Research Guides: Voting, Elections, and Democracy: Resources for Instructors

Resources for Instructors

Websites

Structuring Classroom Discussions about Elections
"Leading up to any election, we encourage instructors to spend time thinking about disciplinary investments, as well as what is at stake for students and instructors during classroom conversation about election issues and results. Drawing from resources by Ginsberg Center and CRLT on high stakes discussions, ‘hot moments’ in the classroom, and civic learning, this step-by-step planning guide provides one template for planning election-related discussions in the classroom."
Election and Post-Election Conversations in the Classroom
In the lead up to the 2020 presidential election, the CEP created our Presidential Election Discussions in the Online Classroom guide to help support conversations about the US presidential election and its potential aftermath. In the two years since the midterm elections in 2022, and as we approach one of the most contentious and consequential elections in recent memory that is provoking intense debates on issues such as immigration, reproductive rights, and crime, the care and deliberation this guide encourages around these discussions is only more vital to creating a rigorous, responsive, and engaged learning community.

eBooks

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Elements of Discussion by David I. Backer (Editor)
Call Number: eBook
The Discussion is distorting today. Within schools, social movements, and firms, there has been an increasing tendency for teachers and facilitators to announce that there will be a discussion while the interaction which follows this announcement is not a discussion, but something else likely a recitation and lecture. This distortion of discussion promises democracy, equality, and participation during a meeting or class, but delivers inequality, prohibition, and dominance. Now is the time to begin changing these practices which ultimately create and support a neoliberal society that promises democracy but practices oligarchy.
Deep Discourse by Sandi Novak; Cara Slattery
Call Number: eBook
When educators actively support student-led classroom discussions, students develop essential critical-thinking, problem-solving, and self-directed learning skills. This book details a framework for implementing student-led classroom discussions that improve student learning, motivation, and engagement across all levels and subject areas.
Questioning for Classroom Discussion by Jackie Acree Walsh; Beth Dankert Sattes
Call Number: eBook
What type of questioning invigorates and sustains productive discussions? That's what Jackie Acree Walsh and Beth Dankert Sattes ask as they begin a passionate exploration of questioning as the beating heart of thoughtful discussions. Questioning and discussion are important components of classroom instruction that work in tandem to push learning forward and move students from passive participants to active meaning-makers. Walsh and Sattes argue that the skills students develop through questioning and discussion are critical to academic achievement, career success, and active citizenship in a democratic society.

Print Books

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I Never Thought of It That Way by Mónica Guzmán
Call Number: New Book Shelf; BF637.C45 G87 2022
Learn how to bring curiosity and courage to even the most difficult conversations across America's polarized political divide with these actionable tools for navigating challenging disagreements.
Good Arguments by Bo Seo
Call Number: Teaching and Learning Collection: PN4181 .S34 2022
Two-time world champion debater and former coach of the Harvard debate team, Bo Seo tells the inspiring story of his life in competitive debating and reveals the timeless secrets of effective communication and persuasion. By tracing his own journey from immigrant kid to world champion, Seo shows how the skills of debating--information gathering, truth finding, lucidity, organization, and persuasion--are often the cornerstone of successful careers and happy lives. Drawing insights from its strategies, structure, and history, Seo teaches readers the skills of competitive debate, and in doing so shows how they can improve their communication with friends, family, and colleagues alike.

Websites

Faculty Network for Student Voting Rights
"We are a diverse group of faculty at all levels, at institutions throughout the United States. As an initiative housed under the Scholars Strategy Network, we are dedicated specifically and solely to urging faculty members to play a consistent role every year in student voting and civic engagement efforts. We focus on providing resources to use in teaching, creating a structured space for faculty to collaborate across discipline and university and utilizing faculty members’ positioning to connect with young voters."
Scholars Strategy Network
Use this faculty guide to bring voter registration, education and voter turnout information directly into the classroom.
Campus Vote Project
works with universities, community colleges, faculty, students and election officials to reduce barriers to student voting.
"Our goal is to help campuses institutionalize reforms that empower students with the information they need to register and vote."
Project Pericles
Project Pericles's civic engagement resources are for faculty, across all disciplines, who are interested in: civic engagement course syllabi, community-engaged learning, deliberative dialogue, nonpartisan voter education, and addressing voter suppression. These resources can also be adapted by staff and educators in contexts beyond higher education.

