Supporting Civic Inquiry: Teaching and Learning Digital Evaluation Strategies in Social Studies Classrooms
In a 2023 Pew survey, 46 percent of American teenagers reported that they use the internet “almost constantly.” Online, young people access droves of information, make connections, and advocate for change. However, they may also encounter misleading or hateful content that threatens personal and democratic wellbeing. How can social studies teachers support students to effectively navigate and evaluate online information, especially on contentious social and political issues? What support do teachers need to engage in this work? In this talk, I will present an overview of my research program, which is dedicated to answering these questions through close collaborations with teachers and students. I will feature one recent study, supported by the National Academy of Education/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship, that investigated teachers’ facilitation and students’ reasoning during lessons on evaluating digital sources about issues students said were relevant to them. The strategies and knowledge that help students find credible digital sources are, increasingly, required for informed participation in democratic life. Through my research, I work to ensure that social studies teachers help students reap the benefits of accessing so much information while avoiding its pitfalls.
Sarah McGrew is an Assistant Professor in the College of Education at University of Maryland, College Park. She studies educational responses to the spread of digital mis- and disinformation, focusing on how teachers help students learn to evaluate online sources on contentious social and political issues and the support that teachers need to engage in that work. Her research has been funded by the National Academy of Education/Spencer Dissertation and Postdoctoral Fellowships, the National Science Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Education and published in journals including Cognition and Instruction, Computers & Education, Teaching and Teacher Education, and Teachers College Record. Dr. McGrew earned a B.A. in Political Science and Education from Swarthmore College and completed the Stanford Teacher Education Program before teaching history in Washington, DC for five years. She received her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Teacher Education from Stanford in 2019.
