In episode 226, Dan and Michael chat with AJ Schiera and Andrew del Calvo about their new TRSE article titled, “What youth want from discussions: Practice, participation, and democracy in social studies (teacher) education.”

Transcript 

Books, Articles and Other Amazing Resources

1. You can find AJ and Andy’s TRSE article here: What youth want from discussions: Practice, participation, and democracy in social studies (teacher) education. A practitioner-focused piece on what youth want from social studies discussions will be published in Social Education later in 2026.
2. To learn more about rehearsals as a practice-based teacher education pedagogy, consider: Kelley-Petersen et al.’s chapter “Rehearsals as Examples of Approximation” in Teaching Core Practices in Teacher Education (P. Grossman, Ed.) 
3. For a deeper dive into three kinds of feedback youth can give in rehearsals (feedback on practice, insights into student experience, and opening critical commentaries), see Andy and AJ’s work, “What Do Youth Give Feedback on When They Participate in Rehearsals of Social Studies Discussion Facilitation?” in Teaching and Teacher Education.
4. For teacher educators imagining inviting youth into methods classroom to participate in—and pause—rehearsals, explore AJ and Andy’s article, “Youth Participatory Teacher Education Rehearsals: Working with Youth to Shape Novice Teacher Learning” in Action in Teacher Education.
5. Episode 195: Rethinking Presentism in History Education with James Miles & Lindsay Gibson
6. For some additional strategies around Andy’s thinking about presentism, Doing Civic Histories: Connecting the Past and Present Through Writing and Discussion in the International Literacy Association’s Literacy Today magazine. 
7. A website with research and resources on Youth Participatory Teacher Education will be live by the end of 2026.
   

We wish to acknowledge the youth who shared summers, school nights, knowledge, and lived experiences to shape novice teachers’ learning; the novice teachers and teacher educators open to learning from youth in rehearsals; Abby Reisman for her unwavering support for bringing youth into teacher education; and the James S. McDonnell Foundation and The Collaboratory for Teaching and Teacher Education at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education for funding youths’ participation in teacher education.

Biography

AJ Schiera is an Assistant Professor in Literacy and Teaching, Learning, Research and Practice at the University of Colorado Boulder. His research focuses on integrating justice-oriented and practice-based teacher education approaches, democratizing teacher education by including youth and local practitioners as knowers, and exploring how novice social studies teachers learn to facilitate discussions. Previously, he taught in Philadelphia public schools.

Andrew del Calvo is an Assistant Professor of Urban Teacher Education at the Rutgers Graduate School of Education. Andrew’s work investigates connections between identity, writing, civic engagement, and social justice through curriculum design and urban teacher education. Previously, he taught in New York City public schools.