{"id":22118,"date":"2024-11-05T12:10:53","date_gmt":"2024-11-05T20:10:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/?p=22118"},"modified":"2024-11-25T11:57:30","modified_gmt":"2024-11-25T19:57:30","slug":"teaching-controversy-and-civics-focus-of-record-grant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/teaching-controversy-and-civics-focus-of-record-grant\/","title":{"rendered":"How to handle controversial topics in the classroom? New research is evaluating one approach"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n    \n                                \n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-hero \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-hero\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n<div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/11\/cesr_talccs_top-768x432.jpg\"\n          data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/11\/cesr_talccs_top-1920x1080.jpg 1920w,https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/11\/cesr_talccs_top-1280x720.jpg 1280w,https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/11\/cesr_talccs_top-768x432.jpg 768w\"          data-sizes=\"(min-width:1200px) 75vw, (min-width:768px) 83vw, 100vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  alt=\"Middle school students listen as a teacher gives a lesson in front of a whiteboard in a clutter classroom\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n  \n\n<\/div>\n  \n      <div class=\"image-caption\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  Researchers and teachers are hopeful that new classroom curriculum will improve how the next generation of Americans engages in discussion around contested issues. (Image source: Unsplash\/Kenny Eliason.)\n\n\n<\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  \n  <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n          <nav aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\" class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n        <ul>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\">News<\/a><\/li>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\/?category=social-impact\">Social Impact<\/a><\/li>\n                  <\/ul>\n      <\/nav>\n    \n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--page-title\">\n\n    \n  <h1>How to handle controversial topics in the classroom? New research is evaluating one approach<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n          <div class=\"subtitle\">\n            \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  USC Dornsife researchers receive a record $4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to assess a new classroom program teaching debate, deliberation and civil discussion skills to middle school and high school students.\n\n\n<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    \n           <strong class=\"author-field\"><span >By<\/span><a href=\"mailto:communication@dornsife.usc.edu\">Margaret Crable<\/a><\/strong>\n    \n          <span class=\"post-date-field\">November 5, 2024<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--social-share \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--social-share\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"content-wrapper\">\n    <span class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list\" style=\"line-height: 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1.24C16.046 4.748 13.087 8.687 12 10.8\"  fill-rule=\"evenodd\" \/>\n              <\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"a2a_label visually-hidden\">Bluesky<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n                                <a class=\"a2a_button_email\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#email\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"E-mail\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_print\">\n              <svg height=\"12\" viewBox=\"0 0 18 12\" width=\"18\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m8.14285714 9.42857143c-.17142857 0-.34285714 0-.51428571.08571428l7.28571427 6.34285719c.3428572.2571428.6857143.2571428.9428572 0l7.2857142-6.34285719c-.0857142-.08571428-.2571428-.08571428-.4285714-.08571428zm-1.28571428 1.11428567v.1714286 8.5714286c0 .6857143.6 1.2857143 1.28571428 1.2857143h14.57142856c.6857143 0 1.2857143-.6 1.2857143-1.2857143v-8.5714286c0-.0857143 0-.0857143 0-.1714286l-7.2 6.3428572c-.7714286.6857143-1.8857143.6857143-2.6571429 0z\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" transform=\"translate(-6 -9)\"\/><\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"a2a_label visually-hidden\">Email<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n                  <\/span>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n \n\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--rich-text \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--rich-text\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n      \n<div class=\"f--field f--wysiwyg\">\n\n    \n  <p>K-12 schools have come under <a href=\"https:\/\/today.usc.edu\/controversial-school-topics-how-americans-really-feel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">increasing scrutiny<\/a> for how well they teach students to effectively and productively think about and discuss controversial topics, such as immigration policies and gun ownership rights, and whether they\u2019re preparing students to be engaged public citizens. A new curriculum that promises to improve the dynamic is available, but is it effective?<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_22124\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-22124\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-22124\" src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/11\/cesr_talccs_instorya-438x550.jpg\" alt=\"Anna Saavedra smiles while wearing a blue satin dress in front of a brightly lit window\" width=\"300\" height=\"377\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/11\/cesr_talccs_instorya-438x550.jpg 438w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/11\/cesr_talccs_instorya-815x1024.jpg 815w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/11\/cesr_talccs_instorya-768x965.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/11\/cesr_talccs_instorya.jpg 980w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-22124\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Anna Saavedra studies teaching, learning and civics education. (Photo: Brian Morri.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>What\u2019s new:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/cesr\/profile\/anna-saavedra\/\">Anna Saavedra<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/cesr\/profile\/amie-rapaport\/\">Amie Rapaport<\/a> of the <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/cesr\/\">Center for Economic and Social Research<\/a> (CESR) at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, have received nearly $4 million from the U.S. Department of Education\u2019s Institute of Education Sciences (IES) to evaluate the efficacy of Talking About Current and Contested Issues in Schools (TALCCS).