Integrating a Civic Engagement Component into Your Classes:

Tips, Tricks and StrategiesAryn Bartley, Michele Ren, Haley Russell

Our Turn 2013Our Turn 2013

Welcome!

Please take a moment to introduce yourselves to your neighbors, then consider the following:

• What is civic engagement?• Why should civic engagement be part of the college curriculum?

What is Civic Engagement? (Your definitions)

• Community Involvement• Voting• Volunteerism• Becoming informed• Thinking of self as member of a

communtiy• Any engagement with structures of

society• Student identity integrated with civic

society/identity

Questions Raised by Discussion1) What defines a community? Local, classroom, university?2) Is action necessary, or can a change in perception count?3) How active should the faculty member be in determining a “cause”?4) How can we incorporate a civic engagement component in our classes while meeting other responsibilities/requirements?

Truman Commission on Higher Education (1947)

Emphasis on education for:•A fuller realization of democracy•International understanding and cooperation.•The application of creative imagination and trained intelligence to the solution of social problems and to the administration of public affairs.

The National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement (2012)

 

“[D]eep engagement with the values of liberty, equality, individual worth, open

mindedness, and the willingness to collaborate with people of differing views and

backgrounds toward common solutions for the public good”

Talloires Network (2005)  

“The university should use the processes of education and research to respond to, serve

and strengthen its communities for local and global citizenship.”

Munck, McQuillan and Ozarowski (2012)

  The university as a “socially

embedded institution” with a “[firm commitment] to social transformation and the pursuit of knowledge for the

benefit of the community” (26).

Lyons (2012)“A mutually beneficial knowledge-based

collaboration between the higher-education institution, its staff and students, [and] the wider

community, through community-campus partnerships.”

Can Include: •Service Learning/Community-Based Learning•Community-engaged Research•Volunteering•Community/Economic regeneration•Capacity-Building and Access

Common Themes/Terms

• Education for “democracy,” “common good,” social benefit• Emphasis on

cooperation/collaboration/ partnering• University as located within

community - global, local, “glocal”

Rationale• Encourage active civic participation/engagement and reinvigorate democratic

practices like voting, civil public discourse, etc. (National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement )

• Strengthen relationship between university and community (Munck et. al., Lyons)• “improved graduation rates and narrowed achievement gaps between racial–ethnic

groups” (Kinzie, 2012, 13).

Rationale (Your Ideas)

• Thwarting narcissism/ fostering more expansive sense of identity

• Responsibility towards community

• Making world better

• Making learning tangible/connected to people, places, debates, issues

• Note: Debate over civic engagement is intimately linked to debate over the role/mission of the university

Group WikisRadford University - CORE 101 - Fall 2012 - Aryn BartleyRadford University - CORE 101 - Fall 2012 - Aryn Bartley

• Construct a wiki page about “an important, interesting and/or helpful aspect of RU, Radford, or the New River Valley.”

• Three sections (60 students) participated.

“Civic Engagement” Component

• Writing for a specific audience of their peers (student body as “community”)

• Writing to help their peers access local resources

• Engaging with local/university community (places and people)

• Collaborative project with peers

Sample topics (on and off campus)

• Clubs and Activities• Sororities/fraternities• Food/hangout spots• Local small businesses• Outdoor Recreational Locales

Sample Wiki: “RU Leisure Activities”

Reflections: Pros

• Asked students to consider the positive impact of their writing/research on others within their community (student body)

• Students learned about community resources• Engaged students with each other, RU, and

Radford

Reflections: Cons

• Varying levels of student engagement often depended on their interest in the topic

• Community as commodity?

Finding and Interviewing “Experts”

Radford University - CORE 101 - Fall 2012 - Michele RenRadford University - CORE 101 - Fall 2012 - Michele Ren• A formal, taped, interview with an “expert” on the topic

the student is addressing in their final essay• Asks students to become familiar with not only the issue,

but with a community member who has experience, knowledge, expertise in the area

• Gives practice in working with others who are concerned about the issue, and, often, allows students to encounter different viewpoints.

Informative Poster Presentation

Radford University Radford University –– CORE 102 CORE 102 –– Spring 2013 - Haley Russell Spring 2013 - Haley Russell

Research Portfolio• Annotated Bibliography (5 Articles)• Weekly Posts to a Research Blog• Poster Design• Oral Poster Presentation• Multiple Peer Review Workshops• Final Argumentative Essay

Modeling Civic Engagement in the Classroom:

• models an academic community • emphasizes the process of peer review• requires that students question college culture • requires reflection on personal engagement in

their community• looks at the cultural and moral issues of college

life

Informative Poster Presentation

Radford University Radford University –– CORE 102 CORE 102 –– Spring 2013 - Haley Russell Spring 2013 - Haley Russell

Take a few minutes discusswith those around you and/or

to make notes on:

How you might incorporate a civic engagement component in your

classroom in the future?

Sharing

How can we incorporate civic engagement component(s) into mixed-major, lower level course(s)?

How might we foster civic engagement in courses from multiple disciplines?

Thank You!

Please share any parting questions or insights…

Works Cited, p. 1Department of Education, The National Task Force on Civic Learning

and Democratic Engagement (2012). A crucible moment: College learning and democracy’s future. (ED-OPE-10- C-

0078).Retrieved from Association of American Colleges and Universities website: http://www.aacu.org/civic_learning/crucible/documents/crucible_508F.pdf

Kinzie, J. (2012). High-impact practices: Promoting participation for all students. Diversity & Democracy, 15(3), 13-14. Retrieved from

http://www.diversityweb.org/DiversityDemocracy/vol15no3/about_issue.cfm

Lyons, A. (2012.)  Civic engagement practices in higher education in Ireland. In McIlrath, L, A. Lyons & R. Munck, Eds. Higher education and civic engagement: Comparative perspectives. New York:  Palgrave MacMillan.

Works Cited, p. 2Munck, R., McQuillan, H., & Ozarowsk, J. Civic engagement in

a cold climate: A glocal perspective. In McIlrath, L, A. Lyons & R.  Munck, Eds. Higher education and civic engagement: Comparative perspectives.  New York:  Palgrave MacMillan.

Talloires Network. (2005).  Talloires declaration on the civic roles and  social responsibilities of higher education. Retrieved from    

http://talloiresnetwork.tufts.edu/what-is-the-talloires-network/   talloires-declaration/

Truman Commission on Higher Education. (1947).  Retrieved from

http://courses.education.illinois.edu/eol474/sp98/truman.html