Civics Course Implementation Blog

by Shawn P. Healy, PhD, Democracy Program Director Earlier this month, we released a summative report on the #CivicsIsBack campaign produced by the Center for Information Research on Civic Learning and Engagement ( CIRCLE ) at Tufts University titled “ Building for Better Democracy Together .” We then explored the impact of the campaign on teachers, schools, students, and our civic education nonprofit partners, followed by CIRCLE’s overall assessment of our civics course implementation model. On Friday we tested the model’s sustainability , and today, in the final installment of a five-part series, we weigh its applicability to other states. Among the key ingredients in the Illinois #CivicsIsBack Campaign’s success was its comprehensive approach to building capacity among civics teachers. Teachers’ capacity and dispositions were nurtured with empathy and encouragement: One of the key observations that the team used from early on, is that teacher disposition (i.e., how comfortable ...

by Shawn P. Healy, PhD, Democracy Program Director Two weeks ago we released a summative report on the #CivicsIsBack campaign produced by the Center for Information Research on Civic Learning and Engagement ( CIRCLE ) at Tufts University titled “ Building for Better Democracy Together .” Subsequent posts respectively reviewed the impact of the campaign on teachers, schools, students, and our civic education nonprofit partners, and CIRCLE’s overall assessment of our civics course implementation model. This fourth installment of a five-part series will review CIRCLE’s assessment of the model’s sustainability. Teachers expressed broad comfort in wielding the instructional practices embedded in the new high school civics course (discussion, service learning, and simulations), teaching media literacy , and using the revised K-12 social studies standards . A strong majority of teachers also saw alignment between these instructional approaches and their professional evaluation via the ...

by Shawn P. Healy, PhD, Democracy Program Director Two weeks ago I introduced a summative report on the #CivicsIsBack campaign produced by the Center for Information Research on Civic Learning and Engagement ( CIRCLE ) at Tufts University titled “ Building for Better Democracy Together ,” and last week I reviewed the impact of the campaign on teachers, schools, students, and our civic education nonprofit partners. This third installment of a five-part series will review CIRCLE’s overall assessment of our civics course implementation model. The report’s authors concluded, The primary strength of the model is that it created a grassroots movement for transforming teaching practice in high school civics and enlisted a corps of teachers to be role models and experts to help other teachers also grow and learn to adopt best practices in civics instruction. More specifically, implementation was delegated regionally to Illinois Civics Teacher Mentors with strong central support from Ins...

by Mary Ellen Daneels, Civics Instructional Specialist The system of checks and balances has been an enduring concept for deliberation throughout United States history. Essential questions around the separation of powers and the use of tools such as executive orders to blur the lines between the branches are opportunities for #CivicsInTheMiddle classrooms to engage in current and societal issue discussions that promote a deep understanding of our constitutional republic. Last week, Dr. Steven D. Schwinn , professor of law at the John Marshall Law School at the University of Illinois at Chicago, joined IllinoisCivics.org for a webinar to explore the question, “Is it time to reset the system of checks and balances?” Participants received a preview of Dr. Schwinn’s upcoming book on the same topic and had a chance to reflect on issues involving power, justice, and representation as the nation prepares for a presidential inauguration and a new congress in 2021. If you missed the webinar...

by Sonia Mathews, Democracy Program Officer The kick-off to the Civics Across the Curriculum webinar serie s was held on Thursday, December 3, 2020. This year’s theme builds on the theme from the originally scheduled Democracy Schools Network Spring 2020 convening, “Every Teacher is a Civics Teacher: Best Practices for Civic Learning and Organizational Supports.” View a recording of the session .    This kick-off explored the intersections of civic learning, vision and leadership and school climate and set the stage for the upcoming sessions in 2021. Panelist Nicole Beechum, Co-Director of the Equitable Learning and Development Group at the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research, highlighted recommendations for bridging efforts to promote social and emotional learning and democratic practices in schools. She emphasized that centering identity is essential for understanding the roles of citizens and that it is incumbent for school teams to prioritize this w...

by Shawn P. Healy, PhD, Democracy Program Director Last week I introduced a summative report on the #CivicsIsBack Campaign produced by the Center for Information Research on Civic Learning and Engagement ( CIRCLE ) at Tufts University titled “ Building for Better Democracy Together ”. This second of a five-part series will review the impacts of the Campaign documented in the report. The #CivicsIsBack Campaign began by breaking down the civics course requirement into its component parts (direct instruction, discussion, service learning, and simulations), presenting empirical evidence on their efficacy and demonstrating classroom application. We pursued the same approach for revised K-12 social studies standards. It’s therefore heartening to learn that most teachers know “a great deal” or “a lot” about the course and standards (57% combined) and only ten percent “a little” and two percent “none at all.”  We’ve documented the impact of Illinois Civics professional development o...

