
students. Here, they reflect on the simulation of a Supreme Court trial
on a hypothetical case involving student rights. Students began the lesson
by preparing and presenting a brief on a case that they had previously
studied. They then divided into groups and prepared to either appeal or
respond to a specific hypothetical case. The lesson concluded with the
decision of the Court and an ensuing discussion.
Back to the Top
|
