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...