<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Created by <a href=\"https:\/\/streetlaw.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Street Law Inc<\/a>., TALCCS is a new program used by middle and high schools to teach students how to better deliberate and debate.<\/li>\n<li>The grant is the largest USC has ever received from IES.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Why it matters: <\/strong>TALCCS is designed to improve classroom discussion of current and contested issues. It may also boost student attendance, academic performance and prepare students for the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The curriculum launched in Maryland in 2021 and has since expanded to 70% of the state\u2019s school districts and three additional states.<\/li>\n<li>Determining the program\u2019s efficacy and cost-effectiveness will help efforts to expand it, say the researchers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>What\u2019s next: <\/strong>Over the next five years, Saavedra and Rapaport, who are co-directors of CESR\u2019s \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/cesr\/care\/\">Center for Applied Research in Education<\/a> (CARE), and a team of CARE researchers will study TALCCS as it is implemented by nearly 250 civics and social studies teachers in participating California school districts. Researchers will assess both short and long-term outcomes.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Short term outcomes:<\/strong> They\u2019ll evaluate the quality of classroom discussion, such as whether students use evidence to support their ideas or change their mind when presented with new evidence. They\u2019ll also examine scores on civics knowledge tests as well as attendance records.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Long-term outcomes:<\/strong> The team will look at high school graduation rates, postsecondary enrollment and voter registration.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The CARE team will also use these measurements to analyze TALCCS\u2019 cost-effectiveness.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What to watch:<\/strong> Researchers will produce their first report in\u00a02027 and a second in 2029-30, incorporating data from the 2028 presidential election.<\/p>\n<p><strong>In her words:<\/strong> \u201cProductive discussion about contested topics is a learned skill. Clearly, given the state of our national political discourse, many adults have not learned this skill. With support, the next generation can do better,\u201d says Saavedra.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n  \n        \n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-related-stories \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-related-stories\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--section-title\">\n\n    \n  <h2>\n          Related Articles\n      <\/h2>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n                  <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/opinions-of-teaching-controversial-topics-in-schools\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >What do Americans think about controversial topics in schools?<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n              <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/digital-divide-for-school-kids-during-coronavirus\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >Not all kids have computers \u2013 and they\u2019re being left behind with schools closed by the coronavirus<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n              <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/risk-of-obesity-declines-with-more-high-school\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >One more year of high school may shape waistlines later in life<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n            <\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>USC Dornsife researchers will evaluate a new classroom program that\u2019s teaching debate, deliberation and civil discussion skills to middle and high school students.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":22119,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[70,64,597,60],"class_list":["post-22118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-impact","tag-academy-in-the-public-square","tag-center-for-economic-and-social-research","tag-education","tag-research"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How to handle controversial topics in the classroom? New research is evaluating one approach<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"USC Dornsife researchers to evaluate a classroom program that teaches debate and civil discussion skills to middle and high schooler students\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/teaching-controversy-and-civics-focus-of-record-grant\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to teach controversial civics topics focus of USC study\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"USC Dornsife researchers to evaluate a classroom program that teaches debate and civil discussion skills to middle and high schooler students\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/teaching-controversy-and-civics-focus-of-record-grant\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"USC Dornsife News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uscdornsife\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-11-05T20:10:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-11-25T19:57:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/11\/cesr_talccs_top.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1150\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Michael Liu\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@uscdornsife\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@uscdornsife\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dornsife.usc.edu\\\/news\\\/stories\\\/teaching-controversy-and-civics-focus-of-record-grant\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dornsife.usc.edu\\\/news\\\/stories\\\/teaching-controversy-and-civics-focus-of-record-grant\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Michael Liu\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dornsife.usc.edu\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d03084ed5319ed7575c96017879a7447\"},\"headline\":\"How to handle controversial topics in the classroom? 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