This tool is part of the Countering Truth Decay initiative, which is focused on restoring the role of facts, data, and analysis in U.S. political and civil discourse and the policymaking process. RAND researchers developed this educational tool, consisting of five sequenced lesson plans for middle school teachers, with the goal of improving RAND's…

School systems collect and maintain increasingly significant amounts of data and information on students, faculty, and staff and have a duty of care to ensure that sensitive information remains secure. Therefore, sitting and/or aspiring school leaders need to develop at least a basic understanding of data privacy and information security…

Both in concept and in practice, policy has permeated the deepest recesses of civil society and has had particular impact on the lives of those who are actively connected to the educational process. For music teachers in particular, policy can evoke images of a forbidden environment beyond one's day-to-day duties and responsibilities. Nothing,…

Children are using the internet and mobile devices at increasingly younger ages, and it's becoming more and more important to address e-safety in primary schools. This practical book provides guidance on how to teach and promote e-safety and tackle cyberbullying with real-life examples from schools of what works and what schools need to do. The…

This learning activity for use with secondary students motivates discussion and broadens students' insight into the kinds of issues raised by a national population policy. The role play involves students in developing a national population policy for an imaginary country. (RM)

Argues that the most effective way to move forward in the realm of environmental education may be to do so outside of the sanction of official policy. (Author/CCM)

Describes the equipment and classroom procedures used for conducting teleconferences. Provides examples of high school students' teleconferences with historians and political representatives. (JDH)

Discusses the use of policy memoranda writing in political policy courses to help students practice writing skills and learn about policy and policymaking. This essay describes four types of policy memoranda, provides guidelines and formats for writing each one, and suggests ways of incorporating them into relevant policy courses. (AM)

Describes a series of exercises which were developed to teach the basic methodologies involved in analyzing and evaluating the effects of alternative public policies. The exercises, intended for use on the college level, deal with determining causation in policy analysis, finding optimum choices with different probabilities, and finding an optimum…

Proposes a course of study that would have high school students study and practice a public policy analysis model used by public policy professionals. Elaborates on the meaning of and rationale for public policy analysis and presents a detailed conceptual framework. Argues that competence in this activity will strengthen popular sovereignty. (DSK)

The United States is a multi-trillion dollar economy that annually allocates a staggering amount of resources to produce a variety of goods and services for domestic and world consumption, and provides employment and income for millions of individuals. This lesson plan for social studies and economics teachers traces a series of interconnected…

Describes a model organization tree for the typical report expected of students in the strategy or policy course. Argues that, by defining relationships between the various analytical tasks and the overall strategy recommendation, the model helps students not only organize the final report but also understand the process by which they arrive at a…

Examines the concept of feasibility in the decision making process and presents examples of policies which were unfeasible because policy makers did not explore all relevant policy dimensions. Suggests how to incorporate the political, economic, and technological aspects of feasibility into the political science curriculum. (Author/DB)

Reasons why a written policy is advisable for high school administrators, publications advisors, and student journalists. (RL)

Suggests that using the format of the planning public inquiry as a model for a learning activity provides geography students, usually working in teams, with the opportunity to investigate environmental issues from a particular point of view and to present their case as an oral presentation and written report. (DSK)