eBooks

Living Democracy by Nan Fairley; Mindy LaBreck (Editor); Mark Wilson
Call Number: eBook
At Auburn University, in Alabama, students may take part in a summer-long embedded community experience called "Living Democracy." This project has its roots in higher education's long history of civic engagement, but it takes a different perspective than traditional service learning programs. Rather than pose the question, "What does your community need?" the project organizers asked, "What could a student learn about democratic civic engagement while living in your community for ten weeks over the summer?"
Schooling and the Struggle for Public Life by Henry A. Giroux
Call Number: eBook
This book examines the relationship between democracy and schooling and argues that schools are one of the few spheres left where youth can learn the knowledge and skills necessary to become engaged, critical citizens. Not only is the legacy of democracy addressed through the work of John Dewey and others, but the democratic possibilities of schooling are analyzed through a range of issues extending from the politics of teacher authority to the importance of student voices.
Civic Education and the Future of American Citizenship by Busch, Elizabeth Kaufer. White, Jonathan W.
Call Number: eBook
The Founders of this nation believed that the government they were creating required a civically educated populace. Such an education aimed to cultivate enlightened, informed, and vigilant citizens who could perpetuate and improve the nation. Unfortunately, America's contemporary youth seem to lack adequate opportunities, if not also the ability or will, to critically examine the foundations of this nation. An even larger problem is an increasing ambivalence toward education in general. Stepping into this void is a diverse group of educators, intellectuals, and businesspeople, brought together in Civic Education and the Future of American Citizenship to grapple with the issue of civic illiteracy and its consequences.

Print Books

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Can Schools Save Democracy? by Michael J. Feuer
Call Number: New Book Shelf; LC1091 .F48 2023
How can education protect and strengthen democracy? In an era when democracy is at critical risk, is it reasonable to expect the education system--already buckling under the ordeal of a global pandemic--to solve the converging problems of inequality, climate change, and erosion of trust in government and science? Will more civics instruction help? In Can Schools Save Democracy?
The Channels of Student Activism by Amy J. Binder; Jeffrey L. Kidder
Call Number: Teaching and Learning Collection: LA229 .B525 2022
An eye-opening analysis of collegiate activism and its effects on the divisions in contemporary American politics. The past six years have been marked by a contentious political atmosphere that has touched every arena of public life, including higher education. Though most college campuses are considered ideologically progressive, how can it be that the right has been so successful in mobilizing young people even in these environments?
Building Better Citizens by Holly Korbey
Call Number: Teaching and Learning Collection; LC1091 .K67 2019
Educating for citizenship was the original mission of American schools, but for decades that knowledge--also known as civics education--has been in decline, as schools have shifted focus to college and career, STEM, and raising reading and math scores. But over the last few years, spurred on by political polarization and a steep decline in public understanding, civics education is seeing a nation-wide resurgence, as school leaders, educators, and parents recognize the urgency of teaching young people how America works--especially young people who have been marginalized from the political system.
Power to the Polls by Caryn McTighe Musil (Foreword by); Marianne Magjuka (Editor)
Call Number: Teaching and Learning Collection; LC1091 .P587 2023
Given that students are increasingly arriving on campus with limited civic knowledge, and the fragile state of our democracy, there is an urgent need to incorporate civic learning into courses, programs, systems, and processes throughout our institutions. This book provides administrators, student affairs educators, and faculty with frameworks and examples for developing initiatives and programs to promote students' civic learning and democratic engagement; set sustainable, campus-wide goals; track student learning outcomes; and make data-driven decisions that impact the campus climate for civic engagement.

Websites

Web Literacy for Student Fact-checkers: an OER
Concrete strategies and tactics for tracing claims to sources and for analyzing the nature and reliability of those sources. Covers implicit bias, web searching, Google, and Wikipedia. Ch. 3 Go Upstream & Ch 4. Read Laterally for information evaluation exercises scaffolded by readings. Ch. 5 Field Guide covers social media, astroturfing.
Mike Caulfield's instructional follow-up on his 2016 piece Yes, Digital Literacy. But Which One?
Citizen Literacy
From University of Louisville Libraries, "Citizen Literacy is an online toolkit that promotes the development of key information skills for democratic citizenship and features short videos, handouts, and activities that faculty across all disciplines can integrate into their courses and assignments."
Teenagers and Misinformation: Some Starting Points for Teaching Media Literacy
Five ideas to help students understand the problem, learn basic skills, share their experiences and have a say in how media literacy is taught.
Lesson of the Day: An Election News Game
Although this lesson plan is from the 2020 election, the activities are still relevant to this year's election and, with minor tweaks, can be useful in the classroom.
Lesson of the Day: ‘Birds Aren’t Real, or Are They? Inside a Gen Z Conspiracy Theory.’
In this lesson, students will explore a conspiracy movement fueled by young people and what it says about growing up in a world overrun with misinformation.
Lesson of the Day: ‘How to Deal With a Crisis of Misinformation’
In this lesson, students examine their own information-consuming and sharing habits, then learn practical tips for thinking critically about news.

eBooks

Teaching Media Literacy by Belinha S. De Abreu
Call Number: eBook
Though media literacy and information literacy are intertwined, there are important differences; and there has never been a more urgent need for an incisive examination of the crucial role librarians and other educators can play in teaching the skills necessary to access, analyze, evaluate, and create media.

