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Below are links to resources related to skills needed for civic engagement.
Teaching and Learning
Practicing Democracy: A Toolkit for Educating Civic Professionals
Resource from Campus Compact and AAC&U that provides 12 structured lessons to build students’ civic learning skills.
Teaching for Democratic Engagement and Civic Learning | University of Virginia
Collection of instructional resources and practices to structure civic learning and promotion of participation in democratic processes.
Publications | McConnell Center
Collection of works related to U.S. history and leadership, made available to educators by the McConnell Center.
Civil Discourse
Constructive Dialogue: Organizations - Respectful Conversation
Curated list of resources in support of collegial, civically engaged dialogue and deliberation.
Polarization is battering campuses. Here is how college leaders are fighting back. | Higher Ed Dive
A 2025 article on ways college presidents are uniting students on their campuses and creating conditions for respectful political discussions.
Campus Conflict and Conversation Help Desk | AAC&U
An interactive Help Desk site for faculty and staff navigating political conversations and politicized interactions.
Helping college students disagree respectfully on campus
A 2024 article on promising ways to create conditions for students to engage, share viewpoints, and expand perspectives. (may require subscription)
Can college students learn to debate without getting heated? | Higher Ed Dive
A 2024 article on a technique for educating through disagreement and debate.
Better Discourse: A Guide for Bridging Campus Divides in Challenging Times | Campus Compact
A “starter kit” for teaching students dialogue and discourse techniques that begin with self-examination before moving to outward expression and activism.
College Debates and Discourse Alliance | ACTA (American Council of Trustees and Alumni
Large-scale initiative to teach students debate techniques and dialogue structures for exploring politically sensitive topics. Includes a Curricular Toolkit available for download.
Campus Free Expression: A New Roadmap
Resources from the Bipartisan Policy Center that provides information on how to promote and protect freedom of speech and to engage in civil discourse.
We The People | National Constitution Center
Podcast featuring discussions and debates of constitutional issues in contemporary American life.
Also note limited-run podcast on same page: “Pursuit: The Founder’s Guide to Happiness.”
Assessment of Civic Learning
Assessment of Civic Learning
Literature review, commissioned by the Civic Learning Task Force of the American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), which focuses on ways to assess civic learning.
List of tools to measure civic literacy, civic learning, and civic engagement.
Civically Engaged Learning Goals Rubric
Rubric developed by the Illinois State University Center for Civic Engagement that includes civic knowledge.
AAC&U VALUE Rubric for Civic Engagement
Assessment instrument applicable to students’ civic learning and engagement, incorporating civic identity, service learning, and civic action/engagement. Available for download through institutional or individual AAC&U membership (creating a free account).
Critical Thinking
"Can college students learn to debate without getting heated?" (Higher Ed Dive)
A 2024 article on a technique for educating through disagreement and debate.
Evaluating Expertise – Citizen Literacy | University of Louisville Libraries
Videos exploring the value of expertise and how to assess the authority of experts.
Misinformation Lexicon – Citizen Literacy | University of Louisville Libraries
Glossary of common types of misinformation and disinformation with student friendly references and examples.
Media Literacy
News Literacy – Citizen Literacy | University of Louisville Libraries
Videos examining the value of credibility in news stories and providing strategies for identifying deceptive news stories.
Lateral Reading – Citizen Literacy | University of Louisville Libraries
Video introducing a strategy used by fact-checkers to investigate the reliability of online sources of news and information.
Interpersonal Relations
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