A New Approach to Teaching History and Civics
Project Summary
This proposal seeks funding for the design, development, and implementation of Critical Inquiry Groups to provide on-going support to undergraduate and graduate elementary, middle, and secondary level student-teachers who share a central interest in teaching for democracy and social justice, as they face the challenges of student-teaching in urban public schools. The pressures that face urban teachers - and especially emerging teachers - are well-known: From increased standardization, accountability, and testing, to a growing number of students whose needs are not being met by schools, those who work with young people in urban public schools face a daunting task. Without space in which to critically examine their daily experiences within schools, many well-intentioned teachers unwittingly reproduce existing social inequities in their classrooms and schools. The purpose of these Critical Inquiry Groups is to create a space in which student-teachers who share a commitment to social justice can reflect on their teaching experiences and work together, with the facilitators, to develop rich, provocative, and meaningful curricular and pedagogical strategies. Using lenses of social justice and teaching for civic engagement, participants will, with the guidance of the PIs who will serve as NYU faculty facilitators, discover strategies for applying the frameworks of equity, agency, cultural relevance, critical literacy, and teaching history for democratic purposes to their day-to-day classroom practices in order to improve the educational experiences and achievement of their public school students.
Contact
- Principal Investigator: James Fraser
- Department: Teaching and Learning
Funding
Funder: The Gift of Time Foundation
Project Amount: $45,479 for May 07 - August 08