Youth Participatory Action Research in Classrooms: Book Launch and Workshop

Youth participatory action research (YPAR) can turn your classroom into a site of meaningful, relevant civic learning in which young people gain a sense of civic empowerment as they discuss, investigate, analyze, and speak with authority on issues that directly affect them and their communities. YPAR in Your Classroom: Teaching and Learning for Active Citizenship brings the process of civic action research to life, through stories, examples, and the reflections of youth and adults who have participated in these projects. 

This new book, a joint publication of Teachers College Press and the National Council for Social Studies, is a step-by-step guide to bringing the power of youth participatory action research into the classroom. Organized around the five-stage civic action research cycle, it is illustrated with vivid examples from 15 years of school-based projects, and chock full of concrete descriptions of lessons and activities for elementary, middle, and high school classrooms.

In this interactive book launch and workshop we will share examples of YPAR in action, describe how to use this book and associated resources to bring YPAR into classrooms, and consider the ways that YPAR can foster belonging, enhance communication within schools, and create nurturing ecosystems of civic learning. 

Dr. Beth Rubin will describe the collaborative work that, over 15 years, led to the development of this field-tested approach to integrating YPAR into the classroom. She will situate the book’s approach within an expansive understanding of civic learning that values youth as civic agents and essential members of their civic communities. 

Authors of the book’s four case studies, Laura Arredondo, Tristian Cox,  Brandi Gustafson, Orion Nolan, and Reneé Roundy, will share their experiences integrating YPAR into high school and middle school social studies classrooms, elementary and special education classrooms, and classrooms for multilingual learners.

Meet the Speakers

Dr. Beth C. Rubin, Professor of Social Studies Education, Teachers College, Columbia University

Dr. Tristan Cox, K-12 Social Studies Supervisor, Plainfield School District, NJ

Brandi Gustafson, Social Studies Teacher, New Brunswick Middle School, NJ

Orion Nolan, Inclusion Teacher, Roosevelet School, Manville, NJ

Dr. Laura Arredondo, Supervisor of World Languages and ML, Hunterdon Central Regional High School, NJ

Renée Roundy, Doctoral Candidate, Rutgers University

Host or Publisher Digital Futures Institute