Deliberative School Research Project
WIPPS continues to work with the Kettering Foundation and educators in School District of Athens and Wausau, Wisconsin, to study the impact of deliberation as an educational l tool to improve student learning outcomes. WIPPS offers workshops and in-class team teaching opportunities to empower students from kindergarten through high school to solve problems by using a deliberative decision making approach. This Deliberative School Model takes into account the intellectual and social-emotional development of students at the elementary, middle and high school levels. At the elementary level, students make choices about moral dilemmas they face; at the middle school, students decide which “hot topics” (such as bullying) they would like to tackle; at the high school students address more complex national and international issues. This research attempts to answer questions such as:
- How does participation in deliberative processes affect student learning outcomes?
- What constitutes a deliberative school and classroom?
- What are some other changes that result from using deliberative practice in a school setting?
Partners:
Wausau School District
Athens School District
Kettering Foundation
National Issues Forum