Social Studies Through Democratic Practice
For Tim Patterson, associate professor at Temple University’s College of Education and Human Development (CEHD), preparing future teachers means preparing critical thinkers. His work centers on the belief that classrooms are one of the few places where young people can learn to listen, reason, disagree respectfully and engage with perspectives different from their own.
“Democracies are deliberative spaces,” Patterson explained. “When teachers facilitate discussions, they help students do democracy, listen to each other, make claims rooted in evidence and disagree civilly.”
This six-year research project is built around this very idea and seeks to deepen understanding of how early-career social studies teachers learn to facilitate meaningful classroom discussions. The project, DISCUSS Philadelphia, is funded by the James S. McDonnell Foundation and co-led by Patterson, along with CEHD’s Avi Kaplan and Abby Reisman from the University of Pennsylvania.
A Collaborative Research Partnership Across Philadelphia
DISCUSS Philadelphia examines how pre-service and early-career social studies teachers learn to facilitate meaningful classroom discussions and how their professional identities evolve through that process. Grounded in Kaplan’s Dynamic Systems Model of Role Identity, their research follows teachers longitudinally as they record and analyze their own instruction, pause critical classroom moments, and reflect on the beliefs, values and contextual factors shaping their decisions. Through hundreds of hours of video, interviews and written reflections, their research captures the complexity of discussion-based teaching and reveals how novice educators develop confidence and a deeper understanding of democratic practice in real time.
The project is a multi-institution and community partnership involving Temple University, the University of Pennsylvania and social studies teachers across Philadelphia. Over the past several years, multiple cohorts of teachers recorded themselves facilitating discussions in their classrooms and then met with members of the research team to analyze their instructional decisions. Patterson described this experience “as similar to an athlete reviewing game footage, where teachers pause and reflect on what influenced their choices in the moment.” Many teachers who participated expressed both growth moments they wished they had handled differently and pride when they recognized strengths they did not know they had. What ultimately kept teachers engaged, Patterson noted, was a sense of belonging to a professional community dedicated to improving civic education across the city.
These conversations were complemented by three summer institutes held at Temple and Penn, where more than 100 Philadelphia high school students worked alongside teachers in week-long sessions focused on discussion-based learning. The School District of Philadelphia’s strong involvement, from Director of Social Studies Ismael Jimenez to Curriculum Specialist Shaquita Smith, ensured the work consistently aligned with district needs and culturally responsive practices. The project also cultivated a significant body of research, including publications in top journals such as Theory into Practice, Teaching and Teacher Education, Curriculum Inquiry, and Theory and Research in Social Education, along with presentations at national conferences including National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS), American Educational Research Association (AERA), and American Psychological Association (APA).
Introducing Discuss Philly
After years of video analysis, interviews, written reflections and teacher collaboration, Patterson and his team are preparing to launch Discuss Philly, a free, public website designed to support teacher educators, practicing teachers and researchers who want to support and strengthen discussion-based instruction. The site will feature more than 80 teacher-identified dilemmas drawn from real classrooms, each accompanied by a narrative explaining the context, the tension teachers navigated and the reasoning behind their decisions. Visitors will be able to explore dilemmas by theme, grade level, subject area or year of teaching experience. Many entries will include reflection questions and video clips showing teachers facilitating discussions. The website will also contain resources for using the website in teacher education courses and conducting classroom-based research, including tools for analyzing role identity development and guidance for collecting and reviewing instructional videos.
Patterson hopes that Discuss Philly becomes a space where teacher educators can integrate dilemmas into coursework, where early-career teachers can see themselves reflected in the challenges and breakthroughs of others and where researchers can explore the evolving complexities of discussion in social studies classrooms. “Ultimately, the website is about making teachers’ thinking visible,” he said. “We want it to empower others to try discussions, reflect on their practice and grow.”
Expanding the Impact
Although the first version of the website is expected to launch in February 2026, Patterson already envisions the next iteration. With additional funding, he hopes to produce professionally filmed classroom videos that demonstrate high-quality discussion facilitation, enrich the dilemma library with new teacher narratives and broaden Philadelphia-based partnerships. His long-term goal is for the project to contribute not only to teacher preparation at Temple and Penn, but also to the professional landscape of civic education nationally.
“In the best outcome, this work will impact teachers, students and the broader community,” Patterson reflected. He believes that discussion-based classrooms offer young people a rare opportunity to practice engaging with difference, an essential skill for participating in a healthy democracy.