This is a student video reflection that was done for marks. The young man’s name is Jordan, his track record in school was less than stellar, and his experience in The Civic Mirror was full of adversity.
What’s so fascinating about this case study is that Jordan, who remained relatively behind the scenes throughout all of the Civic Mirror events until the National Court (Episode 17), demonstrates just how much he learned and discovered throughout the entire process.
This video doesn’t show Jordan at home doing social studies reading and note-taking for the first time in preparation for the cash-related reading checks (Episode 5); it doesn’t show him earning 83% on the multiple-choice section of the course’s standardized exam; and it doesn’t show him debating with his classmates and teachers about political and economic policy and human nature (see end of Episode 19).
But this video does show the piercing insights Jordan quietly arrived at after participating in The Civic Mirror … and being challenged to think deeply about the events, their significance, and how they relate to the course content, his world, and the world out there.
I couldn’t think of a better way to conclude this 20-episode classroom video series. I hope you enjoyed it!
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ARE YOU WONDERING WHAT THE CIVIC MIRROR IS?
Basically it’s a government and economics simulation that turns classrooms into countries and students into citizens. Far more than just a game, The Civic Mirror is a fully comprehensive civic education program that turns the old rules of teaching and learning on their head. Students actively assume real-world citizenship roles – both in the classroom and online – and work as individuals to provide for imaginary families and achieve hidden agendas, while working together to build a strong, democratic nation.
This video shows a class discussion that took place after the students completed their final Reflection and Connection assignment. The students were asked to think about all that they experienced throughout the simulation, and then connect the major ‘lessons-learned’ to their own lives, the real world, and the course content. The whole process generated some outstanding revelations (as the video illustrates).
We highly recommend teachers budget time for culminating Reflection & Connection activities like this one. They bring closure to The Civic Mirror experience, they bring participants together, and they help students share and crystallize some of the important lessons they learned along the way. And, should you be wondering, the Instructors Manual and the online repository of Civic Mirror teaching ideas have some great Reflection & Connection activity ideas that you can pick and choose from.
DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ABOUT THIS CIVIC MIRROR VIDEO TUTORIAL?
Please leave them below and join the discussion!
ARE YOU WONDERING WHAT THE CIVIC MIRROR IS?
Basically it’s a government and economics simulation that turns classrooms into countries and students into citizens. Far more than just a game, The Civic Mirror is a fully comprehensive civic education program that turns the old rules of teaching and learning on their head. Students actively assume real-world citizenship roles – both in the classroom and online – and work as individuals to provide for imaginary families and achieve hidden agendas, while working together to build a strong, democratic nation.
We cannot overstate how easy it is for instructors to overlook the Reflection & Connection component of the The Civic Mirror learning process, and the reasons are understandable. But one of the most important skills we can teach our students is to meaningfully reflect on present experiences. By doing so we are not only teaching our students how to discover valuable lessons from their experiences, but we are also enabling them to connect those lessons-learned to things they already know about themselves and their world.
This video shows a reflection activity we did after The Civic Mirror ended. The students were first asked to position themselves relative to one another with respect to where they fell on the left-right political spectrum. Then I asked them (in almost post-reality-TV-show-style) to comment on a series of questions about government, economics, and human nature. It was a great activity, and one that generated some wonderful thoughts and insights … some which I would argue most adults would be hard-pressed to arrive at.
DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ABOUT THIS CIVIC MIRROR VIDEO TUTORIAL?
Please leave them below and join the discussion!
ARE YOU WONDERING WHAT THE CIVIC MIRROR IS?
Basically it’s a government and economics simulation that turns classrooms into countries and students into citizens. Far more than just a game, The Civic Mirror is a fully comprehensive civic education program that turns the old rules of teaching and learning on their head. Students actively assume real-world citizenship roles – both in the classroom and online – and work as individuals to provide for imaginary families and achieve hidden agendas, while working together to build a strong, democratic nation.
This video shows the fourth and final event of every simulated year, the National Court. In this event, any citizen may take any other citizen or organization (including the government) to court for breaking the law and/or a contract.
The Civic Mirror’s National Court is a mock trial on steroids. The stakes are real. Often hard-earned money and property are on the line. Other times it’s pride. And judges have even been known to sentence citizens to jail (which, in true Civic Mirror tradition, is sitting in the hallway while everyone else participates in class).
The National Court event is educationally potent. It teaches students that their constitution and their laws are only as good as their courts’ ability to uphold them. After all, an ignored law is not much of a law at all.
More than that, though, students are given the experiential opportunity to learn that upholding law and order takes effort, courage, and a willingness to stand up for themselves and what they believe is “right.” There have been many, many democratic Civic Mirror nations that have slipped into the clutches of ruthless individuals because their courts were either corrupt or underused. In fact, these trials can be so important that the temptation for some students to bribe or intimidate jurors and judges is very real. Actually, just watch this video. Kind of sounds like real life, doesn’t it?
DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ABOUT THIS CIVIC MIRROR VIDEO TUTORIAL?
Please leave them below and join the discussion!
