Teaching With Current Events: An Experimental Study on Student Interest, Motivation, and Civic Knowledge

Abstract

The traditional American classroom has become much more student-centered over the years. However, teachers still take the role of delivering information to students, and students take the role of listening to and retaining that information. The current approach to teaching and learning and the current curriculum needs to be further enhanced. Incorporating aspects of a civics education into social studies curriculum can do this. The goal of civics education is to educate future citizens who are active, engaged, and informed. The current study will test the impact of incorporating current events into the classroom. In order to do this, the study began by reviewing previous research studies that have highlighted four major aspects to successfully incorporate current event education into the traditional classroom: a relevant curriculum, an open classroom environment, news media literacy, and the encouragement to take that knowledge and make their community a better place. This study incorporated current events into social studies curriculum by aligning daily current event study and analysis with the appropriate standards being covered. The study will be centered on three main questions: 1. As a result of being exposed to current events during instruction, are students showing increased interest in social studies? 2. To what extent does using current events during instruction help students gain civic knowledge? 3. As a result of being exposed current events during instruction, are students showing increased motivation in social studies class?

Key words: current events, social studies, education, high school, motivation, civic knowledge, interest