Inside the Classroom: Mock Trials & Project Based Learning in Civics by Mr. Stack

How you teach something can be just as important as what you teach. At Seven Hills, we recognize and prioritize this as a faculty and institution. Delivering the content in an engaging and meaningful way, keeping the middle school boy at the center, is what we strive to accomplish every school year. The approach towards education we subscribe to is often called Project-Based Learning, where the process of learning is elevated above the product. Our unique approach also embeds self-reflective components throughout, encouraging students to practice metacognition about their own learning. This approach is powerfully illustrated in the second semester of 8th grade Civics & Economics. 

During our Judicial Unit in 8th grade Civics and Economics, the students learn through a months-long project based learning activity: the Mock Trial. The emphasis of this unit is for the students to learn about our court system by doing. Over the course of the unit, students will choose which case they will do (they often pick the murder case because that’s what 8th graders find most exciting!), choose their role as prosecutor, defense attorney, or witness, go through a voir dire process with the 7th graders who will ultimately decide on the outcome of the trial, write opening & closing statements, as well as cross & direct examination questions, and then perform the whole thing in front of the entire school and their parents. Moreover, this year, the boys finished the unit by going to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia and observing a sentencing hearing with Judge John A. Gibney, Jr. By the end of the process, students have experienced, first-hand, how our court system operates. 

This unit incorporates multiple elements that help engage middle school boys with their learning. It is authentic, real-life learning, there’s an element of risk involved, there’s competition and theater, and meaningful group work. Throughout the process, students are self-reflecting on specific soft and hard skills they are hoping to grow, evaluating themselves at different check-in points. By the end of the unit, students are able to look back at where they started and see how far they’ve come. Providing students a chance to do difficult things, helping them through it, and then celebrating their accomplishments is key towards developing confident, resilient, and healthy adolescents.  

Central to what makes this unit effective is the sense of autonomy and authenticity that students get from it. Students are provided significant opportunities for independence and choice in this unit: from the case they do, to their role, to how their group operates/prioritizes. They are given weeks worth of independent work blocks to use however they desire, with some groups making better use of their time than others; but what’s important is that they’re given the freedom to make those decisions. It helps that the final presentation is a very public demonstration of their preparedness, and students quickly use that as a motivating force to stay on-task. Moreover, students can clearly see how the work they’re completing connects to the real world. Not only do they have the opportunity to visit a Federal Courthouse to see actual court proceedings, but a former parent, who has over three decades experience as a federal prosecutor and private defense attorney, comes in and teaches them a class on introduction of evidence and proper courtroom procedure. These experiences help demonstrate to students the why of what we’re doing, as well as answering the ubiquitous “when will we ever use this?”

This project also provides students an opportunity to explore a potential future career path. Multiple students over the years have commented during and after the mock trial unit that they now have a greater interest in pursuing a law degree. During these middle school years, identity exploration and formation are central to a boy’s journey through adolescence. As Will Murphy, Assistant Head of School for Program here at Seven Hills, often says, the boys are “trying on different hats and jerseys” as they experiment with who they are, how they present to others, who they spend time with, and what interests/passions they spend time pursuing. Creating a structured environment in which boys are given the space to “try on” a “lawyer hat” is a unique and valuable one within the social studies curriculum here at Seven Hills. 

For parents, navigating this age can at times result in feelings of whiplash as your son pushes into new areas of interest, boldly proclaiming his new and strong desires for independence, while still desperately needing your support and guidance throughout. It’s a delicate balance of providing a structured framework of learning and experience while also giving them freedom to make their own choices within it. My hope is that the Mock Trial project, like many other project-based-learning assignments at Seven Hills, can provide students a chance to try on a hat they maybe wouldn’t have otherwise. These types of projects, ideally, can act as a springboard for conversation with your son about his evolving interests and passions. If nothing else, projects like these aim to push our boys towards becoming more resilient, confident, and curious versions of themselves.