by Shawn P. Healy, PhD, Democracy Program Director Since June 2016, the Illinois Civics team led statewide implementation of a new high school civics course requirement and revised K-12 social studies standards. Beginning last year, these efforts shifted to middle school in preparation for the parallel middle school civics course that debuted this fall. The Illinois Civics team partnered throughout with the Center for Information Research on Civic Learning and Engagement ( CIRCLE ) at Tufts University to research and evaluate our implementation efforts. We wanted to both demonstrate fulfillment of our commitment to support implementation among teachers, schools, and districts, and improve our deliverables over time with process-oriented feedback, ultimately building a sustainable system of statewide supports. Today, we are pleased to release CIRCLE’s summative report on our high school campaign titled “Building for Better Democracy Together: Final Report on the Illinois #CivicsIsB...

by Shawn P. Healy, PhD, Democracy Program Director In March, the tenth annual convening of the Illinois Democracy Schools Network was canceled with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In its place, the Network is sponsoring a webinar series titled, “Every Teacher is a Civics Teacher: Best Practices for Civic Learning and Organizational Supports in Schools.” The series kicks off on Thursday, December 3rd at 4pm by exploring the intersections of civic learning, vision and leadership, and school climate. Subsequent sessions will take place on the first and third Thursdays of each month from January through April, each from 4-5pm, and feature civic learning innovations among Democracy Schools and partner organizations. In the spirit of the webinar series, this post analyzes student data gathering during the 2019-2020 school year by 17 current and prospective Democracy Schools with emphasis on cross-curricular integration of civic learning (also see my March 2020 analysis of data from ...

by Mary Ellen Daneels, Civics Instructional Specialist The 2020 Election continues to be a teachable moment for #CivicsInTheMiddle classrooms. As ballot-counting continues in several states to determine the victors of both the presidential and some congressional races , a flurry of lawsuits have been filed on behalf of President Trump to contest the election results to provide a path to a second term. Last week’s IllinoisCivics.org webinar focused on helping classrooms process the election, both Catherine Hawke from the Division of Public Education at the American Bar Association and Dr. Steven D. Schwinn , Professor of Law at the UIC John Marshall Law School, made cameo appearances to provide brief comments on the role the courts may play in settling this contentious election and possible actions in the future. With the passing of a week, demands on the courts to get involved in resolving the 2020 Presidential election have become clearer. In this week’s #Teach2020 webinar, Dr. ...

by Mary Ellen Daneels, Civics Instructional Specialist Election Day 2020 has passed, but instead of closure, there are still outstanding questions about the presidency and control of the Senate and close races within the Land of Lincoln. Predictions of an “Election Week” have come true, and pending litigation around the election points to an even longer election season.  This is a teachable moment for #CivicsInTheMiddle classrooms. The latest IllinoisCivics.org webinar unpacked both the “knowns and known unknowns” post-election day with an analysis of exit polls with important information about the electorate and predictions of what 2021 may hold for state and federal government. If you missed the webinar, you can access a recording to watch at your convenience. Dr. Shawn Healy, Director of the Democracy Program at the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, began the webinar with analysis and reflection on what is known. In a post-webinar tweet , Dr. Healy summarized his findings. ...

by Shawn P. Healy, PhD, Democracy Program Director Election Day is here, but it arrived early for the 16,063 students in grades 6-12 that participated in the Kids Voting Illinois Mock Election , hosted in partnership with IllinoisCivics.org. Students from 70 middle and high schools represented all eighteen Illinois congressional districts and 73 of 118 Illinois House districts. As we await official results this evening and likely throughout the week, let’s comb through the results of the Illinois Mock Election. It is our hope that they will serve as a point of comparison as you process both with students in the coming days. All student voters weighed in on the presidential, US Senate, and state graduated income tax amendment, but received customized ballots that included the US House and Illinois House and Senate districts specific to their school. For the sake of simplicity, detailed analysis of the national and statewide questions follows, along with topline results for the Illin...

by Mary Ellen Daneels, Civics Instructional Specialist While the 2020 election season draws to a close, IllinoisCivics.org is committed to helping classrooms prepare for what comes next after a contentious and polarized election season. Students will need help processing the election results and their impact on current and societal issues their communities face around justice, power, equity, and safety. As all educators are civics teachers, we have a responsibility to prioritize our students’ lived experiences, putting Maslow before Bloom , to inform the essential questions we address in our curriculum. Educators will not have all of the answers to the questions students pose, but we can create a classroom space where we can be present, listen, and create a safe environment for our students to do the same. Here are a number of ideas and resources to support this work beyond the 2020 election. Start with Reflection Your students may be wrestling with a range of emotions post-electio...

by Mary Ellen Daneels, Civics Instructional Specialist With less than one week until the General Election, #CivicsInTheMiddle classrooms across the Land of Lincoln are preparing students to consume and engage with the election results through candidate research projects, deliberations over the Illinois Graduated Income Tax Amendment , mock elections, and Electoral College simulations. While our Election 2020 Toolkit at IllinoisCivics.org has helped in each of these endeavors, our latest #Teach2020 webinar focused on how to engage students on election night. There are many “known unknowns” as we creep towards November 3 including: Is it still all about Florida, Florida, Florida ? What are the states to watch on election night? Will we have a presidential winner when we go to bed on November 3? Will Gen Z make a difference in the race to the White House? What impact will recent court rulings around mail-in ballots in states like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin have on election retu...