The protests of 2020 cast a national spotlight once again on police brutality and ongoing racial injustice in America. Within this context, many activists and even mainstream commentators have given more attention to a critical analysis of how American history has been taught, especially regarding race relations. The publication of the "1619…

"The Most Reasonable Answer" is an innovative and comprehensive guide to engaging students in inquiry dialogue--a type of talk used in text-based classroom discussions. During inquiry dialogue, students collectively search for the most reasonable answers to big, controversial questions, and, as a result, enhance their argumentation…

In this article the author shares conversations she has had with elementary students inquiring about her gender identity to make visible the daily-ness of conversations about sameness and difference and to surface her own struggles with, and pedagogical deliberations about, these conversations. The conversations are conceptualized as both the unit…

Teachers find it difficult to conduct political controversial conversations in the social science classroom and due to an increased use of social media in educational settings new challenges and possibilities are raised. The use of social media causes fundamental changes to the role of the learner who becomes a producer and consumer--a…

There is a pressing need to change the tenor of public debate from shouts and slurs to something more reasoned and effective. But it is difficult for teachers already burdened with standardized tests and administrative duties to find the time to craft lessons to teach civil discourse in their classrooms. To support teachers working to change the…

Rapid migration shifts, anti-immigrant discourses in the public sphere, and harsh immigration policies have posed daunting challenges for immigrant students, their families, their teachers, and their communities in the 21st century. Trends in public discourse and law enforcement in the United States mirror developments in European countries with…

When public discourse around religious diversity is so fraught, how might faculty teach about religion in a way that encourages civic engagement and participation in a diverse society in college students? The authors suggest a way forward, what they call "interfaith literacy," and explore how it might play out in the college classroom.

Develops a theoretical framework for understanding the principles that regulate the expression and reception of "everyday" knowledge (attitudes about sex, drug usage) in the classroom. Investigates three different school-based contexts: the formal classroom, small group interaction during lesson time, and group interviews (outside the classroom).…