Place for All 2020: Experiential Civics Conference

Presentations from the 2020 virtual civics education for Utah educators and community and academic partners. See detailed agenda and bios here: https://www.placeforallutah.org/agenda Approximate Start Times for Each Presentation: 00:09 Welcome (Robert Austin, Utah State Board of Education) 10:45 Overview of HB334 and Its Purpose (Rep. Dan Johnson. legislative sponsor) Earlier this year the Utah Legislature enacted, and the Governor signed HB334 Civics Education Amendments creating a three-year civic engagement pilot program to evaluate the benefits of, and methods for, implementing a civic engagement project requirement for high school graduation. Though funding for the program was cut due to Covid-related budget shortfalls, the commitment to this initiative is solid. Learn from our legislative champion what you can do to build momentum for this important initiative and build its scope to serve more Utah students and communities. 23:11 What Kind of Citizen? (Joseph R. Kahne, PhD, U.C. Riverside) If we don’t have an idea about where we are going, we won’t get anywhere. As Utah educators pivot from academic civics to “lived civics”and back again in a feedback loop, it’s worth asking what kind of citizens our students should become. The point is to begin a thought process (or: conversation) about the most important outcomes for students, and to measure meaningful results so that we can continue improving. A solid road map can help you anticipate challenges, including how to educate for democratic life in hyper partisan times. Dr. Kahne has devoted a good part of his career to these and other essential questions. 53:27 Approaches to Experiential Civics: Panel (Andrew Wilkes, Generation Citizen-moderator). A panel of local and national educators and thought leaders will share their broad experience with lived civics approaches and take questions. Panelists include: -Shawn Healy, PhD, The McCormick Foundation: Illinois' Approach -Jessica Lander, Teacher/Writer/Journalist and Carla M. Duran Capellan, Student: Massachusetts' Approach -Megan Brandon, Generation Citizen and Jenny Nicholas, SLC Schools: SLC Schools' Approach -Britnie Powell, Salt Lake Center for Science Education's Approach 1:47:40 Nurturing Experiential Civics: Curriculum Design & Professional Development (Mary Ellen Daneels, The McCormick Foundation) This interactive session features different ways to design curriculum to equip students to be responsible, participatory, and justice-oriented members of their community, whether that learning happens in the classroom, in remote learning or in academic service learning. Walk away with proven strategies and resources to connect experiential civics to social studies standards while deepening the impact of both. 2:27:30 Focus on Results: Insights from Evaluation of Experiential Civics Initiatives (Jane Lo, PhD, Michigan State University) School kids are typically assessed on what they know--and Utah’s current requirement that students pass the citizenship test before they graduate exemplifies this approach. But what if the goal is to assess students’ functional ability to participate effectively in democratic life--how do we measure success on that front? Social studies standards emphasize mastery of the constitutional principles underlying democractic institutions--but how can we measure students’ ability to transfer this knowledge to whatever civic actions they take? Dr. Jane C. Lo summarizes findings from early research and evaluation of experiential civics initiatives around the U.S. with an eye on lessons for Utah. 3:05:55 Building Momentum for Experiential Civics: Recap and Next Steps (Judi Hilman, Policy Catalyst) Thanks to Rep. Dan Johnson's leadership and the persistent efforts of the Utah Civics Coalition, the Utah Legislature passed HB 334. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, funding has since been cut. Learn what you can do to help build the momentum for HB334 and similar initiatives. This session includes a recap of conference presentations and Q & A. 3:19:00 Final Breakout Groups (sample discussions only) 3:28:01 Closing Remarks (Robert Austin, Utah State Board of Education)