The challenge of misinformation in the civics classroom

Elementary and secondary school civic educators increasingly are tasked with providing students with skills for identifying and countering misinformation. This is a challenging proposition for teachers who regularly confront misinformation from a range of sources, including students themselves. Teachers can be at risk when parents and politicians are critical of their approach to contested information in their classrooms. There is an abundant need for researchers and practitioners working in tandem to develop effective pedagogies and quality curriculum interventions to address the problem. The Civic Education Research Lab (CERL) at Georgetown University works collaboratively with civic education organizations to provide evidence that they can use to develop and implement teacher professional development and curricular interventions for combating misinformation. This design-based implementation approach gives agency to all participants in the process and enhances the potential for best instructional practices for mitigating misinformation to emerge.