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Democracy Schools Network
Monthly Update
(Lite version)
July 2023
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ON YOUR RADAR
DSN announcements, upcoming events, Professional Development opportunities, and information about activities in our Democracy Schools.
~Constitutional Democracy Project
*Both events at Chicago-Kent College of Law, 565 W. Adams Street, Chicago
~ATTENTION SOCIAL STUDIES TEACHERS
If you would like to be kept current on current Social Studies standards, course mandates, and resources to support both, we invite you to sign up for the Illinois Civics Hub newsletter here.
~The Democracy Schools Network is growing!!
FIVE New Democracy Schools and NINE schools completing Renewal Process during 2022-23! Look for details in the August Monthly Update.
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Thursday, September 28, 2023
8 am – 2 pm
Hilton Doubletree | Lisle, IL
Presentations by our civic partners, including:
Illinois Holocaust Museum, Retro Report, Constitutional Democracy Project, Chicago History Museum, American Bar Association, Learning Tech Center, Mikva Challenge, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, Facing History, University of Illinois at Chicago, and more!
Sampling of Sessions:
- Using the Internet to Check the Internet
- Civics with Stories
- Enhancing Civics through Games
- Action and Advocacy through the Arts
- Creating Space for Student Voice (and Action)
- Investigating Social Justice Issues in the Mathematics Classroom
- How to Create a School-Community Partnership with a Speaker Series
- Water Quality: A STEM and Society Issue
- Youth Resistance in Nazi Germany
- Learning to Teach with AI, One Small Bite at a Time
- What's in Store for 2024?
We also welcome teachers, staff, and administrators from your K-8 district and feeder schools, as we launch our new model. (Please feel free to share the link below with those who might be interested.)
Get more information here or register here.
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Earn Your Microcredentials: Become a Guardian of Democracy Educator
The Illinois Civics Hub has partnered with the Lou Frey Institute at the University of Central Florida to provide educators with the opportunity to earn their microcredentials in the proven practices of civic education embedded in the middle and high school civics course requirements in Illinois. Courses include:
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Current and Controversial Issue Discussions—Learn from academic experts Dr. Diana Hess & Dr. Paula McAvoy as you explore the purpose, role, and function of discussion strategies as pedagogical tools to equip young people to be engaged citizens. This course will enhance the practice of educators with strategies and resources to create a classroom climate in which there are equitable opportunities for ALL students to engage in dialogue about essential questions across the curriculum.
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Simulations of Democratic Processes—Learn from academic experts Dr. Walter Parker & Dr. Jane Lo as you explore how democratic processes and procedures occur as part of the regular functioning of government, in each of the three branches of government, and at each level of government. This course will guide you through the purpose, planning, and implementation of three simulations: town hall meetings, legislative hearings, and moot courts.
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Informed Action through Service Learning—Learn from academic experts Dr. Joseph Kahne and Jessica Marshall as you explore the purpose, role, and function of informed action through service learning as a pedagogical tool to equip young people with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to be active members of their community. In this course, you will interact with strategies and tools you can use in your classroom to support student-centered informed action through service learning.
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NEW- Constitutional Democracy as Content and Practice—Learn from academic experts Dr. Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg, Dr. Shawn P. Healy, and Dr. Bonnie Laughlin Schultz as you explore how the Educating for American Democracy Roadmap can help teach constitutional democracy as both content and practice across disciplines K-12.
Registration information is available on the Guardians of Democracy homepage. Those who successfully complete the 5-week online course will earn a Bronze Certified Guardian of Democracy Educator badge via Badgr and the University of Central Florida Center for Distributive Learning.
Participants can earn 15 PD hours through the DuPage Regional Office of Education for an additional fee.
There are three strands of courses for each proven practice of civics education. Graduate credit is available through the University of St. Francis for completing all three courses. For more information, please visit the Guardians of Democracy homepage.
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Summer Reading
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Companies like Amazon and Facebook have systems that continually respond to how users interact with their apps to make the user experience easier. This article explores the question "What if educators could use the same strategy of “adaptive experimentation” to regularly improve their teaching materials?"
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EdSurge's Voices of Change Writing Fellowship is a program that brings together a diverse cohort of K-12 educators and school leaders to share their experiences. This year's cohort of eight fellows tackled complex issues including mental health challenges, teacher burnout, school safety and confronting fear — highlighting various ways teaching and learning have been influenced by various societal forces. Read their stories here.
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Illinois Democracy Schools Director, Mary Ellen Daneels, was the keynote speaker this year at the Chicago History Museum's Fourth of July celebration. Her remarks that day underlined the continuing importance of civic engagement in our country. Read the text of her speech "Remember, Reconnect, and Represent" here.
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PRACTICING CIVIC LEARNING ACROSS DISCIPLINES
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A reminder that we have a significant archive of material that includes expert suggestions, resources, lesson plans, and presentations for civic learning activities across all disciplines and areas of the school. Recordings of all webinars and blog posts are listed here.
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