Developing Civic Competencies through Scenario-Based Learning and Assessment Tasks

Civic learning is foundational to building and maintaining strong democracies, yet many teachers lack access to high-quality instruction and assessment resources in this area. This chapter describes the development and preliminary evaluation of a scenario-based learning and assessment prototype developed to help address this need. Designed for the eighth-grade classroom and using the College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework as a conceptual guide, the prototype immerses students in a public policy dilemma and provides them with texts and multimedia resources to help them analyze it. Drawing on formative assessment principles, it provides immediate feedback to students. It also provides student data, teacher observation guidelines, and possible follow-ups for key student pairs and classroom discussions. The chapter discusses findings from a small pilot study of the prototype, including rounds of expert teacher feedback and classroom tryout, detailing insights relevant to civic learning and engagement both inside and outside the classroom.