This paper explores how PurpleState, a political simulation designed to foster skills and knowledge for informed civic participation, develops students' abilities to counter or resist the effects of political polarization and partisanship. Throughout the simulation, which has been implemented in Virginia and Wisconsin, students are asked to…

Based on the past sixteen years of experience with an online collaborative endeavor offered across differing university types, as well as modes of instruction, the best practice found that by fostering student peer exchanges on a collaborative web site students reached a high level of achievement in these courses. Findings indicate that despite…

Because of COVID-19 precautions, instructors worldwide were required to introduce a variety of virtual instruction modes to complete the Spring 2020 semester. Herein we describe parallel efforts in contextualized chemistry courses at two institutions--Carthage College and Central Michigan University. These courses are primarily designed for…

Youth Development programming that engages youth to work side by side with local leaders creates an environment where youth develop civic skills. These skills include a greater understanding of the legislative process, their role in our democracy, and increased engagement in the democratic process. Through their participation in the Superior Days…

This article argues that citizens must be woke and engaged in multicultural activism in order to bring about social justice and equity in the Twenty-First Century.

This paper explores how PurpleState, a political simulation designed to foster skills and knowledge for informed civic participation, develops students' abilities to counter or resist the effects of political polarization and partisanship. Throughout the simulation, which has been implemented in Virginia and Wisconsin, students are asked to…

In this paper, we describe the design for PurpleState, an internship simulation that applies the epistemic game model for informed civic learning. PurpleState places students in the role of interns at a political media firm and asks them to design a media campaign on a state level policy issue. Unlike the use of these models in STEM education,…

Provide your students with handwritten letters from three young students to then U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, written a few months prior to the first celebration of Earth Day on April 22, 1970. These primary source historical documents can be a part of upper elementary students' exploration of civic activism in the service of…

Undergraduates can become effective agents of environmental outreach when challenged to produce evidence-based messages to inform the public about local environmental issues. We recount our experience partnering our undergraduate students with community organizations dedicated to water stewardship to create a "Pedal and Paddle Pollution…

This mixed-methods study examined the long-term associations between two kinds of politics courses--required political science courses and required family policy courses--and the political participation, knowledge, skill, efficacy, and politically engaged identity of child and family studies alumni. Two special cases were examined: those who…

This chapter focuses on two remote rural communities that engaged young people in meaningful community development efforts to build social capital. One community connected youth to the assets of the community and created opportunities for young adults to strengthen social networks. The other created partnerships and networks to build…

The Kenosha County Youth in Governance program was created to build leadership skills and civic engagement opportunities for high school-aged students by placing two youth representatives on each of the Kenosha County Board of Supervisors standing committees. In reviewing data from 3 years of youth participants, the program was effective in…

Study abroad is typically seen as a primary vehicle for building students' global competence. The belief is that study abroad will better prepare graduates to meet opportunities and challenges in an increasingly globalized and interdependent world, that is, study abroad will produce global citizens. Given the low participation rate in study…

School voucher programs challenge the traditional role of the public school as the builder of citizens, raising the question of whether private schools can provide a civic education of equal quality. In this study, we use survey data from the Milwaukee voucher program to investigate the relative benefits in civic outcomes of attending a voucher…

For the past 40 years, Alverno College faculty, staff, and students have collaborated in the creation of an integrated learning and assessment model that requires students to demonstrate, and faculty to assess, eight core abilities: Communication, Analysis, Problem Solving, Valuing in Decision-Making, Social Interaction, Developing a Global…