Print Books

Fake News in America by Anthony R. DiMaggio
Call Number: Teaching and Learning Collection: PN4888.F35 D56 2023
The term 'fake news' became a buzzword during Donald Trump's presidency, yet it is a term that means very different things to different people. This pioneering book provides a comprehensive examination of what Americans mean when they talk about fake news in contemporary politics, mass media, and societal discourse, and explores the various factors that contribute to this, such as the power of language, political parties, ideology, media, and socialization.
Information Literacy and Libraries in the Age of Fake News by Denise E. Agosto (Editor)
Call Number: Teaching and Learning Collection: ZA3075 .I53275 2018
Going beyond the fake news problem, this book tackles the broader issue of teaching library users of all types how to become more critical consumers and sharers of information. As a public, school, or academic librarian or educator, you can help library users to become more conscious and responsible consumers of information. As you read, you'll gain a better understanding and appreciation of the core concepts involved in promoting critical information literacy, such as information ethics, media literacy, and civic education.
Counterfact by Andrew Weiss
Call Number: Teaching and Learning Collection; PN4784.F27 W35 2024
For as long as there has been a press, fake news has played a role in the disruption of how factual information is shared among people. Misinformation goes back even further, spreading through the use of lies and rumors, spoken or written, for various political and social purposes.

Expressive Conduct
Clackamas Community College Expressive Conduct policy, code KGA
Expressive Conduct Procedure
Clackamas Community College Expressive Conduct Procedure, code KGA-AR

Content copied / pasted from an All Staff email sent June 03, 2024

Subject: Navigating election season: Guidelines for petitioners & free speech

Good morning,

As we are seeing an increase of petitioners on campus, approaching election season and launching our own bond measure campaign, it seems timely to provide guidance regarding petitioners, speech activities on campus, etc. This information is primarily taken from our Expressive Conduct policy and state laws for public employees.

Public employee political activity

Oregon law states: No public employee shall solicit any money, influence, service or other thing of value or otherwise promote or oppose any political committee or promote or oppose the nomination or election of a candidate, the gathering of signatures on an initiative, referendum or recall petition, the adoption of a measure or the recall of a public office holder while on the job during working hours. (ORS260.432).

During working hours,* CCC employees cannot:

Advocate a no or yes position.
Coerce employees to aid a campaign.
Use college resources to advocate for or produce advocacy pieces.

During working hours, CCC employees can:

Pass out or provide factual information.
Encourage employees to learn about the issue and the campaign.

*Working hours exclude lunch hours. Employees also are free to advocate for or against a measure or candidate during non-working hours.

Students and elected board members may campaign for or against any ballot measure at any time, as long as they do not use any public resources. Elected officials, in fact, are expected to speak out on major issues.

Free speech

As an educational and public setting, CCC campuses should be spaces for open dialogue, and the college encourages it. Expressive conduct refers to behavior designed to convey a message, including speech-making, communicating symbolically, petitioning, picketing, leafletting and demonstrating. The college does place limitations on expressive conduct related to "time, place and manner" to enable the safe fulfillment of our educational mission. As a public institution, we do not regulate the content of expression, which is constitutionally protected. All expressive conduct activities must comply with federal, state and local laws, and college policies, procedures and regulations. Please see the policy and the procedures for more information.

Based on our policies, we do allow petitioners and protestors to conduct their legal activities on our campuses. However, we do not allow these activities to occur within our buildings, and they should not interfere with, harass, block, or intimidate students or others from their movement or business on campus.

Should you see or hear about individuals causing concern on campus, call College Safety at 503-594-6650, and one of our officers will check on the situation and resolve the problem or refer it to college leadership.

Future opportunities

Over the summer and fall, the college will provide more educational opportunities about civil discourse, election guidelines, and the college's response plan to civil unrest/protests.

Lori Hall, Public Information Officer

Dennis Marks, Director of College Safety