ARE YOU WONDERING WHAT THE CIVIC MIRROR IS?
Basically it’s a government and economics simulation that turns classrooms into countries and students into citizens. Far more than just a game, The Civic Mirror is a fully comprehensive civic education program that turns the old rules of teaching and learning on their head. Students actively assume real-world citizenship roles – both in the classroom and online – and work as individuals to provide for imaginary families and achieve hidden agendas, while working together to build a strong, democratic nation.
A common misconception many people have about The Civic Mirror (and other game-based learning programs) is that it replaces traditional instruction - those moments where teachers explain key facts and concepts to their students. Nothing could be further from the truth.
In fact, if you look at the various Civic Mirror course packages we’ve put together, you’ll see that we recommend educators budget a significant amount of time for good ole’ instruction and discussion. And referencing the “Reflection & Connection” piece that we believe is so important, most of the teachable moments the program provides would remain “untapped” unless fleshed out by the educator.
Another important point, as this video demonstrates, is that The Civic Mirror helps to make course readings more relevant and meaningful: Students can use and apply what they’re reading to their own country/citizen scenario. For example, the lecture shown in this video about the legal system was intentionally scheduled to occur right before the students’ first National Court event when their interest in the subject matter would be at its highest. As a result, the text became a playbook full of information and strategies the students could use in their own simulated scenario.
In sum, The Civic Mirror does not replace traditional instruction. If anything, it makes it more potent and relevant for students who would otherwise have no arena to use what they’re learning.
DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ABOUT THIS CIVIC MIRROR VIDEO TUTORIAL?
Please leave them below and join the discussion!
ARE YOU WONDERING WHAT THE CIVIC MIRROR IS?
Basically it’s a government and economics simulation that turns classrooms into countries and students into citizens. Far more than just a game, The Civic Mirror is a fully comprehensive civic education program that turns the old rules of teaching and learning on their head. Students actively assume real-world citizenship roles – both in the classroom and online – and work as individuals to provide for imaginary families and achieve hidden agendas, while working together to build a strong, democratic nation.
This video shows students participating in a Civic Mirror Town Hall, the third event in every simulated year. These events are very loose meetings that allow all citizens to voice their frustrations and concerns to everyone in the country. This is the event where students are encouraged to look one another in the eyes and respectfully demand things for their family, demand things from their government, and demand things of one another. Students learn how to debate and deliberate, and why it’s important to be active and vocal citizens (those who speak are heard).
The Town Hall repeats the same two-step procedure until there are 10 minutes left, or until no one has anything left to say. The National Judge then asks if there will be any trials, and records all of the lawsuit / criminal accusations that are announced, in preparation for the National Court (the next event).
DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ABOUT THIS CIVIC MIRROR VIDEO TUTORIAL?
Please leave them below and join the discussion!
ARE YOU WONDERING WHAT THE CIVIC MIRROR IS?
Basically it’s a government and economics simulation that turns classrooms into countries and students into citizens. Far more than just a game, The Civic Mirror is a fully comprehensive civic education program that turns the old rules of teaching and learning on their head. Students actively assume real-world citizenship roles – both in the classroom and online – and work as individuals to provide for imaginary families and achieve hidden agendas, while working together to build a strong, democratic nation.
The Civic Mirror requires educators to let go of “the classroom reigns,” to have faith in their students and the experience, and to capitalize on the endless teachable moments it provides. The instructor’s most important role is to observe what’s happening and to connect the experience to her students’ lives and the curriculum. Simply put, the CM educator ideally helps her students understand what can and cannot be done, and helps them foresee the possible consequences of the various options. But she will NOT tell her students what “should” be done.
This video shows several clips of what I call student free flow. These scenes may seem rather innocuous (clips of students chattering), but there are stories of student learning behind each and every one them. For example, pay attention to the clip of the boy sulking in his chair in the computer lab. With a bit of prompting and encouragement on my (the teacher’s) part, the adversity he faced in The Civic Mirror was turned into a powerful - and maybe life-changing - learning experience (as you’ll see in the last video of this series).
There are also several clips of teacher coaching, mentoring, and interrupting in order to educate either small groups of students or the whole class. The Civic Mirror completely changes the classroom dynamics, providing a rich, student-centered learning environment, and an environment that frees up teachers so they can more meaningfully interact with their students.
DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ABOUT THIS CIVIC MIRROR VIDEO TUTORIAL?
Please leave them below and join the discussion!
ARE YOU WONDERING WHAT THE CIVIC MIRROR IS?
Basically it’s a government and economics simulation that turns classrooms into countries and students into citizens. Far more than just a game, The Civic Mirror is a fully comprehensive civic education program that turns the old rules of teaching and learning on their head. Students actively assume real-world citizenship roles – both in the classroom and online – and work as individuals to provide for imaginary families and achieve hidden agendas, while working together to build a strong, democratic nation.
SUBMIT YOUR CIVIC MIRROR STORY Email us your story at info@action-ed.com and click here for ideas and information on what to submit. We're looking forward to it!
